About 10 years ago my family and I visited The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It was gorgeous. The thing I remember most was Mt Baldy, an enormous dune that we decided we just had to climb. By the grace of God we lived. Mt Baldy was so humongus, we had to stop and question our sanity about 6 times along the way.
About 4 years ago, we lived on Pensacola Beach in the Gulf of Mexico. We were reminded how small we were daily as we stared at the vast, beautiful ocean. It was so huge it left you completely breathless. We watched from the shore as dolphins and whales went about their daily lives in their gigantic home of emerald green.
About 24 hours ago, we found ourselves in Grand Rivers, Kentucky at the Always, Patsy Cline show. The talent and personalities of the two young ladies in the show made Mt Baldy and the Atlantic Ocean seem small.
Amy Davis Bruce (Patsy) and Sara Lynn Minihan (Louise) were absolutely amazing.
My generation isn’t really that familiar with Patsy Cline. Certainly we’ve heard her music, but it’s usually being perfomed by other performers. We’re familiar with how she tragically died, but we aren’t quite as familiar with how she lived. Another tragedy.
After watching Amy Davis Bruce, beautifully, play this American legend last night, I feel like I met Patsy Cline, herself. She brought her to life to the delight of everyone in the audience and left everyone wishing they’d gotten to meet this amazing lady.
Mrs. Bruce’s voice is so powerfully beautiful that I found myself wanting her to sing a lot more songs. I’d love nothing more than to hear her sing again, and the sooner the better. Since the performance, I’ve imagined this lovely singer/actress taking on songs by Faith Hill, Celine Dion, Martina McBride, and Patty Loveless. She’s blessed with the kind of talent that’d allow her to make any song her own.
The band was really something special, too. Since the days of Def Lepard and KISS, I’ve had a special fascination with drummers and the drummer last night (who happens to be married to Amy), Cole Bruce, was phenomenal. A great musician, in my opinion, is one that could put on a incredible show all by themselves – and this young man more than fits that description.
The same could be said of the other musicians as well. Eddie Holland (bass), Thomas Michael (guitar), and Scot Durham (piano) were amazing. Each played his instrument with energy and passion – you know, they played it like they meant it.
Let’s see… it seems like I’m forgetting someone…. Oh! The wallflower – Sara Lynn Minihan. Yeah, one of 
these days this girl might come out of her shell and…
Okay, we’ll throw the sarcasm out the back door and just tell it like it is. This actress honestly fascinates me. Like her husband, Bill Minihan, she sings, dances, acts, and is a comedic genius. Her personality comes shining through her performances and, trust me, that’s a very, very good thing. When she’s on the stage, you simply couldn’t look away, not that you’d want to.
As Patsy’s friend, Louise, Sara gave a performance last night that was as fun to watch as anything I’ve ever seen. Her energy and vivaciousness filled the entire theater. And boy could she tool around. (You’ll have to see the show to see what that means!) I’ve tried to get all of my adjectives to line up in a row for me but there are just too many of them. Let me put it this way: I’ve always thought that the world needed more ladies like my personal all-time favorite performer and idol, Lucille Ball.
Apparently God thought so, too.
I’ll never forget the Always…Patsy Cline show. Everything about it was completely flawless. It just had everything There was beautiful singing courtesy of Amy, side-splitting laughs courtesy of Sara, music you had to tap your toes and bob your head to, tears, cheers, and even dancing in the aisles.
You have to see this show. You won’t just thank me for sending you, you’ll love me.
To read more about the cast and even hear audio from the show, visit the Always Patsy Cline section of the website.
See 2013 dates for Always, Patsy Cline at Grand Rivers Variety.
