Photo Flash: Steve Martin's BRIGHT STAR Begins Tonight at The Old Globe - Meet the Cast!
By: BWW News Desk Sep. 13, 2014
The Old Globe presents World Premiere of Bright Star, a new American musical featuring music by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin, lyrics by Brickell, and book by Martin, based on an original story by Martin and Brickell. Directed by Walter Bobbie, Bright Star will run tonight, September 13 - November 2, 2014 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run tonight, September 13 - September 27. Opening night is Sunday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast and creative team below!
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 songs-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 acting company includes Stephen Lee Anderson (Daddy Murphy; Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Richard III at the Old Vic and BAM, Chasing the Song at La Jolla Playhouse), Stephen Bogardus (Daddy Cane; the Globe's The Last Goodbye, many Broadway roles), Allison Briner (Ensemble), Max Chernin (Ensemble), Patti Cohenour (Mama Murphy; Broadway's The Light in the Piazza and The Sound of Music), Carmen Cusack (Alice Murphy; Broadway/West End, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific in the LCT National Tour), Wayne Duvall (Mayor Josiah Dobbs; the Globe's Working, Bonnie & Clyde at LJP), Hannah Elless (Margo Crawford; Broadway's Godspell revival),Jeff Hiller (Daryl Ames; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Public and Broadway), Leah Horowitz (Ensemble; Broadway's Follies and LES MISERABLES), Joe Jung (Ensemble; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Public and Broadway), Lulu Lloyd (Swing; San Diego native, God's Country Off Broadway), Kate Loprest (Lucy Grant; Broadway's First Date and Hairspray), Ashley Robinson (Ensemble; Merrily We Roll Along on the West End, The Last Goodbye at Williamstown, Giant in Chicago), Greg Roderick (Swing; Broadway's South Pacific/LCT and Ragtime),Sarah Jane Shanks (Ensemble), A.J. Shively (Billy Cane; Broadway's La Cage Aux Folles, Brigadoon concert), Scott Wakefield (Ensemble; Broadway's Hands on a Hardbody, Ring of Fire), Wayne Alan Wilcox (Jimmy Ray Dobbs, Broadway's Chaplin, The Normal Heart, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and Coram Boy), and Libby Winters (Dora Murphy; Broadway's American Idiot).
The creative team includes Broadway powerhouses Josh Rhodes (Choreographer), Peter Asher (Musical Supervisor),Rob Berman (Musical Director, Vocal Arrangements), August Eriksmoen (Orchestrator), Eugene Lee (Scenic Design),Jane Greenwood (Costume Design), Japhy Weideman (Lighting Design), Nevin Steinberg (Sound Design), Lee Wilkins (Associate Choreographer), Howie Cherpakov CSA (Casting), and Anjee Nero (Stage Manager).
Tickets to Bright Star were initially available only as part of a Season Package. Subscription prices for the 2014-2015 Season range from $99 to $615. Subscription packages may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Single tickets start at $39.
Photo Credit: Jim Cox
Carmen Cusack appears as Alice Murphy and A.J. Shively as Billy Cane
A.J. Shively appears as Billy Cane and Carmen Cusack as Alice Murphy
A.J. Shively appears as Billy Cane
Carmen Cusack appears as Alice Murphy
Co-creators and Grammy Award winners Edie Brickell and Steve Martin
The cast of Bright Star: (back row, from left) Sarah Jane Shanks, Leah Horowitz, Greg Roderick, Max Chernin, Stephen Bogardus, Lulu Lloyd, Stephen Lee Anderson, Jeff Hiller, Libby Winters, Kate Loprest, and Scott Wakefield; (middle row) Allison Briner, Wayne Duvall, Hannah Elless, Carmen Cusack, Wayne Alan Wilcox, and Patti Cohenour; (front row) Ashley Robinson, A.J. Shively, and Joe Jung
Co-creator and Grammy Award winner Steve Martin
Co-creator and Grammy Award winner Edie Brickell
Tony Award-winning director Walter Bobbie
A.J. Shively appears as Billy Cane and Carmen Cusack as Alice Murphy
A.J. Shively appears as Billy Cane
Carmen Cusack appears as Alice Murphy
Wayne Alan Wilcox appears as Jimmy Ray Dobbs
(clockwise, from top left) Co-creator Steve Martin, Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, director Walter Bobbie, and co-creator Edie Brickell
Co-creators Edie Brickell and Steve Martin (seated) and (from left) choreographer Josh Rhodes, director Walter Bobbie, musical supervisor Peter Asher, and musical director and vocal arranger Rob Berman
The cast and creators of Bright Star: (standing in back, from left) cast members Sarah Jane Shanks, Greg Roderick, Leah Horowitz, Max Chernin, Stephen Bogardus, Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, co-creator Edie Brickell, director Walter Bobbie, co-creator Steve Martin, and cast members Lulu Lloyd, Stephen Lee Anderson, Jeff Hiller, Libby Winters, Kate Loprest, and Scott Wakefield; (sitting) Allison Briner, Wayne Duvall, Hannah Elless, Carmen Cusack, Wayne Alan Wilcox, and Patti Cohenour; (on ground) Ashley Robinson, A.J. Shively, and Joe Jung
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