Review: Sun Is Gonna Shine for Bright Star at the Ahmanson

Bright Star/music, book & story by Steve Martin/music, lyrics & story by Edie Brickell/directed by Walter Bobbie/choreographed by Josh Rhodes/Ahmanson Theatre/through November 19

Steve Martin's and Edie Brickell's Bright Star played Broadway in 2016, garnering a Tony nomination for Carmen Cusack. The show fared somewhat well, but did not seem to be an overall critics' choice. On the minus side, it is an all too familiar story about a backwoods pregnant girl and parental abuse in the 1920s, with far-fetched resolutions and a sweet, but for many, saccharine ending. In spite of this, I was delighted with the bluegrass music by Martin and Brickell, with Walter Bobbie's fluid staging and with the performances. It's most definitely uplifting and an entertaining evening at the Ahmanson through November 19.

From start to finish, Alice Murphy (Cusack) is a joy to watch. With her entrance (pictured above) where she proclaims to the world "If You Knew My Story", she makes us feel we are in for something extra special.

Martin has structured the play into two storylines which eventually connect. The first takes place from 1945 to 1946 in various places of North Carolina, when Billy Cane (A. J. Shively) returns home from the war to find his dad alive and well (David Atkinson) but learns sadly that his mother has passed away. It's a tragic piece of news for the boy, who wants to become a writer. His is the first plotline, and Alice Murphy's the second. She is the head of a southern based publishing company and encounters Billy when he comes into the office to submit his stories for publication consideration.

Alice, as we learn through a flashback of 22 years, was brought up in a strict environment. Yet bored and stubborn, she falls for Jimmy Ray Dobbs (Patrick Cummings), the mayor's son. This is North Carolina in 1923 and Alice being from a poor family is hardly considered good marriage material by the Dobbs. While unmarried she ends up pregnant and gives birth to a son. Jimmy Ray's father ( Jeff Austin) has the child legally taken away from her and does something horrorific...he throws the baby, who is inside a duffle bag, off the back of a train. Not even his son knows what he has done until much later.

There are several of these flashbacks telling Alice's story and then back to 1945 to make the connection with Billy... an obviously urgent one for Alice. We are manipulated into considering he may be her son.

No one enjoys being manipulated. Yet... Steven Speilberg has done it to us many times on film. We love him, especially if his story is well told. The same may be said in this case onstage with Bright Star. We are so engrossed in Bobbie's fast-paced staging and theatrix and the upbeat music, we don't have time to think; we are truly having a good time.

Within the two storylines there are terrific scenes of love between Alice and Jimmy Ray and Billy with Margo (Maddie Shea Baldwin), who works in a local bookstore and takes a special interest in him and his career. The blossoming of love in both cases grips the audience, There is also fantastic humor in Alice's office with assistants Lucy (Kaitlyn Davidson) and Daryl (Jeff Blumenkrantz) who literally tear up the scenery with hilarious takes on their boss and the publishing business.

Praise to this wonderful cast and to Bobbie who has directed the whole piece with a skilled hand. He and choreographer Josh Rhodes put the 18 member ensemble through what seem some pretty rip-roaring moves. Thanks as well to Peter Asher and Rob Berman for their great musical arrangements and supervision. Kudos as well to Eugene Lee for a scenic design that puts the orchestra in a mobile bandstand that serves as the core and to Jane Greenwood for pretty period costuming.

The entire ensemble make the piece worth watching, but Cusack is literally amazing to watch as both singer and actress, exuding plenty of Alice's raw emotion as well as offbeat sense of humor. Right along with her, Shively is a find and makes Billy Cane a treasured unforgettable character.

Don't miss Bright Star! There is entertainment galore. You will laugh and cry. Enjoy!

(photo credit: Craig Schwartz)

www.centertheatregroup.org

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