Stand By Your Man a Tribute to Tough Minded Country Legend

Even if you're not familiar with the music of legendary singer and songwriter Tammy Wynette, the First Lady of Country Music, you’ll enjoy the play Stand By Your Man now playing at the Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma.

Written by Mark St. Germain and named after one of Wynette’s biggest hits, Stand By Your Man tells the story of Wynette’s life, from the early days picking cotton in Mississippi to her rise as a country music star, becoming the first female artist to sell a million country albums.

Wynette was an early working-class feminist and fiercely independent, and she struggled with finding her place in marriage and wanting a career when it was not fashionable for women to work. She worked hard to emerge from being a “couples” performer to standing in her own spotlight in the male-dominated music industry of her time.

Despite poverty, illness, opposition to her career from family and the male- dominated music industry and later, drug addition, Wynette hit song after hit song with a gut-wrenching honesty audiences could relate to. 

Directed by Elizabeth Craven, the play is a bit of a musical marathon. Shannon Rider, who stars as Wynette, performs an astonishing 30 songs. Some musical numbers, like the overly sentimental “Bedtime Story,” could have been cut without compromising the integrity of the play. Audiences would have left plenty satisfied by the performance of Wynette’s big hits such as “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “Apartment Number Nine,” “Your Good Girl is Gonna Go Bad” and “Stand By Your Man.”

Rider, a musician in her own right for over 10 years, played well against co-star Jim Peterson as Wynette’s most famous husband, musician George Jones. There was good chemistry between the two and their duets, including “We’re Not The Jet Set,” were musical highlights. Not to mention each number backed by an outstanding six-piece country band that included musicians Dave Zirbel, Chris Rovetti, Jim Peterson, Tim Sarter, Stuart Rabinowitz and Paul Urquhart.

The nearly 2½ hour performance exhibited clever staging with minimal props, great vintage costumes and nice momentum throughout the first act. It lagged a bit in the middle of the second act but the solid and witty performance of Mollie Boice, who played multiple roles including Mee Maw, Wynette's mother and her beautician mentor, carried us through the slow parts.

It’s not easy to chronicle 44 years of a person’s life and both writer and director should be congratulated on undertaking such an ambitious project. A few scenes seemed superfluous, like Wynette’s marriage to Michael Tomlin, and didn’t further the story. The play might have been able to achieve more emotional depth in portraying the tragic parts of Wynette’s life had it not been so literal to the chronology of events.

You don’t have to be a fan of country music to enjoy this play. The music is entertaining and if you like biographical stories that reveal complexities of character, don’t miss Stand By Your Man, playing now through April 10th at the .

The Lowdown: March 25-April 16, 2011 at the Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd. North. Performances at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays April 3, and April 10.  Tickets $35 General, $32 Seniors 65 and over, $25 for those under 30. Tickets can be purchased at the door but reservations are highly recommended and can be made . If landlines are your thing, you can reach the theater at 707-763-8920 Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.