Utah's Premier Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Utah

Utah's Premier Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Utah

January 12 – January 27, 2018

Music by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin

Lyrics by Edie Brickell

 Book by Steve Martin.

The Regional Premiere of a New Musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell!

From Grammy winners Steve Martin and Edie Brickell comes Bright Star, a musical that tells a tale of love and redemption set in the American South of the 1920s and 40s. Inspired by a real event, Bright Star offers something very different from most of today’s musicals—an Americana musical with picking banjoes, barn dances and characters you root for even as fate seems determined to defeat them.

“The musical is gentle-spirited…not gaudy, and moves with an easygoing grace… the songs boast simple but seductive melodies, and lyrics that have a sweet, homespun quality. They range from heartache-perfumed ballads and yearning love duets to energetic hootenannies.”  – The New York Times

Important Dates

Monday–Thursday 7:00 PM
Friday & Saturday 7:30 PM
Saturday 2:00 PM

ASL-interpreted performance: Saturday, October 7th @ 2 PM

Sponsors

Emma Eccles Jones Foundations

Lawrence T. and Janet T. Dee Foundation

Dominion Energy

Overview

Cast

CARMEN-CUSACK
STEPHEN-LEE-ANDERSON
DAVID-ATKINSON
JEFF-AUSTIN
MADDIE-SHEA-BALDWIN
JEFF-BLUMENKRANTZ
ALLISON-BRINER-DARDENNE
PATRICK-CUMMINGS
KAITLYN-DAVIDSON
AJ-SHIVELY
DEVIN-ARCHER
KELLY-BAKER
AUDREY_CARDWELL_0029-2
Hayden-Clifton
RICHARD-GATTA
DAVID-GRANT
DONNA-LOUDEN
ALESSA-NEECK
ROBERT-PIERANUNZI
MICHAEL-STARR-1
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Creative Team

STEVE MARTIN (Music, Book and Original Story) is one of the most well-known and pervasive talents in entertainment and one of the most diversified performers in the industry today, a successful author, playwright, producer, actor, screenwriter and comedian for more than three decades. His work has earned him an Academy Award®, five Grammy Awards® (two for comedy, three for music), the Mark Twain Award and the Kennedy Center Honor. Martin’s films are widely popular successes, such as The Jerk (1979, also screenplay), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Roxanne (1987, also screenplay), Parenthood (1989), L.A. Story (1991, also screenplay), Father of the Bride (1991) and Bowfinger (1999, also screenplay). As an author, Martin’s work includes the plays Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Underpants, the best-selling novella, Shopgirl and his memoir, Born Standing Up. Steve Martin is also an accomplished Grammy Award-winning, boundary-pushing bluegrass banjoist and composer. In 2013, Martin released his third full-length album called “Love Has Come For You,” a unique collaboration with songwriter Edie Brickell. “Love Has Come For You” won a Grammy for Best American Roots Song for the title track and inspired their musical Bright Star, which opened on Broadway in March 2016 and received five Tony Award nominations and seven Drama Desk Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Music. Bright Star also won Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Martin and Brickell’s second album together, “So Familiar,” was released on Rounder Records and featured 12 remarkable songs that brought the acclaimed duo’s musical collaboration into fresh creative territory. Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers released their newest collaboration, “The Long-Awaited Album,” on Rounder Records on September 22, 2017.

EDIE BRICKELL (Music, Lyrics and Original Story) released the debut multi-platinum album “Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars” with New Bohemians in 1988. Her recent works include a 13-track collaboration with Steve Martin titled “Love Has Come For You.” The album won a Grammy for Best American Roots Song and inspired the musical Bright Star. Their second album, “So Familiar,” is out now.

