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‘Honky Tonk Angels’ is all about the music
By DAVID MUNNELL
NILES
I hate country music.
Perhaps it’s the subject matter. Perhaps it’s because I’m trying to run away from my more blue-collar roots. Either way, the style has always been one of the few that I’ve stayed away from. In fact, when I sat down to watch “Honky Tonk Angels” at Trumbull New Theatre I absolutely intended to run my red pen of doom through the entire production.
But something happened during the opening number. The song started simply enough, but then three voices blended together in perfect harmony and I was hooked the rest of the night. You will be too.
The story behind “Honky Tonk Angels” is practically negligible even though it’s slightly based on the careers of Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.
It begins with three women from different backgrounds all seeking the same dream of becoming country music stars in grand old Nashville, Tenn. Needless to say, they meet each other and decide to start a trio.
The show follows Angela, the self-proclaimed “Queen of the Doublewide,” played by Jenny Long; Sue Ellen, the stuck-in-a-rut secretary from Los Angeles, played by Christine Hambach Weatherman; and the backwoods darling Darlene, played by Hannah Gillespie. They each break out of their respective shells and hop a train to Nashville.
The script is purely from the realm of cheese. But this show isn’t about the script; it’s about the music. And it doesn’t disappoint.
Besides the three main singers and their backups, the “Angelettes,” Alan Purdum leads the band on bass. Joining him is Linda Crank on piano, Tom Hitmar on guitar, Robin Sanders on guitar, banjo, and mandolin, Bill Clark on steel guitar, and Mike Ognibene/Jim Donadio on drums. Without this ensemble, this show would not be as enjoyable.
The three main singers — Long, Weatherman and Gillespie — are absolutely dynamic. By listening to their amazing voices, it’s easy to forget that they are actually actresses playing roles and not straight-up country music stars. Not a single note is out of place and they blend perfectly. In fact, they made me like country music.
Not to be overshadowed, the Angelettes — Nicole Bowden, Kathy Purdum and Susan E-J Dalessandro — do an adequate job backing up the main vocals and even have their moment to shine in the opening of act two. While impressive in their own right, there were a few moments where they seemed to forget that they were backup singers and not soloists.