Familiar Faces Take On New Roles

Krista Brown-Trogdon as Patsy Cline in 2006

The Aracoma Story, Inc. is proud to announce its upcoming production of "Always, Patsy Cline." The show has been a fan favorite in this part of the coalfields ever since Melissa R. Frye and Krista Brown-Trogdon brought it to life for the very first time in 2006. Krista portrayed the legendary songstress, Patsy Cline while Melissa led the audience on a tour of Patsy's life as fan-turned-friend, Louise Seger.

Crowds sang along and danced in their seats-even during rain storms!  But they still wanted more! They got it four years later when Melissa and Krista reprised their roles for another season of Patsy in 2010. The friends shared a chemistry that simply created a magic on the stage.  They made sense together and to fans, their names became synonymous with the show.  

Crowd sitting through a rain storm during "Always, Patsy Cline"
at Liz Spurlock Amphitheater in 2006

Audiences loved the duo so much that "Always, Patsy Cline" became TAS Inc.'s most requested show in over 15 years. Now Logan County's favorite talented duo is back but in different roles. Melissa R. Frye  will not grace the stage in the 2023 production. Instead of performing, she has opted to focus solely on directing this time and has passed Louise's bouffant hair-do and western-style shirts to Krista. Melissa says she is excited about the fresh new feel Krista brings to Louise with her impeccable comedic timing. When an audience has high expectations of a show they love so dearly, there can be a little bit of pressure for a director to find just the right person to re-cast in a role people have already grown attached to. This can leave a director stressed and ready to jump off a cliff...but that wasn't a problem at all for Melissa. Audiences have already proven their love for one particular artist, and she was the obvious choice to breathe life and sound into the memories of Patsy Cline. Playing the titular role this time around is none-other than our local vocal powerhouse, Shana Nelson. We fell in love with Shana as Mike TeeVee in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" when she was just a young, spunky little thing.  Over the years, Shana has grown into a captivating performer with many unforgetable performances under her belt including Dorothy Gayle in "The Wizard of Oz" and Tracy Turnblad in "Hairspray." (Fun fact: Melissa, Krista, and Shana have all portrayed Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz.").  In 2014, Shana won the title of West Virginia's Teen Idol.  Audiences just love her and can't wait to see her as Patsy!

As much as we on the Board of Directors at TAS Inc. have heard cries for more Patsy Cline, we've also heard your pleas for live music. Many of you have expressed your desire to see musicians in the pit and some have even missed seeing shows because there wasn't an orchestra. Trust us, we would love to have a creek full of music players, too. (If you know any musicians who would like to join us, send them our way!) We are excited to say that, despite there being a drought in the sea of musicians in our area, some of the most talented in our community have stepped up to help bring Melissa's new vision of "Always, Patsy Cline" to the stage. Portraying Patsy's band are Ray Perry on lead guitar, Bill Miller on bass guitar, Taylor Miller on piano, Stevie Trent on steel guitar, and Zeke Durham on drums.  With so much musical talent grouped into one show, "Always, Patsy Cline" is going to be one for the ages!  

"Always, Patsy Cline" will be showing at Chapmanville Regional High School in Chapmanville, West Virginia .  Performance dates are March 10-12, 17-19, and 24-26.  Friday and Saturday shows start at 8pm and Sunday shows start at 3pm.  Tickets may be purchased at the gate or by phone at 304-752-0253.  The stage is in the school's theatre so there will be no need to bring your umbrellas this time!  We can't wait to see y'all there!

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www.thearacomastoryinc.com