Some voices are simply unforgettable, and more than 60 years after her untimely death at just 30, Patsy Cline’s remains one of them. From the heartbreak of “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy” to the timeless appeal of “Walkin’ After Midnight,” her music continues to find new generations of fans, proving that some legacies really are built to last. Enter Love Never Dies: A Patsy Cline Anthology, an original theatrical tribute written by Joy Tilley Perryman and starring Courtney Linam as the legendary country songstress, accompanied by a live band. Rather than simply retracing the familiar milestones of Patsy’s life, Perryman takes a more intimate approach, imagining the singer reflecting on her journey in the moments before her final flight, weaving together memories, music, and the extraordinary story behind that unmistakable voice.
Linam and Perryman are bringing Patsy’s story to The Venue at Coosa Landing in Gadsden for two performances, November 7 and 8. Love Never Dies: A Patsy Cline Anthology is just the latest in a creative partnership has included costarring in both The Ritz’s 2024 presentation of Steel Magnolias and last year’s Queens of Heart at The Local Scene. Having reunited this past summer to present the anthology debut performances in Atlanta in July, then again just last month in nearby Oneonta, Alabama, this week’s presentation marks the show’s Gadsden premiere.
From discovering the woman behind the iconic voice and recreating her signature look to the inspiration behind an original Patsy Cline musical, Perryman and Linam’s latest creative adventure has plenty to dish about. JHPENTERTAINMENT caught up with both women for a Rapid Fire 20Q about the music, the memories, the magic of collaboration, and why, when it comes to Patsy Cline, Love Never Dies.
RAPID FIRE 20Q WITH LOVE NEVER DIES: A PATSY CLINE ANTHOLOGY STAR AND PLAYWRIGHT
RAPID FIRE WITH LOVE NEVER DIES: A PATSY CLINE ANTHOLOGY PLAYWRIGHT, JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN
JHPENTERTAINMENT: When did the idea of creating Love Never Dies: A Patsy Cline Anthology first begin to take shape?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: Courtney had played Patsy in Theatre of Gadsden’s production of Always…Patsy Cline. I did the costumes for that show and we had a great time working on together and she makes an utterly fantastic Patsy. Then a year later our dear friend, Mike Beecham approached us about bringing a Patsy show to his theatre in Atlanta. But he wanted something different that what was already out there, so I just decided to write a new show!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: For those who might be familiar with other Patsy Cline stage musicals like Always…Patsy Cline and A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, what makes Love Never Dies: A Patsy Cline Anthology unique?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: To write this show, I wanted to make it more of a memory play. As if Patsy were looking back on her life in those moments before the plane went down. So we start at the end. The last concert where Patsy performed was on March 3, 1963 at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, It was a benefit for DJ “Catcus” Jack Call. The last song she ever sang was “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone”. The lyrics are haunting and that is where we start our show and then back in time to her beginnings at the Grand Ole Opry.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Beyond the basic biographical details and familiar stories most fans know, were there lesser-known aspects of Patsy’s life, personality, relationships, or career that particularly surprised you or helped shape the anthology?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: Sitting down to decided the songlist and put the songs in some kind of order, made me really see how sad and tragic her life truly was. Besides the tragedy of a far too early death, Patsy overcame many hardships along the way.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: During her all-too-brief career as a recording artist, Patsy recorded more than 100 songs. Aside from the more familiar hits, have you included any deep-cuts to tell this story?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: The very first song is an extremely deep cut and it was quite difficult to find the sheet music. We never found it in Patsy’s key and had to have it transposed. Once you hear it it context of the show it is haunting and beautiful and totally perfect.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: You and Courtney have worked together repeatedly. What makes Courtney someone you keep coming back to as a creative collaborator, and how has your working relationship evolved over the years?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: I cannot really talk about Courtney without getting all gushing and fangirling and being all sentimental. She is one of the most talented people I have ever known. She stepped into my life at a time when I most desperately needed a creative collaborator and a dear friend. She is a superstar in all those regards. I cannot express how much she means to me and how blessed I am to call her friend. We joke and call ourselves the Bad Decision Sisters, but she is right by my side no matter how nutty the plans get or how impossible the project seems. Look out for our next venture! We are opening a booth at an antique mall called Bad Decision Sisters Shop! Coming at the end of November to Kolectic Treasures in Rainbow City, Alabama.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: You’re wearing several hats with this production: playwright, collaborator, and costumer. As costumer, how do you balance historical authenticity with the practical demands of a live theatrical performance?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: I have scoured hundreds of images of Patsy Cline. And I was able to recreate looks with modern fabrics so there is no worry about damaging an historical garment. I think I most proud of her first costume. It is almost an exact replica of the gown Patsy wore in her last concert and it appears onstage for exactly one song!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Patsy’s songs are famous for their emotional honesty, whether she’s singing about heartbreak, longing, resilience, or love. If Patsy were around today, what recent song might she have covered?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: So, lately we don’t have the girl singers that we used to have (sorry Ella, I do love you) so I think Patsy would have had to take a man’s song and change the perspective so it could be sung by a woman. For my money the best song this year as far as story telling and longing and just good music is Graylan James’ “Water at a Wedding”. I think Patsy would have worked that to suit her.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Patsy was only 30 when her life ended, but her career was already transforming the sound and reach of country music. As the writer looking at the full arc of her story, where do you imagine her career might have taken her had she lived to continue recording and performing for decades to come?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: I believe she would have continued to make hit records and be at the top of the charts until she decided she was ready to scale it back and enjoy grandkids and retirement.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: The title Love Never Dies feels particularly fitting for an artist whose music continues to connect with people long after her passing. Why was that the right title for this anthology, and what do you hope audiences understand about Patsy’s enduring legacy when they leave the theatre?
