Bright Star on Broadway: Show Is Now Closed
Bright Star Summary
- Show Status: Closed
- Genre: Musical
- Bright Star is 2.5 Hours long, including an intermission of 15 Minutes
- 8 Shows per week
- Previews Began: February 25, 2016
- Show Opened : March 24, 2016
- Show Closed: June 26, 2016
Bright Star is a new musical coming to the Broadway spring season following its world premiere in 2014 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, followed by a winter 2015-2016 run at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Bright Star tells the story of a North Carolina magazine editor named Alice Murphy who becomes the center of love stories set in the 1920s and 1940s. The story unfolds in the Blue Ridge Mountains between 1923 to 1945, as Billy Cane comes home from World War II where he served as a soldier.
What's Bright Star Like?
When Billy meets Alice, together they discover a series of stories that change their lives. The show is directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie (Venus in Fur, High Fidelity, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas), and stars Carmen Cusack (Wicked), who received excellent reviews in her San Diego performance. She is joined by Tony Award nominees Dee Hoty and Stephen Bogardus, as well as Paul Alexander Nolan and A.J. Shively in the role of Billy Cane. This musical is directed by Walter Bobbie who also directed the musicals, Footloose in 1998 and Chicago in 1996. With a brilliant Americana score mixing bluegrass with a touch of rock, this show is an excellent addition to the Broadway season.
Is Bright Star Good for Kids?
The show is recommended for children aged 12 and up. Children under the age of 4 will not be permitted in the theatre.
Bright Star on Broadway Background
The show has a score co-written by multi-hyphenate actor screenwriter musician Steve Martin, along with singer-songwriter Edie Brickell. Brickell is married to Paul Simon, of Simon & Garfunkel, and is an established musician in her own right, with her band Edie Brickell & New Bohemians 1988 album “Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars” having gotten to number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. Steve Martin, on the other hand, is very well known for his acting roles in such films as Father of the Bride, It’s Complicated, Bowfinger, Bringing Down the House, Cheaper By The Dozen, and many more. However, he is also a versatile musician, having played the banjo since an early age, and having won a Grammy Award along with Earl Scruggs in 2002 for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Furthermore, he released his first solo album in 2009, The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, which won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Bright Star is his newest musical collaboration, with a bluegrass based score that has received excellent notices in its previous run.
Theatre Information
James Earl Jones Theatre
New York, NY 10019
Cast Members
- Alice Murphy
- Carmen Cusack
- Daddy Murphy
- Stephen Lee Anderson
- Margo Crawford
- Hannah Elless
- Jimmy Ray Dobbs
- Paul Alexander Nolan
- Lucy Grant
- Emily Padgett
- Billy Cane
- AJ Shively
- Daddy Cane
- Stephen Bogardus
- Mayor Josiah Dobbs
- Michael Mulheren
- Mama Murphy
- Dee Hoty
Producers
Joey Parnes
Sue Wagner
John Johnson
40 Share Productions Inc.
Jay Alix
Una Jackman
James L. Nederlander
The Old Globe (Associate Producer)
Production Credits
- Direction
- Walter Bobbie
- Set Design
- Eugene Lee
- Sound Design
- Nevin Steinberg
- Musical Supervision
- Peter Asher
- Orchestrations
- August Eriksmoen
- Light Design
- Japhy Weideman
- Musical Direction
- Rob Berman
- Choreography
- Josh Rhodes
- Costume Design
- Jane Greenwood
- Lyrics
- Edie Brickwell
- Book
- Steve Martin
- Music
- Steve Martin + Edie Brickwell
- Production Stage Manager
- Michael J Passaro
Creative Team
- General Manager
- Joey Parnes Productions LLC
- Company Manager
- Cathy Kwon at Joey Parnes Productions LLC
- Casting Director
- Howard Cherpakov
- Technical Supervisor
- Larry Morley at United Staging & Rigging
- Advertising Representative
- SPOTCo
- Press Agent
- DKC/O&M