Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Episode 20: Patsy Cline in Hell

Donna Perrino, aka Horror Show, has put out an audition notice for another production of A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, the show she mangled and mismanaged last season. The funniest part is that she's holding auditions for the five-piece band as well, apparently not aware that theatres do not generally audition musicians.

Significantly, Gail Bliss who starred in the production at the Ivory last season, is not returning. That can hardly be a surprise considering the wild and bizarre abuse Bliss and the rest of the cast and staff suffered under Perrino's pudgy hand.

But now the folks who saw the show last year may well buy tickets to come see it again, thinking they're going to get the remarkable Gail Bliss in the title role. As talented as the talent pool is here in the Lou, is there anyone here who can sing and look like Patsy Cline? We're told that Cline's husband has seen Bliss do the show and told her he had never seen anyone capture Cline like she does. Odds are there's not another performer like that here in town. Cline had a very unique voice...

But all that aside, who in the St. Louis theatre community would work with Perrino after the gobs of press coverage about her abuses and insanity? Let's hope whoever considers auditioning will take a look at this humble compendium of horrors first... And if they do get hired, let's hope they demand to be paid in cash and in advance! Perrino has a nasty little habit of bouncing checks and refusing to pay people... Just ask the folks who did the Patsy Cline show last time...

The adventure continues.

Sic Semper Tyrannis!
An Ivory Survivor