Bright Star
First Preview Feb 25, 2016
Opening Night Mar 24, 2016
Closing Open Run
Cort Theatre on Broadway
Reviews
Meet Alice Murphy. If you knew her story, you wouldn’t believe it. Inspired by an astonishing true event, the wholly original new musical BRIGHT STAR tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and 40s. When successful literary editor Alice Murphy meets an ambitious young soldier just home from World War II, their connection inspires Alice to confront a shocking incident from her past. Together they discover a long-buried secret with the power to transform their lives.
Directed by Walter Bobbie
The New York Times, Review of Bright Star at the Old Globe theatre in San Diego 29th Sept 2014 The shining achievement of the musical is its winsome country and bluegrass score, with music by Mr. Martin and Ms. Brickell, and lyrics by Ms. Brickell. The complicated plot, divided between two love stories that turn out to have an unusual connection, threatens to get a little too diffuse and unravel like a ball of yarn rolling off a knitter’s lap. But the songs yearning ballads and square-dance romps rich with fiddle, piano and banjo, beautifully played by a nine-person band provide a buoyancy that keeps the momentum from stalling. Visit New York Times Here
From award-winning screenwriter and playwright Steve Martin (Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Roxanne) and chart-topping singer-songwriter Edie Brickell comes a world premiere American musical inspired by their Grammy Award-winning collaboration Love Has Come For You. Bright Star features 25 new song’s Americana with a touch of rock”and tells a beguiling tale that unfolds in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina between 1923 and 1945. Billy Cane, a young soldier just home from World War II, meets Alice Murphy, the brilliant editor of a southern literary journal. Together they discover a powerful secret that alters their lives. Tony Award-winning director Walter Bobbie (Broadway’s Chicago) makes his Globe debut with this entertaining musical of enduring love, family ties, and the light of forgiveness that shines from a bright star.
The Cast
CARMEN CUSACK (Alice Murphy)Credits include – West End: Fantine, Les Miserables. Christine, Phantom of the Opera. Rose, The Secret Garden (R.S.C). North America: Nellie Forbush, South Pacific (1st Nat’l Tour/Kennedy Center/Toronto). Annie McDougan, First Wives Club (Oriental, Chicago). Dot/Marie, Sunday in the Park with George (Chicago Shakespeare). Lynn Gardner, Carrie (MCC, NY). Elphaba, Wicked (Chicago/1st National Tour). Having played her in the first staged reading of Bright Star (2013 New York Stage & Film Powerhouse Theater), through its 2014 production at the Old Globe, Carmen is thrilled to return to the Kennedy Center and introduce you all to Alice. carmencusack.com |
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PAUL ALEXANDER NOLAN (Jimmy Ray Dobbs)proudly makes his Kennedy Center debut with Bright Star. Most recently he was off-Broadway in Daddy Long Legs directed by John Caird. Broadway: Pasha/Strelnikov in Doctor Zhivago (2015 OCC nomination), Guy in Once, Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. Regional: Aida (Kansas City Starlight), Jesus Christ Superstar and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (LJP), six seasons with the Stratford Festival where his roles included Orlando in As You Like It, Al in Grapes of Wrath, Valvert in Cyrano de Bergerac, Tony in West Side Story (dir. Gary Griffin), Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Cousin Kevin in The Who’s Tommy. paulalexandernolan.com |
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MICHAEL MULHERENÂ (Mayor Josiah Dobbs)Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee for Kiss Me Kate. Other Broadway: Spider-man, Looped, Farnsworth Invention, Deuce, La Cage, Boy From Oz, Titanic and On The Waterfront. Off-Broadway: Floyd Collins, The Fantasticks and Cocoanuts. Television: All NYC Soaps, recurring roles on “Salem,” “Person of Interest,” “Rescue Me,” “Royal Pains” and “Law and Order.” Guest Spots on “Gotham,” “Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods” and 20 other series. A bakers dozen films by such directors as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Richard Donner. Love always to Amanda, Conor and Fiona. |
