Bright Star

From award-winning actor, screenwriter and playwright Steve Martin ("Roxanne," "Father of the Bride" and my personal favorite - the sadistic dentist in "Little Shop of Horrors") and chart-topping, singer-songwriter Edie Brickell comes "Bright Star," a world premiere American musical inspired by the duo's 2013 Grammy Award-winning song"Love Has Come For You."

Set in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains from 1923 to 1945, "Bright Star" tells the story of Billy Cane, a young soldier just home from World War II. He meets Alice Murphy, the brilliant editor of a southern literary journal, and together they discover a powerful secret that alters their lives. It's a story of enduring love, family ties and the light of forgiveness that shines from a bright star.

"Bright Star" features tracks from Martin and Brickell's 2013 album, along with
25 new songs. Martin wrote the musical's book, while Brickell penned the lyrics. In addition to debuting their first musical collaboration, The Old Globe pulled in Broadway's Tony Award-winning director Walter Bobbie ("Chicago").

Spoiler Alert: Martin and Brickell don't appear in the musical. However, there is a mix of great talent, including A.J. Shively (Broadway's "La Cage Aux Folles" and the concert version of "Brigadoon") in the leading role of Billy Cane. Shively rounds out a cast of 18, plus a nine-piece band. He found that "this show has some of the most beautiful American bluegrass music; it is Americana with a touch of rock. On stage with us are an upright piano, guitar, banjo and fiddle. Backstage are the viola, violin, a second keyboard and the mandolin. The musicianship is incredible."

Shively, a University of Michigan Theatre Arts graduate, has long dreamed of being a part of a new work, ever since his first children's theatre show, "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory." "I love it. Every day in rehearsal things are being restructured, new scenes are written. The most challenging parts are the technical aspects. There is beautiful lighting design by Japhy Weideman, but it requires you to both be in the moment of the scene and be aware of where you are standing. You want to avoid blocking out someone else's light."

To audiences, Shively suggests, "Come ready to listen to a beautiful score and go with the story. It is almost a series of vignettes. For the first 15 minutes you are being introduced to new characters. There are multiple protagonists and you get to see how it all lines up."

Martin and Brickell are on set each day. Shively said,"When I met Steve Martin, he was unexpected. Beforehand I told myself, 'He's this huge star, don't look him in the eyes, he'll probably eat up all the space, larger than life.' He wasn't like that at all. He watches, listens, confers with Brickell, writes a new scene. Once I saw that, the pressure just disappeared. It is incredible to have him in the room."

Martin's expert banjo playing might be common knowledge, but here's a lesser-known tidbit from Shively: "Steve also wrote a bluegrass score for Shakespeare's 'As You Like It.' The production debuted [summer of 2012] at the New York Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park."

Another east coast tidbit: The Old Globe likely nabbed "Bright Star" because of artistic director Barry Edelstein's long working relationship with Martin, which included the commissioning of Martin's play "The Underpants" at New York's Classic Stage Co.

Edelstein previously said, "They [Martin and Brickell] are really doing something different - a kind of pop sound. It's really remarkable and beautiful. And, it's certainly funny - you wouldn't expect it to be a Steve Martin piece if it weren't funny. But funny isn't really the first thing it is. It's actually very sweet."

"Bright Star" runs through Sunday, November 2 at The Old Globe. For tickets and more information please call 619.234.5623, or go to theoldeglobe.org