A Diva in the House

Saturday, March 21, 2009
Indio Performing Arts Center
Indio, California

Story by Lisa Robyn Lawrence
Photos by Allen Lawrence and Pat Krause

For more Allen Lawrence photos of Patricia Welch, click here.

For more Pat Krause photos of Patricia Welch, click here.

 Patricia Welch, a living treasure trove of exceptional abilities and vocal talent, staged her “ Chameleon Performance” for a very appreciative audience at the Indio Performing Arts Center (IPAC), Sat., March 21. Welch has a vocal range of four octaves, which makes her a most versatile singer. The audience was not fully prepared for the vocal range, charismatic stage presence and exceptional abilities of this remarkable woman and her performance.

Indio Performing Arts Center General Business Manager David Clinton-Reid welcomed the audience and made a very exciting announcement — Indio Performing Arts Center is forming an Academy of the Arts. What a huge contribution to our community this will be. Clinton-Reid then graciously introduced Patricia Welch and “Chameleon Performance.”

Welch’s “ Chameleon Performance” was created to showcase the scope and depth of her vocal talent. Whether it was singing a familiar Broadway standard, “Think of Me,” from "Phantom of the Opera," or Pasty Cline’s “Crazy,” to “O Mio Babbino Caro” from Puccini, Nat King Cole's “Nature Boy,” a Melissa Manchester/Carole Bayer-Sager song “Come in From the Rain,” “Falling in Love with Love” by Rodgers and Hart or a song in French written and made famous by the great Edith Piaf “Le Vie En Rose,” “Miss You Like Crazy” by Michael Masser, and even a song for which Barbra Streisand wrote the lyrics “Someone I Used to Love.” Each song was performed showcased Ms. Welch’s vocal command of range, depth and scope of her instrument. Her arrangement of “Meadowlark,” from "The Bakers’ Wife" brought tears to many of the audience’s eyes, as she so elegantly told the tragic story with song and graceful expression.

Patricia Welch has much experience on stage and television. She had a starring role with Yul Brynner in the Broadway production of “The King and I” as Tuptim, the runaway wife of the king. She was a featured soloist and sang duets with the late Robert Goulet in two of his television specials and for two years was a featured soloist in The Wayne Newton show in Las Vegas. Welch has performed more than 200 concerts and was even in a nationally televised performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

Welch and her husband Pete DuBarry were so deeply touched by the tragedy of Sept. 11 that they wrote a patriotic song titled, “United We’ll Stand.” As a result, Welch was invited to perform it in Washington, D.C., at the Sept. 11, 2002, Memorial.

Welch was accompanied this evening by one of the valley’s most in-demand pianists, Dan Waddell, a huge talent in his own right. He was a perfect complement to Welch’s stellar performance. It was no surprise at the evening’s end that there was a standing ovation with pleas for an encore. Welch graciously performed “Impossible Dream,” from "The Man of La Mancha" in tribute to the memory of her late friend Robert Goulet. She earned another standing ovation. All agreed that Welch’s stage presence is captivating and truly of Broadway caliber.

A group of four people from the audience said they were glad they came all the way from Canada to see Welch’s performance. Ken and Alice Poetschke and Brenda and Ed Strasman, our Coachella Valley “Snow Birds” from White Rock (near Vancouver), British Columbia, all had a wonderful time and commented how they were pleasantly surprised at the high quality of performances that the IPAC offered at an affordable price too. They were especially pleased with the intimate comfort of the newly refurbished theater. They look forward to attending more performances at the IPAC this season and next year too.

The residents of the Coachella Valley have just begun to experience the many colors of Welch’s heavenly gift of a voice at the “ Chameleon Performance.” I hope to see and hear much more of her and thank you, Patricia, for providing us such an enchanting and uplifting evening. Brava!

Thank you to the management, professional and volunteer staff of the Indio Performing Arts Center for hosting a top-notch performance and offering many more plays and musical performances for our community. Go out to the IPAC and experience some high quality entertainment in the comfort of the newly refurbished Indio Performing Arts Center.

For more Allen Lawrence photos of Patricia Welch, click here.

For more Pat Krause photos of Patricia Welch, click here.

  For more information about Patricia Welch or to purchase her music, click here.

To hear Patricia Welch sing "United We'll Stand," click here.

For more information about Dan Waddell, click here.

For more information about the entertainment offered at the Indio Performing Arts Center, click here.