WALTER BOBBIE (Director) directed the New York productions of Bright StarVenus in FurThe LandingGolden AgeSchool for LiesIrving Berlin’s White ChristmasChicago, The SubmissionCabin PressureThe Savannah DisputationNew JerusalemHigh FidelityThe Other WomanThe Marriage of Bette and BooSweet CharityTwentieth CenturyFootlooseDurang/DurangFor Whom the Southern Belle Tolls and A Grand Night for Singing. He was Artistic Director of City Center Encores! where he also directed Fiorello!, Chicago, Tenderloin, Golden Boy, No, No, Nanette, and Zorba as well as the Carnegie Hall concerts of South Pacific and Carousel. Mr. Bobbie recently premiered Paul Rudnick’s Big Night at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. He serves on the Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. He is the recipient of Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Tony Awards.

JOSH RHODES (Choreographer) choreographed the Broadway productions of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award Winner, Outer Critics Circle, Astaire and Drama Desk Award nom.), It Shoulda Been YouFirst Date and Bright Star (Outer Critics Circle and Astaire Award nom.). On London’s West End, he choreographed Carousel at the English National Opera and Sweeney Todd starring Emma Thompson. City Center Encores!: Zorba and Big River. Other theatre credits include Company starring Neil Patrick Harris (PBS), Sondheim: The Birthday Concert (PBS), The Landing (Vineyard Theatre), Broadway: Three Generations (Kennedy Center), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Shakespeare Theatre Company) and Working (Prospect Theatre). Mr. Rhodes directed Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville (The Old Globe), Guys and Dolls (Asolo Rep and The Old Globe), Spamalot (5th Avenue Theatre) and Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees in Diagon Alley at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. He is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan.

EUGENE LEE (Scenic Design) has been the production designer for Saturday Night Live since 1974 and also designed The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers. He’s received Tony, Emmy, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Pell and Elliot Norton Awards, and the American Theatre Wing’s Design Award. He was recently inducted into New York’s Theater Hall of Fame and is currently represented on Broadway by Wicked. He lives with his wife, Brooke, in Providence, RI.

JANE GREENWOOD (Costume Design) Originally from Liverpool, England, Ms. Greenwood was educated at the Central School of Arts in London. She has designed for theatre, opera, dance and film, including over 125 productions for Broadway since Ballad of the Sad Café in 1963. Awards include 21 Tony nominations (including a Lifetime Achievement Tony) and this year’s Tony Award for The Little Foxes. She is also in the Theater Hall of Fame. Professor of Design at the Yale School of Drama since 1976.

JAPHY WEIDEMAN (Lighting Designer). Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen, The VisitThe Nance, Of Mice and MenAirline Highway (all received Tony nominations for Best Lighting). Other Broadway: Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryBright StarSylvia, Old TimesThe Heidi ChroniclesMacbeth (Drama Desk nomination), Cyrano de Bergerac and The Snow Geese. Off-Broadway: Lincoln Center Theater, The Public Theater, NYTW, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, MTC, MCC, LAByrinth and Vineyard Theatre. West End: A Nice Fish (Harold Pinter Theatre), Blackbird (Albery Theatre).

NEVIN STEINBERG (Sound Design). Recent Broadway: Dear Evan HansenHamiltonBandstandIt Shoulda Been YouMothers and SonsRodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Tony nom.), The PerformersMagic/Bird. He is the audio consultant for Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium.

TOM WATSON (Hair & Wig Design) headed the wig and makeup department at The Metropolitan Opera for 17 years. He has designed more than 80 Broadway productions, including WickedRock of AgesHow to Succeed…, The Addams FamilyAnnieAct OneYou Can’t Take It with YouThe King and I (LCT & tour), The Sound of Music (National Tour), Dames at SeaThérèse RaquinFiddler on the RoofBright Star (Broadway & tour), Oslo (LCT), Long Day’s Journey into Night, Falsettos and The Little Foxes. Upcoming: Junk (LCT) and The Parisian Woman (Broadway).