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: That phrase actually comes from part of the inscription on her tombstone. I hope that people will walk away with a new or deeper appreciation for her music and her legacy and the knowledge that as long as we continue to sing her music, the love never dies.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Having already presented Love Never Dies in Atlanta and nearby Oneonta and now bringing it to Gadsden for these two performances, have you and Courtney discussed taking the production on the road? Are there any plans for other cities eventually have the opportunity to experience your Patsy Cline anthology? I mean…Nashville is always up for a visit from you…just sayin’.
JOY TILLEY PERRYMAN: Having debuted this show back during the summer in Atlanta with EPIC Productions, this is our third production of the show. We are ready to go any and everywhere that will have us! Just give us a call and you know I am always ready to come back home to Music City!
RAPID FIRE WITH LOVE NEVER DIES: A PATSY CLINE ANTHOLOGY‘s COURTNEY LINAM
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Patsy Cline remains one of country music’s most beloved and influential voices, more than six decades after her death. What do you think it is about her voice, her music, and her story that continues to resonate with audiences across generations?
COURTNEY LINAM: Honesty. When Patsy sings, you believe every word, because she isn’t performing heartbreak, she’s living it right there in front of you. Her voice had this rare combination of power and tenderness. Her story matters too. She was a small-town girl from Virginia who fought her way into a business that didn’t make much room for women and she did it on her own terms. People still connect to that. Every generation has someone who’s been lonely, or lovesick, or underestimated, and Patsy’s songs meet them right where they are.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Every actor who portrays a legendary performer faces the challenge of honoring the original while bringing something of themselves to the role. How did you go about finding your Patsy Cline voice, and how do you balance imitation with interpretation?
COURTNEY LINAM: I listened. A lot. In the car, in the kitchen, before bed. I studied her phrasing, those little catches in her voice I refer to them as Patsy-isms, the way she’d lean into a note and then let it fall. Nobody can replace Patsy, and I’d never want to try. So my goal is to honor her style and her signature sound while singing from my own heart. The imitation gets you in the door; the interpretation is what makes people feel something. I want the audience to feel like they’re spending an evening with Patsy, not watching a copy of her.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Patsy was primarily a country artist, but her music crossed genres, earning her success on the pop charts as well. She was also part of the emerging Nashville Sound and recorded gospel music. How does exploring those different sides of her musical legacy influence your approach to portraying her?
COURTNEY LINAM: It reminds me that she was never just one thing. You’ve got the early honky-tonk Patsy, the cowgirl who could sing a rowdy, up tempo number, and then you’ve got the polished Nashville Sound Patsy with the strings and the smooth backing vocals, singing ballads that made the pop charts. And then the gospel side, which shows you where so much of that feeling came from. Each style asks something different of me vocally, but more than that, each one reveals a different side of who she was.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Patsy had a distinctive look as well as an unmistakable voice. With Joy Tilley Perryman serving as both the playwright and the show’s costumer, how much collaboration goes into bringing Patsy’s appearance to life? And do you have a favorite Patsy look or era that you especially enjoy recreating?
COURTNEY LINAM: So much! Joy has such an eye for detail, and because she wrote the show, she knows exactly what each moment needs to say, so the costumes are telling the story right along with the songs. We talk through every look, how it fits the era, how it moves on stage, and of course whether I can breathe and sing in it! As for a favorite, I have a real soft spot for the western-style outfits from her early years, the fringe and the boots. There’s something so spunky and fearless about that Patsy.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: In additon to this collaboration, you’ve also costarred alongside Joy in a couple of shows, so you’ve experienced her as a fellow performer as well as a writer. How is working with Joy the playwright different from working with Joy the costar?
