"Flipside: The Patti Page Story" at 59E59 Theater A
“Flipside” at 59E59 Theater A Written and Directed by Greg White with Patti Page Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Google ‘flipside’ and cumulate a variety of search results: from the online fantasy manga/comic to the burger and bar restaurant in downtown Fairfield. The term as it refers to the B-side of a vinyl record is rarely used today with the advent of CD’s, the iPod, and other mp3 players.
‘Flipside’ is used to indicate the B-side of a vinyl 45-rpm record and is the perfect extended metaphor for Greg White’s delightful telling of the Patti Page story. Haley Jane Pierce plays Patti Page in the present and Lindsie Vanwinkle plays Patti Page in the past. Ms. Pierce is the Patti Page before she was known by that name and her rueful Clara Ann Fowler projects memories of her career in a series of fantasy flashbacks onto the stage as she “watches” Ms. Vanwinkle rehearse those memories in real time.
Ms. Pierce is effective as the mature Patti Page who wonders what she might have given up in her rise to stardom and which “side” of Patti was the real Patti Page: the vulnerable Clara Ann from Tulsa Oklahoma or the rising star who invented “singing four-part harmony with herself.” And Ms. Vanwinkle’s performance is spot-on as the Patti Page from Tulsa to the Copacabana in New York City singing “Boogie-Woogie Santa Claus.”
“Flipside” features twenty-six Patti Page hits which complement Clara Ann’s recounting of the vicissitudes of the singer’s life and career. Perhaps the tenderest recollection is that of how one of Ms. Page’s most memorable songs “Tennessee Waltz” began as the flipside of what Jack Rael thought would be the hit song: “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.”
The little girl from Oklahoma becomes the Grammy Award winning superstar who forms her own record label CAF Records. “Flipside” tells this story with grace and dignity and, thanks to the ensemble cast and the band, leaves the audience wanting to hear Ms. Page sing live in the present which she does on a regular basis.
FLIPSIDE: THE PATTI PAGE STORY
Conductor and music director Sandra Thompson leads an eight-piece orchestra on stage. The design team includes Matt Avra (scenic design); Art Whaley (lighting design), Corey Martin (costume design); Sun Hee Kil (sound design). The choreographer is Shannon Hurleigh. The musical arrangements are by Zac Lee, with vocal arrangements by Melissa Griffith. The Production Stage Manager is Ben Whaley.
The cast of “Flipside: The Patti Page Story features Haley Jane Pierce, Lindsie VanWinkle, Willy Welch, Justin Larman, Jenny Rottmayer and Kassie Carroll.
“Flipside: The Patti Page Story” runs for a limited engagement of thirteen performances through Sunday, December 30, 2012. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:00 PM; Friday at 8:00 PM; Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $60 ($42 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
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