New York City
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s musical will feature a host of original Broadway cast members.
Full casting is set for the Los Angeles premiere of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Bright Star, running October 11-November 19 at the Ahmanson Theatre for Center Theatre Group. Opening night will take place October 20.
As previously announced, Tony-nominated leading lady Carmen Cusack will repeat her work in California. She will be joined by fellow original cast members A.J. Shively, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Stephen Lee Anderson, Maddie Shea Baldwin, Allison Briner-Dardenne, Patrick Cummings, Max Chernin, and Richard Gatta, as well as David Atkinson, Jeff Austin, Kaitlyn Davidson, Devin Archer, Kelly Baker, Audrey Cardwell, Robin De Lano, David Kirk Grant, Donna Louden, Kevin McMahon, Alessa Neeck, Robert Pieranunzi, and Michael Starr.
With direction by Walter Bobbie and choreography by Josh Rhodes, Bright Star is inspired by tunes from Brickell and Martin’s Grammy-winning album, Love Has Come for You. The story follows a young soldier who is just home from World War II. With the editor of a Southern literary journal, he discovers a secret that changes their lives. The musical premiered at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in 2014, played a pre-Broadway run in 2015 at the Kennedy Center, and ran at Broadway’s Cort Theatre in 2016.
Bright Star won the 2016 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music as well as Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical and Best Score. It also received five 2016 Tony Awards nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Lead Actress in a Musical, and Best Orchestrations.