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A.J. SHIVELY (Billy Cane)Broadway: La Cage Aux Folles; Brigadoon (Benefit Concert). Nat’l Tour: The Sound of Music. Off-Broadway: February House (The Public); Unlocked (Prospect); ...Guide To A Successful Marriage (Cherry Lane); Things To Ruin (Second Stage); Little Airplanes Of The Heart (Ensemble Studio Theatre); ReWrite (Urban Stages). Regional: Old Globe; Center Stage; TUTS; George Street; Long Wharf; TheatreWorks; Gulfshore Playhouse; Sharon Playhouse. TV/Film: “The Daily Show;” Syrup; HairBrained; Nobody Walks In LA; No One Asked Me (upcoming). BFA: University of Michigan. |
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HANNAH ELLESS (Margo Crawford)Broadway: Godspell (Bless the Lord). TV/Film: Glee (FOX), The Lake Effect, Before Winter, and the upcoming film When Mary Met Ally. Off-B-way: The Other Josh Cohen. Select Regional: Hamlet (Ophelia), Phaedra (Aricia), Henry V (Katharine), Private Lives (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Ms. Elless is also an accomplished musician, playing more than six instruments. EP solo album out soon. @HannahElless |
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STEPHEN BOGARDUS (Daddy Cane)has appeared on Broadway in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Old Acquaintance, Man of La Mancha, James Joyce’s The Dead, High Society, King David, Love! Valour! Compassion! (Tony nom., Obie Award), Falsettos, The Grapes of Wrath, Les Miserables, and West Side Story. Off-Broadway: Passion (CSC), Go Back To Where You Are, March of the Falsettos, and Falsettoland (Playwrights Horizons) and The Pavilion (Rattlestick). TV and Film: Gold (2016), Julie and Julia, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Blacklist, Elementary,The Good Wife and Smash. |
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DEE HOTY (Mama Murphy)Dee Hoty played Aunt Alicia in Gigi at the Kennedy Center and on Broadway. She earned Tony nominations for starring roles in Footloose, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, and The Will Rogers Follies. Dee starred on Broadway and in eight major U.S. cities as Donna in Mamma Mia! More Broadway: Bye Bye Birdie (Roundabout), City of Angels (Outer Critics Circle Nominations), Me and My Girl, Big River, The Five O’Clock Girl, and Shakespeare’s Cabaret. Otterbein College graduate/Honorary Doctorate. Actorʼs Equity. www.deehoty.com. Twitter: @deehoty. |
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STEPHEN LEE ANDERSON (Daddy Murphy)Theatre: Richard III, Old Vic (London) and BAM, dir: Sam Mendes, The Iceman Cometh, BAM. Broadway: 10 productions to include: Spider-man, Wicked, Julius Caesar, The Crucible, Footloose, The Capeman and The Kentucky Cycle. Off-Broadway: Violet, Floyd Collins (Playwrights Horizons), Atlantic Theater Company, Vineyard Theatre, MTC. Regional: San Diego Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Huntington Theatre (IRNE Award Best Supporting Actor, Bus Stop), Long Wharf, Denver Center (seven seasons). Film/TV: The Treatment, Daredevil, Public Morals, OITNB, and more. |
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EMILY PADGETT (Lucy Grant)Broadway: Side Show (Daisy Hilton), Rock of Ages (Sherrie Christian), Legally Blonde, Grease. Regional: Side Show (La Jolla, San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award; Kennedy Center, Helen Hayes Nomination), Waterfall (Pasadena Playhouse), White Noise (Royal George Theatre). First National Tour: Grease (Sandy), Flashdance The Musical (Alex Owens). TV: “Louie,” “America’s Got Talent.” NY Workshop: Nobody Loves You dir. Pam MacKinnon, Diner dir. Kathleen Marshall. Instagram/Twitter @MissEmPadgett |
