Bright Star @ Artisan Center Theatre
—Jan Farrington
The musical Bright Star--an engaging, toe-tapping mix of Southern storytelling and the rhythms of bluegrass--is like sitting on a porch in the Carolina hills, hearing old songs backed by a banjo and fiddle, and taking in a tale that will make you laugh and cry. You'll sit on that porch as long as it takes, 'cause you need to know how it all comes out.
This isn't the usual Broadway musical comedy, in other words. But Bright Star's 2016 New York run won plenty of awards for creators Steve Martin (yes, the comic--and banjo maestro) and singer/songwriter Edie Brickell, who used to play the Dallas clubs with her group The New Bohemians. And over the past few seasons the show seems to be popping up all over. Artisan Center Theatre's production, full of strong voices and heartfelt acting, is (I think) the third version I've seen.
So, cards on the table: I'm a sucker for this show.
Bright Star time-travels between the 1920s and 1940s but stays in the same places: a small North Carolina town called Zebulon, and the more citified Asheville, where country kids go to have a bigger life (they hope). A very young couple in Zebulon fall in love: Alice Murphy (Ella Garner) and Jimmy Ray Dobbs (Haden Moorhead) strike sparks the second they truly notice each other--but their families (hers poor and strict, his wealthy and all business) will do everything they can to stop this small-town romance.
And the story is what happens next...and then...and then. There's the Romeo/Juliet situation, some grown-ups behaving badly, a long search for answers, and a look at the literary life surrounding the Asheville Southern Journal and its editor, the grown-up Alice Murphy--who once "made Ernest Hemingway cry," says a junior editor. Alice takes an interest in a young writer of short stories, Billy Cane (Dominic Norris), a returned veteran who might have the talent to join the other Southern writers she's published. Director Hayden Casey keeps things moving (in both physical and emotional terms), and sound guru Thomas Bartke maintains his reputation for crystal-clear audio. When you can pick out individual voices in an ensemble number, you've got someone who knows what he's doing.
Ella Garner as Alice is simply terrific: elegant and cool as the mature woman, flirty and electric as the girl she was. And she sings like nobody's business, in a lovely rich voice that carries the Brickell/Martin tunes with ease: "If You Knew My Story"..."Whoa, Mama"..."Sun's Gonna Shine"... "At Long Last." Haden Moorhead as Jimmy Ray partners her in many of these ("Whoa, Mama" is lively fun), and more than holds his own in their heart-tugging duet "I Had a Vision." Dominic Norris is a charming, hopeful Billy in "Bright Star," "Always Will" and Piper Daniel (as the hometown girl who loves him) has the sweet voice she needs for the plaintive "Asheville."
The various fathers of the show (Terry Johnson's Daddy Cane is sweet/funny, and Dustin Perkins is the Bible-toting tyrant) handle comedy ("Call the hillbilly po-lice!"), villainy and repentance very well. On the night reviewed, Fred Paterson played Billy's nasty father Mayor Dobbs; he alternates with Eddie Fitzhugh. As Alice's literary journal sidekicks, Ryan Terry as Daryl and Lexie Conner Perry as Lucy are slyly snarky, but show their substance as we get to know them.
The ensemble (kudos to music director Christina Major-Davis) performs impressively, and gets a workout. Mikki Hankins' choreography may look casual and loose-limbed, but all that country stepping and clapping takes plenty of energy. Their collective singing is strong and true--and in backing up the lead singers the ensemble harmonies sound great. What's more, the stage is set with square boxes (big enough to dance or sit on) to serve as everything from store counters to bus and train seats. The ensemble moves them constantly to keep up with the quick (and frequent) scene shifts...and then they break into song and/or dance. Paul Smith on banjo and fiddler Paris Tellez played live at one corner of the stage, accompanying the recorded tracks and adding transitional riffs of their own. Wouldn't have been the same without them.
WHEN: February 9-March 2, 2024
WHERE: 444 E. Pipeline Road, Hurst TX
WEB: artisanct.com
