Audrey Cardwell To Tell Her Story as Alice in BRIGHT STAR Tour, New Cast Announced

Producer Joey Parnes announced today new casting for the US Tour of Bright Star, the new musical from Grammy®, Emmy® and Academy Award®-winning Steve Martin and Grammy Award®-winning Edie Brickell.

Audrey Cardwell will play Alice Murphy, the North Carolina magazine editor at the center of the story. The tour also stars David Atkinson as Daddy Cane, Jeff Austin as Mayor Josiah Dobbs, Jeff Blumenkrantz as Daryl Ames, Allison Briner-Dardenne as Mama Murphy, Patrick Cummings as Jimmy Ray Dobbs, Kaitlyn Davidson as Lucy Grant, Henry Gottfried as Billy Cane, Liana Hunt as Margo Crawford and John Leslie Wolfe as Daddy Murphy.

Rounding out the ensemble are Devin Archer, Kelly Baker, Hayden Clifton, Cody Davis, Robin De Lano, David Kirk Grant, Donna Louden, Kevin McMahon, Mary Page Nance, Alessa Neeck, Robert Pieranunzi and Michael Starr.

Bright Star, with direction by Tony Award® winner Walter Bobbie and choreography by Josh Rhodes, won the 2016 Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical and Best Score and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music. It also received five 2016 Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Lead Actress in a Musical and Best Orchestrations.

Inspired by a real event, this original musical tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and '40s. Propelled by an ensemble of onstage musicians and dancers, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion, beautiful melodies and powerfully moving performances. Bright Star -as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful-is a "shining achievement" (The New York Times).

Bright Star's creative team includes Tony and Emmy Award® winner Eugene Lee (Scenic Design), Tony Award® winner Jane Greenwood (Costume Design), Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman(Lighting Design), Tony Award nominee Nevin Steinberg (Sound Design), Tom Watson (Hair and Wig Design), Grammy Award® winner Peter Asher (Music Supervision), Rob Berman (Supervising Music Director & Vocal Arranger) and Tony Award nominee August Eriksmoen (Orchestrations).

The Grammy Nominated original cast recording of Bright Star is available everywhere, and charted on five different Billboard lists in its first week of wide release. The cast album from Ghostlight Records placed at #1 on the Top Current Blue Grass Albums chart, #2 on the Top Broadway chart, #5 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart, as well as hitting the Top 100 on the Billboard Top Albums chart and Top 200 on the Overall Digital Albums chart. The album is produced by the legendary, multi-Grammy Award- winning producer, manager and musician Peter Asher.

The Bright Star tou r is produced by Joey Parnes, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, AT&T PAC/SHN(Dallas), Blumenthal Performing Arts (Charlotte), Broadway Series South (Raleigh), The Curran (San Francisco), Theatre Under the Stars (Houston) and Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles) in association with The Old Globe (San Diego).

For more tour information, please visit www.BrightStarMusical.com.