EDWARD PIERCE (Scenic Design Supervisor). Select Broadway: Amazing Grace, Holler If Ya Hear Me, The Other PlaceA Streetcar Named Desire, Wicked (all worldwide productions). edwardpierce.com

LEE WILKINS (Associate Choreographer). Broadway Associate Choreographer: Bright Star, It Shoulda Been You, First Date, Cinderella. Other: Carousel (English National Opera), Big River (NYC Encores!), Guys and Dolls (Old Globe and Asolo Rep.), Paint Your Wagon (5th Avenue Theatre), On the Town (LA Philharmonic), Company (Avery Fisher Hall), Minsky’s (Ahmanson Theatre). Television choreography: “The Late Show with Steven Colbert” (CBS), “The Hatfields and McCoys” (NBC pilot) and “Alpha House” (Amazon Studios). Direction/choreography: Little Mermaid (Casa Mañana), First Date (Straz Center).

PETER ASHER (Music Supervisor). In 1964, he was one-half of Peter & Gordon, who amassed nine top-20 records. In 1968, he was head of A&R for the Beatles’ record company, Apple Records, where he found, signed, and produced James Taylor. In 1971, Asher founded Peter Asher Management, representing James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Randy Newman and more. As a producer, Mr. Asher has worked with such diverse artists as James Taylor, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Robin Williams and Cher, among many others. He has produced 13 Grammy Award-winning recordings and has twice been awarded the Grammy for Producer of the Year. In the New Year’s Honours list for 2015, Peter Asher was awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth.

ROB BERMAN (Supervising Music Director & Vocal Arrangements). Broadway: Bright StarDames at Sea, Tuck Everlasting, Promises, PromisesFinian’s Rainbow, White Christmas, The Pajama Game and Wonderful Town. As music director of City Center Encores!, he has conducted the music of Bock, Coleman, Kander, Kern, Lane, Loesser, Loewe, Rodgers, Sondheim, Strouse, Styne and Weill. Berman is an Emmy Award winner and six-time nominee for Outstanding Music Direction of The Kennedy Center Honors (CBS).

AUGUST ERIKSMOEN (Orchestrations). Broadway: Come From AwayBright Star (Tony nom.), GigiFirst DateHugh Jackman… (add. orchestrations), The Addams Family (dance arrangements, add. orchestrations), Memphis (dance arrangements), Million Dollar Quartet (assoc. music supervisor), Ring of Fire (assoc. music director), All Shook Up (music director) and Rent (assoc. conductor). Off-B’way: Bare (orchestrations), Romantic Poetry (orchestrations), Walmartopia (orchestrations/supervision). Other: James and the Giant PeachI Am Harvey Milk (Lincoln Center), Kristin Chenoweth (in concert) and Chita Rivera (in concert). TV: “Once Upon a Time,” Disney’s Descendants, 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

P. JASON YARCHO (Music Direction). Thrilled to be joining the Bright Star family. Broadway: Wicked, Bullets Over Broadway, Shuffle Along, An American in Paris. Off-Broadway: Cagney, Tick, Tick… Boom! Tours: Wicked (1st and 2nd National Tour). Regional: Papermill Playhouse, Westport Playhouse, Playwrights Horizons, The Muny, Barrington Stage Company, Cincinnati Pops. Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from CCM.

SEYMOUR “RED” PRESS (Music Coordinator) is the recipient of a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. Credits include more than 100 shows from the original Gypsy through Dreamgirls, Nine, Noise/Funk, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, the acclaimed revivals of Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, Carousel and …Forum. Screen credits include Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mike Nichols’ The Birdcage and Paramount’s In & Out. An ASCAP composer, his compositions have sold more than 100,000 records. This season on Broadway: Hello, Dolly! and Chicago.

