THE HANGOVER REPORT – BRIGHT STAR sparkles magnificently on Broadway

BRIGHTSTAR-facebookJumboA refreshing breeze just blew through Broadway, and I’m not talking about spring. That’s because the enchanting, open-hearted original new musical Bright Star opened last night at the Cort Theatre. Set in pre- and post-World War II North Carolina, the show tells The Winter’s Tale-esque story of Alice, a high-powered Ashville-based literary editor with an interesting past that (literally) comes back into her life.

I’m eating my hat as I write this. You see, I didn’t much care for the musical when I caught it during its pre-Broadway tryout at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this past winter. Then, I wasn’t able to buy into the musical’s unabashedly sentimental world; I found the second act’s jarring plot turns, in particular, distasteful. Frankly speaking, nothing much structurally has changed within the show – the book and score remain largely the same since DC (the song lists in both programs are identical). Yet somehow, the entire affair feels more relaxed and organic than it did before. Even the joyously improbable Shakespearian plot twists felt authentic and true to the fabric of the storytelling.

Edie Brickell and Steve Martin’s astonishing bluegrass score is surely one of the wonders of the Broadway season. Their work manages to be memorable and effortlessly melodic and is sung gloriously by the cast (Carmen Cusack, I’m talking particularly to you). It doesn’t hurt that August Eriksmoen’s lovely and evocative orchestrations are played with sparkling clarity by the onstage band. As I mentioned, Mr. Martin’s earnest book is, on second viewing, a subtle and moving piece of writing.

Walter Bobbie’s direction is fluid, warm, and most importantly, unobtrusive. The same could be said about the design elements (sets are by Eugene Lee, costumes are by Jane Greenwood, lighting is by Japhy Weideman). Josh Rhodes’ beautifully-integrated choreography does a wonderful job of being both simultaneously emotive and nostalgic.

Now to the cast. In the central role of Alice, the radiant Ms. Cusack is making a disarming, long-overdue Broadway debut in Bright Star. As her love interest Jimmy, Paul Alexander Nolan is superb; his powerful, impassioned rendition of “Heartbreaker” is surely one of the musical and dramatic highlights of the season. The excellent company is rounded out by inspired supporting turns from Stephen Bogardus, Hannah Elless, Jeff Blumenkrantz, and Emily Padgett.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

BRIGHT STAR
Broadway, Musical
Cort Theatre
2 hours, 20 minutes (with one intermission)
Open Run

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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