BWW Flashback: 'Sun's Gonna Shine' on Steve Martin & Edie Brickell's BRIGHT STAR, Closing Today on Broadway

By: Jun. 26, 2016
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Bright Star, the new musical from 2016 Tony Award nominees Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, plays its final Broadway performance today, June 26, after 30 preview and 109 regular performances. With direction by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreography by Josh Rhodes, Bright Star began performances on Thursday, February 25th, 2016 at the Cort Theatre (138 West 48th Street), and opened officially on Thursday, March 24th. Below, BroadwayWorld takes you back through Bright Star's journey on Broadway!

Carmen Cusack has made one of the most buzzed about and raved over Broadway debuts in recent memory as Alice, a role she originated in Bright Star's world premiere production, and is joined by co-stars Paul Alexander Nolan, Tony Award nominee Michael Mulheren, A.J. Shively, Hannah Elless, Tony Award nominee Stephen Bogardus, three-time Tony Award nominee Dee Hoty, Stephen Lee Anderson, Emily Padgett, Tony Award nominee Jeff Blumenkrantz, along with Maddie Shea Baldwin, Allison Briner-Dardenne, Max Chernin, PatRick Cummings, Sandra DeNise, Richard Gatta, Lizzie Klemperer, Michael X. Martin, William Michals, Tony Roach, Sarah Jane Shanks and William Youmans.

The design team for Bright Star includes Tony and Emmy Award winner Eugene Lee (Scenic Design), Tony Award winner Jane Greenwood (Costume Design), Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman (Lighting Design), Tony Award nominee Nevin Steinberg (Sound Design), Tom Watson (Hair and Wig Design), Grammy Award winner Peter Asher (Music Supervision), Rob Berman (Musical Direction and Vocal Arrangements), August Eriksmoen (Orchestrations), and Howie Cherpakov (Casting).

Inspired by a real event, this original musical tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and '40s. When literary editor Alice Murphy meets a young soldier just home from World War II, he awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past - and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives.

Before hitting the Great White Way, Bright Star played a limited engagement this winter at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. See the cast in action below (photos by Joan Marcus)!

Bright Star began performances in February on Broadway. Below, watch highlights and see photos (by Nick Stokes) of the company onstage in New York!

The production opened officially on Thursday, March 24th. Scroll down to go inside the evening's festivities, including the cast on the red carpet, their opening bows -- featuring a surprise appearance by creators Steve Martin and Edie Brickell performing "Sun's Gonna Shine" -- and the after-party!

The original cast recording of Bright Star, released this spring via Ghostlight Records, charted on five different Billboard lists in its first week out. Below, watch as Tony nominee Carmen Cusack records "If You Knew My Story" in the studio!

Bright star won 2016 Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical and Best Score and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music. It also received five 2016 Tony Awards nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Lead Actress in a Musical, and Best Orchestrations.

After learning of the musical's nominations, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell -- who received nods for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score -- told us why watching audiences react brings them so much joy!

Carmen Cusack's Broadway debut as 'Alice Murphy' in Bright Star has been the role of a lifetime and earned her a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. Hear her story below!

The 70th Annual Tony Awards aired on CBS on June 12th from the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Carmen Cusack and the company of Bright Star performed as part of the ceremony - check it out below!

We're so glad we got to share in Bright Star's Broadway story!



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