New West taking ‘A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline’

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on February 13, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

New West Theatre is bringing Patsy Cline back to life 60 years after her passing thanks to Erica Hunt’s performance in “A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline,” starting today at the Yates Memorial Theatre.
Kelly Reay, artistic director for New West Theatre told reporters Wednesdays that it was thanks to Hunt’s talent they are able to share this play with their audience.
He explained that “A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline” is a Canadian play, written by a Canadian. It is one of two plays about Patsy Cline that are sanctioned by her estate.  
“And as such, the rights holders are pretty guarded with who they’ll approve to license the show. We had to have a process with the agency where we had to show them Erica’s work and make sure that they were comfortable with Erica singing these songs,” said Reay.
 He said everyone at New West knew she had what it takes to perform the songs, but they still had to prove it.
 “It all worked out and here we are with Patsy Cline’s story. We often will try and find musicals to do, and this show is very much that, is a jukebox musical. It’s almost a fantasy concert of Patsy Cline, but there’s narrative in there, there’s character work,” said Reay.
 He said it is nice to celebrate the songs and show them to their audience “in a different package.” And when talking about the set, which in part showcases giant “vinyl” records, Reay said it was great to be able to work with Terry Gunvordahl, as he was the original set designer for the play.
“He’s an old friend of mine and old collaborator of mine. He designed the original production of this show back 30 years ago, perhaps in the 90s. So, we’re lucky to have access to Terry and invite him down to design the set,” said Reay.
He said the set plays into the fantasy of having a Patsy Cline concert and celebrates the genre, the timeframe of the late 1950s and early 1960s encapsulated on stage.
Erica Hunt, who only found out about the play rights being awarded to New West because of her, just minutes before talking to reporters on Wednesday, said she felt very honoured to know that and is very excited to get into character and become Patsy Cline.
“To play Patsy Cline is overwhelming. Honestly, her voice is stunning. It’s really remarkable and the more I listen to it, the more I’m like, no wonder she was a superstar for sure. But yeah, I’ll do my best,” said Hunt.
The play also showcases the radio station that launched Cline’s career in the United States and a radio booth is set up on stage, with Andrew Legg playing Little Big Man, a radio dj from WINC Winchester Radio.
“It is the actual radio station that launched Patsy Cline’s career and it’s still an established and running radio station down in the States,” said Legg.

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