Review: BRIGHT STAR at Candlelight Music Theatre

Over recent years, Candlelight has taken a few risks on mainstage shows. Aisle Say had never heard of BIG FISH. It was a stunner with electric choreography and an inspiring, uplisting story; analogous to the current running BRIGHT STAR.

The show won’t be selling like any of the past Golden Age of Broadway or more popular contemporary productions. However, Candlelight’s creative and crew continue to deliver polished quality. It is steeped in Americana, blending folk, bluegrass, and country elements. The instrumentation—featuring banjos, fiddles, and guitars—creates a warm, rootsy soundscape that feels both fresh and nostalgic. It’s a departure from the typical Broadway sound, and all the more special because of it.

You’ll love it.

BRIGHT STAR is a shining example of the kind of musical that sneaks up on you—quietly, gently—and then sweeps you off your feet with its sincerity, spirit, and soaring heart. Inspired by a real-life story and brought to life by the unlikely but masterful songwriting duo of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell . (Get ready to win the chocolate cake with this answer: Paul Simon). There are definite earworms to Martin’s banjo playing. The dialogue is laced with his eccentric wild and crazy humor.

From its bluegrass-tinged score to its deeply affecting story of love, loss, and redemption, this show glows with authenticity and grace.

The instrumentation—featuring banjos, fiddles, and guitars—creates a warm, rootsy soundscape that feels both fresh and nostalgic. It’s a departure from the typical Broadway sound, and all the more special because of it.

Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, it tells a dual-timeline story that weaves between the 1920s and the 1940s, centering around Alice Murphy (Victoria Healy), a brilliant literary editor with a painful past. As the layers of Alice’s life are peeled back, we follow a young soldier, Billy Cane (newcomer Galen Graham), who returns home from World War II with dreams of becoming a writer. Their fates intertwine.

“If You Knew My Story” opens the show and immediately establishes the tone—reflective, soulful, and quietly powerful. Sung by Alice and accompanied by the company, it’s a kind of musical prologue and invitation. With lines like “If you knew my story, you'd have a good story to tell,” the song hints at the pain and hope to come. Alice doesn’t reveal much at first, but her voice, layered with resolve and sadness, draws us in.

“Bright Star”, Billy and the ensemble, a triumphant expression of joy, longing, and wonder. It's sung as Alice looks back on her younger self—on that time in her life when love was new, and the world was full of promise.

“A Man’s Gotta Do”, Mayor Dobbs (Paul Weagraff) and Jimmy Ray (Max Redman) offers a very different tone—gritty, tense, and charged with conflict. This song gives insight into the controlling figure of Mayor Dobbs. This was a rare departure from Weagraff’s normal characters. This character was a long way from Mr. Snow at The Brandywiners. It takes a lot to scare Aisle Say. Mayor Dobbs scared me opening night.

“Please Don’t Take Him” is one of the show’s most heartbreaking moments. Sung by Alice, Mayor Dobb and Alice’s parents, (Alfred Lance), (Lauren Champlin-Moadeli), it captures the anguish and helplessness of a family caught in a moral and emotional storm. Their plea is raw and deeply human, and the music swells with grief and desperation.

“I Can’t Wait” exuberantly choreographed by Jessica Bostock, is  burst of youthful energy hope. Sung by Billy Cane and the ensemble, it provokes the excitement of a young man returning home from war, filled with ambition and wide-eyed optimism. It embraces the pulse of small-town life. The tempo is quick, the harmonies are joyful (thanks to Music Director Alexa Wilder), and the spirit of the song is contagious. It’s one of those numbers that lifts the whole theatre—pure Broadway joy with a blue grass.

At its heart, BRIGHT STAR s a story of resilience and the possibility of second chances. It reminds us that the past, no matter how painful, doesn’t have to define the future.

As always, exquisite professional work from resident photographer Tisa Della-Volpe and Lighting Designer Matt Kator.

BRIGHT STAR – Through April 19

Candlelight Theater Delaware – Dining and Entertainment Beyond Your Expectations  302.475.2313

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