HOWARD CHERPAKOV CSA (Original New York Casting). Broadway and National Tour credits include Bright StarNext FallThe Seafarer, Coram Boy, ChicagoAnnie Get Your GunDirty Dancing and South Pacific. Off-Broadway/regionally, he has cast productions for The Old Globe, Lincoln Center Theater, Women’s Project Theater, New York Stage and Film, Atlantic Theater Company, Naked Angels, Pasadena Playhouse, Irish Arts Center, Soho Playhouse, ATG and NYMF. Artios Award (and three additional nominations) for Outstanding Theatre Casting. hccasting.com

CALLERI CASTING (James Calleri, Paul Davis, Erica Jensen) (Additional New York Casting). Broadway: Fool for Love, HughieThe Elephant Man (also West End), Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The VisitOf Mice and Men, Venus in FurLiving on Love33 Variations, A Raisin in the SunChicagoJames Joyce’s The Dead. Off-Broadway selects: Buyer & CellarMurder for TwoAll in the TimingPassionLobby HeroFuerza BrutaSilence! The Musical. Casting for Long Wharf, McCarter, The Flea, Keen, Playwrights Realm, Rattlestick, Humana Festival/ATL, Williamstown Theater Festival, Berkeley Rep, CSC, Center Theatre Group, Playwrights Horizons (10 seasons). TV: “The Path” for Hulu, “Army Wives,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “Monk,” “Hope & Faith,” “Ed.” Lots of film, including Mike Cahill’s Sundance winners Another Earth and I Origins. Awarded 13 Artios Awards for Outstanding Casting Achievement. Member CSA. callericasting.com

MICHAEL DONOVAN CSA (Los Angeles Casting) is the recipient of six Artios Awards, given by the Casting Society of America for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. His theatre credits include productions at Pasadena Playhouse, Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Geffen Playhouse, Kirk Douglas Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, International City Theatre, Ebony Repertory Theatre, Getty Villa, Laguna Playhouse, Falcon Theatre, Colony Theatre, The Theatre @ Boston Court, 24th St. Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara, Arizona Theatre Company, Arkansas Rep, Totem Pole Playhouse and the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, as well as several National Tours. Donovan has cast numerous independent films. TV credits include the series “Blood Relatives.”

SHAWN PENNINGTON (Production Stage Manager). Broadway: WickedNext to NormalSondheim on Sondheim. National Tours: Fun HomeIf/ThenPeter and the StarcatcherRock of AgesSpelling BeeThe Pajama GameGypsyThe Will Rogers FolliesSmokey Joe’s Café. Regional: Up Here (La Jolla Playhouse), Little Miss Sunshine (Sundance Theatre Lab). Proud AEA member.

GEOFF MAUS (Stage Manager). First National Tours: Fun HomeMatilda the Musical. Broadway: Matilda the Musical. Off-Broadway: The WoodsmanAustinBARE. Others: The Juilliard School (Guest Artist Production Stage Manager, 2013-2014). Proud member of Actors’ Equity.

KIRSTEN PARKER (Stage Manager). Center Theatre Group: Straight White MenThe Object LessonChavez RavineLuna GaleRaceFacing Our Truthdifferent words for the same thingI’ll Go On (Gate Theatre), A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens! (World premiere/re-loaded productions), The Black SuitsNeva (co-pro, SCR/La Jolla), The NetherJomama Jones: RadiateThe Massoud Project. Off-Broadway: Bones in the Basket (Araca Project), Food and Fadwa (NYTW). Regional: Romeo and Juliet (Northern Stage), Romeo and Juliet (Yale Rep.), The Servant of Two Masters (Yale Rep.). Various NY credits, including NY Fringe, Yale Rep. Workshop. MFA: Yale School of Drama. She is very happy to be back.

CENTER THEATRE GROUP (Producer: Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director; Stephen D. Rountree, Managing Director; Douglas C. Baker, Producing Director), one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, programming seasons at the Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.

JOEY PARNES (Producer). Broadway: Meteor Shower, 1984, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Hello, Dolly! (Tony Award), The Glass MenagerieThe Front PageThe Humans (Tony), Bright Star, Shuffle AlongThe Crucible, Blackbird, A View from the Bridge (Tony), Skylight (Tony), A Raisin in the Sun (Tony), A Gentleman’s Guide (Tony), Betrayal, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Tony), Hair (Tony), among others.

