National Tour NewsSee Where the Bright Star National Tour Will PlayThe Steve Martin and Edie Brickell musical will first play Los Angeles and San Francisco, headlined by Tony-nominated original star Carmen Cusack.
By
Ryan McPhee
September 20, 2017
Bright Star, the bluegrass-infused musical from Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, will embark on a national tour, beginning with an engagement at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre.
As previously announced, Carmen Cusack—who made her Broadway debut in the show and subsequently earned a Tony nomination for her star turn—will headline the L.A. engagement, which is presented by Center Theatre Group and runs October 11–November 19. She will return to the role of Alice Murphy once more at the Curran Theater in San Francisco, November 28–December 17.
The show will go on to play venues in Texas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and more.
While the full company for the Los Angeles bow has been announced, including myriad names from the Broadway premiere, casting for the remainder of the tour will be announced at a later date.
Take a look at the current itinerary below. Additional dates will be added in the coming months.
Los Angeles, California (Ahmanson Theatre) October 11–November 19
San Francisco, California (Curran Theater) November 28–December 17
Salt Lake City, Utah (Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre) January 12–27, 2018
Houston, Texas (Theatre Under the Stars) March 13–25
Worcester, Massachusetts (The Hanover Theatre) April 12–15
Raleigh, North Carolina (Duke Energy Center) April 17–22
New Haven, Connecticut (Shubert Theatre) April 26–29
Dallas Texas (Winspear Opera House) June 12–24
Charlotte, North Carolina (Belk Theater) June 26–July
The show, directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, travels through 1920s and 1940s North Carolina as magazine editor Alice Murphy tells her story of love, loss, and resilience. In addition to nods for Best Musical and Cusack’s performance, the Broadway production earned Tony nominations for Martin and Brickell’s score, Martin’s book, and August Eriksmoen's folksy orchestrations.
Martin will also be represented on the stage this season with the Broadway premiere of his play Meteor Shower. The comedy, beginning November 1 at the Booth Theatre, will star Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, Laura Benanti, and Alan Tudyk.
The Fred Ebb Award recognizes excellence in musical theatre songwriting, by a songwriter or songwriting team that has not yet achieved significant commercial success.