A Bright Star Shines Over Hurricane Valley Theatricals
By Beatrice Stockwell
The bluegrass strains of banjo, fiddle, and accordion will be filling the Hurricane Fine Arts Center when Bright Star opens on October 9, 2020. Written and composed by the odd, yet dynamic, duo of Steve Martin (better known as a comedian, actor, and writer) and 1980’s pop-star, Edie Brickell, Bright Star is a romantic tale, based on an actual event, set in North Carolina in two different decades. It tells the sentimental story of lives torn and repaired – the kind of plotline you are more likely to find in a classic black & white film than modern musical theater.
The play begins in the 1940s with Asheville Southern Journal editor, Alice Murphy, played by Rachel Cox. Bright Star is Alice’s personal story and is far different from those she publishes. She began her story with a flashback to 1920’s Zebulon, North Carolina, and the opening number, “If You Knew My Story.”
We are also introduced to returning World War II soldier, Billy Cane, played by Aaron Naylor. Returning to his home of Hayes Creek, North Carolina, he learns that his beloved mother has died. After a visit to the local bookstore, run by his childhood friend, the aspiring writer sings “Bright Star,” an open-hearted song of hope and ambition, and heads off to Asheville intent on taking the town by storm and getting published.
“Bright Star” moves back and forth between the 1920s and 1940s. The Alice of the 1940s is a sober and respected magazine editor. The Blue Ridge Mountain, 1920’s, backwoods Alice is an energetic and restless young woman longing to flee the confines of her small hometown. Alice falls in love with the mayor’s son, Jimmy Ray Dobbs, played by Aaron Meadows, a relationship with life-changing consequences…The relationship between Jimmy Ray and Alice is undermined by the furious town mayor, Josiah Dobbs, played by Bart Pace. Drunk on power and booze, the mayor will do anything to keep him from straying from the self-righteous and financially stable path he has chosen for him.
The Asheville Southern Journal, and its editor, may be fictional, but the backstory that creates Alice’s story isn’t. There’s a folk song about the “Iron Mountain Baby,” the actual event named for the train tracks near which a newborn was found in 1902. Martin and Brickell recorded a song together, “Sarah Jane and the Iron Mountain Baby,” for their 2013 album.
Directed by Kyle Myrick, Bright Star plays in Hurricane City’s Fine Arts Center from October 9 through November 7, 2020. The City of Hurricane generously produces 100% of the productions, but the theater is always looking for donors, patrons, and volunteers to help with shows.
For information about Bright Star, or to donate, volunteer, or for children’s theater camp information, please visit www.hurricanetheatrical.com or call 435-668-9753. Tickets prices are $15 for adults and $5 for children and students under 17.
Socially distanced seating will be provided, and masks are encouraged but not required.
