By Gillian Brunette
Leisa Way is returning to the town where, three years ago, she debuted her Patsy Cline tribute show.
Sweet Dreams – A Tribute to Patsy Cline takes the Algonquin Theatre stage this Saturday, July 25, at 8 p.m.
“Huntsville and the Algonquin Theatre were the start of what has become an amazing tour,” said Way, who also portrayed Cline in the stage musical A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline.
WAY TO GO: Leisa Way takes time out for a photo with Tom Thomson outside the Algonquin Theatre earlier this month. Way brings Sweet Dreams: A Tribute to Patsy Cline to Huntsville this Saturday, July 25.
The perky, petite blonde, becomes Patsy Cline in an instant when kitted out in black wigs, cowboy hat, boots and adopting the singer’s trademark deep voice. Quite the change for the soprano who once played Peter Pan and Anne in Anne of Green Gables for the Charlottetown Festival.
Way was born in Kitchener, raised in Sudbury and has deep northern Ontario roots. Her mother hailed from Callander and her father from Powassan. From a musical background with family gatherings full of music and laughter, she says of the three children in her family she was the lucky one who got all the musical talent.
Way loves the Huntsville area, and she and her husband, actor David Nairn, who is also the artistic director of Theatre Orangeville, often vacation at the Nor’Loch Lodge in Dwight. “We were just there a few weeks ago. Our tax guy is in Huntsville,” Way said, with a tinkly laugh.
It was at the Banff School of Fine Arts that Way developed a love of musical theatre, starring over the years in shows such as Crazy For You, Showboat, The Sound of Music and Grease. During that time, Way found her ‘musical belt,’ which allowed her to hit the back wall of a theatre when she sang in a lower vocal range. That opened up a whole new world for the soprano.
“A lot of people don’t have a great belt voice. Barbra Streisand is one and Patsy Cline another, ” she said.
The show Way is bringing to Huntsville differs from the last in that there are more songs and less dialogue, Way said. “I told so many stories about Patsy Cline last time; I could talk all day about her there are so many funny stories, but I’ve honed it, so there is more music - 29 songs in total.”
Included in that number are several songs that Cline only ever sang live and were never recorded. There are a couple of songs, which are lovely, that people will not know Patsy did unless they were at one of her shows, Way explained.
Way has just completed a 22-concert tour playing to sold-out audiences everywhere. “In one theatre in Morrisburg, we did several shows and close to 5,000 people came to see us,” she said.
After three years, Way still enjoys portraying her alter ego. “She was so loving, so giving, so full of life. It’s a joy to embody someone who was so well loved.” Patsy Cline was killed in an air crash at the age of 30, but lives on in the hearts of many of her fans. This is one show that is sure to sell out, organizers say.
Tickets are $35 and $20 for youth under 18 and available at the Algonquin Theatre box office, 789-4975 or online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca.
