From sassy to heartbroken, 'Country Sunshine' salutes women's voices in country music

Always hospitable to country music, Milwaukee's about to bask in it for a couple of months.

"Country Sunshine: The Legendary Ladies of Nashville With Katie Deal," which the Milwaukee Repertory Theater opened Sunday night at its Stackner Cabaret, strolls through a wide swath of the country music songbook from Dottie West and Patti Page to Shania Twain.

Georgia native Deal previously performed at the Rep in 2015 as part of a John Denver tribute show. She's a cheerful leader here, a singer flexible enough to suggest the varying nuances of Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Reba McEntire without slavishly mimicking them.

Michael Ingersoll and Angela Ingersoll, who directed "Country Sunshine," run Chicago-based Artists Lounge Live, which has placed music-centered shows like this around the country. "Country Sunshine" follows the Artists Lounge template of a genial performer and a setlist filled with hits, but with enough surprises to keep from feeling algorithmic.

In her enthusiastic patter between songs and her total commitment in singing them, Deal comes across as a talented fangirl who got invited onstage and proved her worth — an experience she actually had with Loretta Lynn. One of her favorite words is "sassy," and she shines on tunes with that kind of attitude, like her McEntire-ish take on "Fancy" (written by Bobbie Gentry), and the Faith Hill hit "This Kiss."

While these songs cover a Crayola box range of emotions, they're direct and assertive, even when the feeling is sad or anxious or heartbroken, like Dolly Parton's "Jolene," which has transcended country music itself to become a standard performed by rock (The White Stripes) and jazz (John Scofield) musicians.

There's clever wordplay and more than a few daggers, too. One pleasure of "Country Sunshine" is being reminded of such pointed gems as Lynn's "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)" and Kitty Wells' bitter "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."

Somehow, the Rep has shoehorned a quintet on the tiny Stackner Cabaret stage in support of Deal: guitarist Bob Monagle, bassist Jeff Hamann, drummer Terry Smirl, pianist-vocalist Johnny Rodgers and singer Kristin Doty. Deal and Doty sound like they have great rapport: They duetted on "Tennessee Waltz" and "Ring of Fire," the latter accompanied only by Deal's acoustic guitar.

"Country Sunshine" will be nostalgic for some listeners, especially if they grew up with mothers who listened to country on the kitchen radio like I did. But there's no reason this show couldn't be an intergenerational experience; fans of the country side of Taylor Swift would find a lot to enjoy here.

If you go

"Country Sunshine: The Legendary Ladies of Nashville With Katie Deal" continues through Oct. 29 at the Stackner Cabaret, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, visit milwaukeerep.com or call (414) 224-9490.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Katie Deal brings 'Country Sunshine' to Milwaukee Repertory's cabaret