Review: BRIGHT STAR at Actors Theatre Of Little Rock

If you haven’t seen a production from The Actors Theatre of Little Rock, you are missing out on Central Arkansas’ newest asset to the theatrical community. Currently in the middle of Season One, I was fortunate to experience BRIGHT STAR this past weekend at the massive Bryant High School Performing Arts Center, which happened to be the first time this musical has been performed in Arkansas. Written by Steve Martin (yes, the comedian) & Edie Brickell (the “What I Am” singer from the 80s) and Directed by Mark Burbank, Bright Star is a beautiful bluegrass musical inspired by true events. 

Set in North Carolina, BRIGHT STAR bounces between two different times in Alice Murphy’s (Angela Morgan Whitehead) life-when she is a teenager and gets pregnant by Jimmy Ray Dobbs (Dakota Mansfield), and when she is a successful sought after editor for a magazine. Jimmy Ray’s father Mayor Josiah Dobbs (Joshua Strickland) is not happy about the news of the baby, and neither is Alice’s father Papa Murphy (Jeremy Clay). A plan is decided to give the baby away, and once Jimmy Ray finds out what really happened to the baby, he can’t face Alice again.   

The musical also focuses on young writer Billy (Noah Warford), who came home from the military to see his father Daddy Cane (Michael E. Harmon) and then decides to move to Ashville to get his stories published, leaving his friend Margo Crawford (Tyranni Hubbard) behind. While in Ashville, Billy meets Lucy Grant (Kenzie Burks) and Daryl Ames (Anthony McBride), who both work for Alice. Alice finds out that she and Billy share the same hometown area, revelations are revealed, and then after people get over their hurt feelings, they live happily ever after.  

I am so happy I was able to see this musical. It had a great story, and the actors did an amazing job. The moment that Whitehead opened with "If You Knew My Story," I was immediately blown away by her power. It was a lot for me to not exclaim ‘wow’ too loudly, and from that moment, I knew she was going to be impressive as the lead, and I was right. Whether she was young Alice or older Alice, Whitehead was believable as both. Her younger Alice had a youthfulness to her character that was a bit rebellious, and her older Alice was more poised with a boss lady attitude. I loved the chemistry between her and Mansfield. Even when the scenes were more emotional, they both melded together well. I especially liked their fun duet "Whoa, Mama," where Jimmy Ray tells her that she won’t catch him. Their playful back and forth is sweet.  

Warford’s Billy had a triangle storyline. He went through a transformation as he went from an innocent relationship with Margo to handling Lucy’s aggressive moves. Burks really shined while leading McBride, Warford and the ensemble in "Another Round." Also, watching Margo fend off Max’s (Tylen Loring) advances made you want to bless their hearts.   

The three fathers had a lot of intense scenes amongst them. Both Alice’s and Jimmy Ray’s fathers could be considered the bad guys of the musical, even though their intentions were to do what was best for their families. They were both aggressive and demanding. Strickland commanded the stage as the Mayor, and gave a disturbing performance as he sang "A Man's Gotta Do What a Man's Gotta Do," and Clay went through an emotional shift when his character received redemption from his daughter.  Harmon had the softer, gentler father role that made you happy that Billy had a good, supportive dad, and sad for him once you found out that he was not Billy’s biological father.  

This whole cast told a wonderful story, and I loved every minute of it. It made the audience laugh a lot, raise a few eyebrows, become sad, and even mad at times. With productions like this that enhance our theatrical experience, I want to see them succeed. Coming up next is Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau. For more information about this wonderful troupe, visit their website at https://actorstheatrelr.org.

Broadway World would like to give a big THANK YOU to Matthew Sewell Photography for the use of these fabulous photos. If you are needing a new headshot or have a special event coming up, you will not be disappointed with this fantastic company. Check out their website at msewellphotography.com to book an appointment.

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