SCRANTON — The University of Scranton Players will present the regional premiere of “Bright Star” directed by Michael O’Steen with music, book and story by Steve Martin, and music, lyrics and story by Edie Brickell. The show runs Feb. 22-24 and March 1-3 in the Royal Theatre of the Joseph M. McDade Center for the Literary and Performing Arts. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m., and Sunday performance begins at 2 p.m.
“Bright Star” is a gripping musical about love, perseverance and fate set in 1920s and 1940s North Carolina. It follows the story of Alice Murphy, a successful newspaper editor in Asheville, North Carolina in the 1940s. She is approached by Billy, a young aspiring writer hoping to get published in the Asheville Southern Journal. Alice feels strangely connected to Billy and finds herself having flashbacks to growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the 1920s as a wild and free 16-year-old girl.
Martin and Brickell’s musical received many accolades, including 5 Tony nominations, five Drama Desk Award nominations and a Grammy nomination, as well as won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and the Theater World Award for Carmen Cusack’s portrayal of Alice Murphy. “Bright Star” opened at Cort Theatre in New York in March 2016.
The production features Reilly Charles as Alice Murphy; Zac Rosencrans as Jimmy Ray; Kayla Oberholtzer as Margo; Zachary Richard as Billy; Ali Basalyga as Lucy; Hannah Mackes as Didi/3 Spirits; Amy Black as Mama Murphy; Werner Christensen as Daddy Murphy; Michael Friedman as Daddy Cane/Mayor; Victoria Pennington as Florence/Government Clerk/3 Spirits; Meg Sweeney as Edna/3 Spirits; and Jason Galarza as Max/Stanford/Dr. Norquist.
Basalyga is a graduate of West Scranton High School, Sweeney is a graduate of Scranton Preparatory School, Pennington is a graduate of Wyoming Area Secondary Center, Rosencrans is a graduate of Wyoming Valley West High School and Mackes is a graduate of Wallenpaupack Area High School. Friedman is a faculty member at the university and Black is a staff member at the university.
For tickets, contact the Players box office at 570-941-4318 or visit us at thescrantonplayers.com. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for senior citizens, students, and University of Scranton faculty and staff. Second weekend is free for first-year students.