COURTNEY LINAM: As a costar, Joy is just so incredible. I’ve loved watching her work and learning from her as a fellow actress. As a playwright, she’s the keeper of the vision. She knows why every line and every song is where it is, and she can tell you exactly what she’s hoping a scene will make the audience feel. What’s the same in both is her heart. Joy wrote this show as a love letter to Patsy, and the fact that she created this role with me in mind means more to me than I can say. And she’s not only beside me on stage or watching from the house. She’s also on the sidelines, because she has been my “dresser” in every production in which I’ve portrayed Patsy Cline, and this will be my fourth time! She stays so calm during those really fast changes, and that allows me to stay in character. We laugh because I’ve become so needy of her being my dresser, although I know one day I’ll have to let her go so she can just relax and enjoy the show. Wherever she is, I always know she’s got my back.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Love Never Dies is presented with a live band, which brings its own energy and immediacy to Patsy’s music. What can you tell me about the musicians accompanying you?
COURTNEY LINAM: Oh, I am so incredibly lucky! We’ve got Deborah Sarcinelli on piano, Sid Brown on drums, Rob Bruce on guitar, Nick Staff on bass, and Butch Dixon on pedal steel. Every one of them is incredibly talented, and together they bring so many years of musical experience to this stage. The second that band starts playing, you’re transported straight back to 1960s Nashville. Honestly, the music they make is so beautiful that sometimes I get lost in it and almost forget I’m supposed to be singing! A live band changes everything.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: The show features nearly 30 tunes recorded by Cline during her career. Is there a particular song in the anthology that feels especially personal to you, or one that challenges you in a way the others don’t?
COURTNEY LINAM: “Crazy” is the one that challenges me every single time. Everyone knows it, everyone has her version in their head, and it’s deceptively hard. It’s slow, it’s exposed, and the phrasing has to feel effortless even though it’s anything but. As for personal favorites, I love singing “Two Cigarettes in an Ashtray.” It tells such a great story, and it’s so much fun to sing. I also really love “Eyes of a Child.” It’s so hopeful and beautiful, and between the song and the gorgeous dialogue Joy wrote leading into it, I get chills every time. They’re two very different songs, so it’s hard to pick just one!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Joy’s theatre background covers a lot of bases, having been an actress, costumer, playwright, producer and more. Does having a collaborator who understands the material from so many different angles help you inhabit Patsy and tell her story?
COURTNEY LINAM: Absolutely. Joy understands what it feels like to be the one standing in the light, so when she gives a note, she knows what she’s asking of an actor. But she also sees the whole picture: the costumes, the pacing, the music, what the audience needs and when. That means nothing is an afterthought. When everything around me is so thoughtfully built, I can stop worrying about the details and just be Patsy. That kind of trust is rare, and it frees me up to go deeper every performance.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Patsy’s life and career were tragically cut short when she died at just 30, yet her influence has only grown. When you think about the years of music and artistic evolution she never got to experience, what do you imagine the next chapter of her career might have looked like?
COURTNEY LINAM: I think about this all the time. She was only just getting started. I imagine she would have kept crossing over. She had the voice for pop, for torch songs, even for jazz standards, and I can picture her on the big Las Vegas stages and on television variety shows. I also think she would have become a mentor. She was already looking out for younger women like Loretta Lynn, and I believe she would’ve been a fierce advocate for women in country music for decades. In true Patsy fashion,she would have kept doing it all her own way.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: After revisiting Patsy’s life and music through this anthology, what do you hope audiences will take away about the woman behind the songs—and what do you hope they carry with them after the final note?
COURTNEY LINAM: I hope they see that behind the legend was a real woman: funny, tough, loving, sometimes stubborn, and deeply devoted to her family and her friends. She wasn’t just a voice on a record; she was a person who fought hard for her dreams and gave everything she had to her music. And after the final note, I hope people carry home the memories of their own loved ones that come rushing back when they hear those Patsy songs. Patsy’s music has always kept me close to the memory of my Meemaw, and I know so many people in that audience have someone they think of when “Crazy” or “Walkin’ After Midnight” comes on. The people we love, and the music that moves us, don’t really leave us. Patsy’s grave marker reads, “Death cannot kill what never dies: Love”. Patsy’s been gone more than 60 years, and she’s still filling rooms with feeling. That’s a legacy worth celebrating.
Love Never Dies: A Patsy Cline Anthology starring Courtney Linam as Patsy Cline, with a live band, in an original production written by Joy Tilley Perryman and presented by Joy’s Jubilations arrives at The Venue at Coosa Landing (201 George Wallace Drive, Gadsden, AL 35903) for two performances, Saturday, November 7 at 7:30pm and a Sunday matinee November 8 at 2:30pm. Tickets are $22.37 (fees included). All seating is General Admission with doors opening half and hour prior to each showtime. Purchase Tickets HERE.
To keep up with Joy’s Jubilations and what’s next, find them on Facebook. And as Perryman mentioned, something tells me a Bad Decision Sisters Facebook page is in the works for this dynamic duo’s non-theatrical endeavors.
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