SUE WAGNER (Producer). Broadway: Meteor Shower, 1984, A Doll’s House, Part 2, Hello, Dolly!, The Glass Menagerie, The Front Page, The HumansBright StarShuffle Along, The Crucible, Blackbird, A View from the BridgeSkylightFish in the Dark, A Raisin in the Sun, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and MurderBetrayal, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and SpikeEnd of the Rainbow and Hair. 

JOHN JOHNSON (Producer). Broadway: Meteor ShowerA Doll’s House, Part 2, Hello, Dolly!, The Glass Menagerie, The Front PageThe HumansBright Star, Shuffle Along, The Crucible, Blackbird, A View from the Bridge, SkylightA Raisin in the SunA Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Graduate: Fordham University at Lincoln Center.

AT&T PAC/SHN (Producer) is a nonprofit foundation that operates and programs a 10-acre campus comprised of three premier performance venues and a park in downtown Dallas. Opening in October 2009, the Center has helped complete the 30-year vision of the Dallas Arts District. SHN is the preeminent theatrical entertainment company in the Bay Area, bringing live entertainment experiences to San Francisco’s premier venues. SHN presents current hits fresh from Broadway, original Broadway cast productions, pre-Broadway premieres and one-of-a-kind events that are at the forefront of the national theatre scene.

 Blumenthal Performing Arts (Producer) operates six theatres in Charlotte. Its highly diverse arts and education programs range from blockbuster musicals to dance, music and family attractions. Co-producer/investor of Dear Evan HansenWaitressMonty Python’s Spamalot, RedThe Mountaintop, The Color PurpleKinky BootsMatildaAmerican in Paris, TracesLegally BlondePippin.

Broadway Series South (Producer) has proudly served the Raleigh/Durham area for more than 20 years in presenting first national Broadway touring shows. They have provided unparalleled service in hosting thousands of theatre patrons, and aim to continue their contribution to the diverse arts presence in the area.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) (Producer). Founded in 1968, TUTS is Houston’s leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit musical theatre company, with a focus on inclusivity, education and community engagement. TUTS relies on the generous support of donors to continue offering the very best in musical theatre to the greater Houston community, as well as to support our education, community engagement and accessibility programs. For more information, visit tuts.com

THE OLD GLOBE (Originating Theatre). The Tony Award-winning Old Globe, San Diego’s flagship arts institution, is a leading professional regional theatre, reaching 250,000 people annually. Led by Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe’s programs include 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on three stages, including its renowned Shakespeare Festival and “Globe for All” community-based Shakespeare tour. Many Globe World premieres have gone on to successful runs on Broadway and in theatres nationwide.

ALLIED TOURING (Marketing Consultant) is a full-service engagement management agency representing Broadway tours and other live tour-ing events across North America. Current tours: An American in ParisThe Book of MormonBright StarRodgers & Hammerstein’s CinderellaElf The MusicalThe HumansKinky BootsMotown The MusicalRentSchool of RockSomething Rotten! and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Upcoming tours: Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryGround-hog Day and The Scenario.

Media

Publicity

Study Guide

Content Advisory

Hello Dolly!

SYNOPSIS: Jerry Herman’s energetic Hello, Dolly! is a musical filled with charisma and heart. Matchmaker Dolly Levi is a widow, a matchmaker, and also a professional meddler –but everything changes when she decides that the next match she needs to make is to find someone for herself. Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Hello Dolly! is boisterous and charming from start to finish. Dolly Levi is one of the strongest and richest starring roles for a woman ever written for musical theatre.

LANGUAGE:  A few mild uses of  “damn.”

SMOKING AND DRINKING:  The characters sing of smoking although none is depicted, and wine and champagne are consumed during dinners.

SEX:  None.

VIOLENCE: None.

FOR WHICH AUDIENCES?  Hello, Dolly! is suitable for all ages.

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