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JEFF BLUMENKRANTZ (Daryl Ames)Actor: Kennedy Center: How to Succeed…, Bells Are Ringing. Broadway: Into the Woods, Threepenny Opera, Damn Yankees, How to Succeed, A Class Act. Off-Broadway: Murder for Two (Lortel nomination), Anyone Can Whistle (Encores). NY Philharmonic: Sweeney Todd (Live from Lincoln Center), Candide (Great Performances). TV/Film: 30 Rock,The Good Wife, Joseph Dreamcoat, Will and Grace,Law and Order(s). Composer: Urban Cowboy (Tony nomination). 2011 Fred Ebb Award. Commissions from Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Guggenheim. www.jeffblumenkrantz.com |
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MADDIE SHEA BALDWIN (Swing, u/s Margo Crawford)Regional credits: Daisy (Make Me Bad, BPP), Sidekick (ACE, The Old Globe), Bootsie Who (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Old Globe), Amy March (Little Women, North Coast Rep.). Indiana University MT Grad 2015. Special thanks to Nicolosi & Co, my supportive family and God who makes all things possible. |
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ALLISON BRINER (Ensemble, u/s Mama Murphy)Original company of Bright Star at The Old Globe. Broadway: Mamma Mia!. National Tours: Follies at The Ahmanson LA, Mamma Mia!, White Christmas, Les Miserables, Titanic. Off-Broadway: Forbidden Broadway, Listen to My Heart, Return to the Forbidden Planet. Over 25 regional theatre credits. TV: The Carrie Diaries,Law and Order, SVU,All My Children, One Life to Live. |
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MAX CHERNINÂ (Ensemble, u/s Daryl Ames, Billy Cane)joins Bright Star at the Kennedy Center following the production at The Old Globe. Recent credits include: Brooklynite (Vineyard Theatre), and Claudio Quest (NYMF). Readings: I Love You, Anita Bryant (Ars Nova), and Darling (Weston Playhouse) TV: The Family,Mozart In The Jungle. CCM Alum. Much love to the cast and creatives, friends, family, and Nicolosi & Co. www.maxchernin.com |
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PATRICK CUMMINGS (Ensemble, u/s Jimmy Ray Dobs)New York credits: New Girl in Town, Donnybrook and Transport (Irish Repertory Theatre), It Must Be Him (Peter J. Sharp Theater), and Happiness (Mitzi Newhouse Theater). Regional credits: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Papermill Playhouse, The Pittsburgh CLO, Kansas City Starlight, Moonlight Amphitheater, Musical Theatre West and more. T.V./Film: Hostages (Robert Harper) and Pittsburgh!. BFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon. |
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SANDRA DeNISEÂ (Ensemble, u/s Alice Murphy, Lucy Grant, Mama Murphy)Atlanta native and NYU Grad. Broadway: Kinky Boots OBC), Gentleman’s Guide. 1st National Equity Tours: Rent, Parade, Saturday Night Fever, Hairspray (Penny), Jersey Boys, Shrek. TV/Film: Gilmore Girls,That 70’s Show, Georgia Rule. Thanks to SMS Agency. Much love and gratitude to Dad, Jenny, and Ryan. For Mom…the brightest star in the sky. sandradenise.com |
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RICHARD GATTA (Swing, Dance Captain, u/s Daryl Ames)is thrilled to be performing at The Kennedy Center and on Broadway with Bright Star. NYC/Tour: Zorba!, Cinderella (1st National), Billy Elliot (Asst. Resident Choreographer), Fiddler on the Roof w/ Topol & Harvey Fierstein, The Pajama Game, Grease (Asia). Northeast Ballet Co. (Assistant Artistic Director). Special thanks to Josh! www.richardgatta.com |
Creative
Produced by Joey Parnes
Book by Steve Martin
Music by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
Lyrics by Edie Brickell
Based on an original story by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell
Musical Director: Rob Berman
Vocal arrangements by Rob Berman
Music orchestrated by August Eriksmoen
Directed by Walter Bobbie
Choreographed by Josh Rhodes
Scenic Design by Eugene Lee
Costume Design by Jane Greenwood
Lighting Design by Japhy Weideman
Sound Design by Nevin Steinberg
Hair and Wig Design by Tom Watson
General Manager: Joey Parnes Productions
Company Manager: Cathy Kwon
Technical Supervisor: Larry Morley
Musical Supervisor: Peter Asher
Cort Theatre on Broadway Address / Wheelchair Access HERE
Book Tickets Now at Theatregold.com
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