Jeff Austin News

It takes decades for tragic losses and separations to turn around to bliss in Steve Martin's BRIGHT STAR, but there's plenty of sparkling bluegrass music along that rocky mountain road.

Jon Stickley Trio is a genre-defying and cinematic instrumental trio, which combines Stickley's innovative flatpicking guitar with the sultry-spacy melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin along with classically trained and heavily jazz influenced drummer Hunter Deacon to create textural soundscapes.

In a brief engagement at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, Mass. (which ended this Sunday), the national tour of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's southern musical BRIGHT STAR flickers between down-home country charm and maudlin storytelling. Strong performances and a kickin' on-stage bluegrass band, though, manage to knock off the tarnish of this tepid tale of hope and redemption to deliver an uplifting message in the end.

Bright Star, the new musical from Grammy, Emmy and Academy Award-winning Steve Martin and Grammy Award-winning Edie Brickell, is coming to Houston from Theatre Under The Stars beginning March 13 through March 25 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. To purchase tickets, visit TUTS.com, call the Theatre Under The Stars Box Office at 713-558-8887, or come by the box office in person at 800 Bagby Street, Monday through Friday from 10am to 6pm or Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm.

Producer Joey Parnes announced today new casting for the US Tour of Bright Star, the new musical from Grammy®, Emmy® and Academy Award®-winning Steve Martin and Grammy Award®-winning Edie Brickell.

BRIGHT STAR at Pioneer Theatre Company is utterly ravishing. The masterful performances and staging will take your breath away as they unforgettably illuminate the moving story and songs. Essentially the original Broadway production transferred to the PTC stage, this is not a locally produced regional production, nor is it a typical national tour per se in its current state. This is the last city where it will be presented in this form, starring Carmen Cusack, who was Tony-nominated for her role. Suffice it to say, the experience of seeing BRIGHT STAR at Pioneer Theatre Company is something very special. In addition to reviewing, BroadwayWorld was provided the opportunity to speak with cast and band members about the production.

The Tony Award nominated musical 'Bright Star' is currently running through November 19, 2017 at the Ahmanson Theatre. Presented by Center Theatre Group, the Tony Award-nominated Best Musical, with music, lyrics and story by Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winner Steve Martin and Grammy winner Edie Brickell, will be directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbieand choreographed by Josh Rhodes. See the Carmen Cusack and the cast of the show in a new music video for the opening number, 'If You Knew My Story' below!

BRIGHT STAR at Ahmanson Theatre plays through November 19. 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. Propelled by an ensemble of onstage musicians and dancers, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion, beautiful melodies and powerfully moving performances.

Steve Martin's and Edie Brickell's Bright Star played Broadway in 2016, garnering a Tony nomination for Carmen Cusack. The show fared somewhat well, but did not seem to be an overall critics' choice. On the minus side, it is an all too familiar story about a backwoods pregnant girl and parental abuse in the 1920s, with far-fetched resolutions and a sweet, but for many, saccharine ending. In spite of this, I was delighted with the bluegrass music by Martin and Brickell, with Walter Bobbie's fluid staging and with the performances. It's most definitely uplifting and an entertaining evening at the Ahmanson through November 19.

Presented by Center Theatre Group, 'Bright Star' opened at the Ahmanson Theatre on Friday, October 20. Go inside opening night below!

Presented by Center Theatre Group, 'Bright Star' will open at the Ahmanson Theatre on Friday, October 20. The Tony Award-nominated Best Musical, with music, lyrics and story by Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winner Steve Martin and Grammy winner Edie Brickell, is currently in previews and is directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Josh Rhodes. Performances will continue through November 19, 2017. BroadwayWorld has an exclusive first look at the cast onstage in Los Angeles below!

'Bright Star' begins previews tonight, October 11, opens October 20, and runs through November 19, 2017 at the Ahmanson Theatre. Presented by Center Theatre Group, the Tony Award-nominated Best Musical, with music, lyrics and story by Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winner Steve Martin and Grammy winner Edie Brickell, will be directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Josh Rhodes. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

Rehearsals have begun and the full cast is set for 'Bright Star' at the Ahmanson Theatre. Presented by Center Theatre Group, the Tony Award-nominated Best Musical, with music, lyrics and story by Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winner Steve Martin and Grammy winner Edie Brickell, will be directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Josh Rhodes. It begins previews October 11, opens October 20 and runs through November 19, 2017. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

Steppenwolf's LookOut Series has announced their summer lineup, which will feature a three week run of the acclaimed solo play, How To Be A Rock Critic (Based on the Writings of Lester Bangs) by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, the award-winning writers of The Exonerated and Aftermath. The show will run July 6 - July 22 in Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre (1700 N Halsted St); the press performance is Friday, July 7 at 8pm.

The annual Palisade Bluegrass & Roots Festival is gearing up for an exciting 2017 event. This Colorado music festival is celebrating its ninth year as one of the most original and authentic bluegrass & roots festivals in the west.

As the cliche goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That is perhaps partly the philosophy behind the rather faithful stage adaptation of the gloriously wonderful movie musical SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, now once again charmingly replicated in a smile-inducing local production at Musical Theatre West that continues through July 26 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. An almost scene-by-scene, note-for-note recreation of the superb cinematic masterpiece, the musical theater iteration of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN smartly and painstakingly reenacts every key moment and memorable musical happenstance from the 1952 movie that many have since heralded as one of the best movie musicals of all time. With MTW's latest revival specifically, director/choreographer Jon Engstrom has helmed a joyful production worth experiencing, whether it's your first or hundredth time. And, yes, it rains on stage... and it's a sight to behold!

To those newer generation theatre and movie fans who do not remember 1952's blockbuster hit film Singin' in the Rain, directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green and costars Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds all contributed to making it the smash that it was... and still is. The zany lightweight hit transferred to the stage in the early 80s and showed the craziness that may have happened when the big movie studios were transitioning from silents to talkies in the late 20s. Now in a classy revival at Musical Theatre West (MTW) in Long Beach, it's all brought back to exuberantly colorful life by skilled director Jon Engstrom and a delicious company of triple threats through July 26 only.

Jeff Austin kicks off his spring/summer tour April 18 at the Old Settler's Music Fest in Driftwood, TX. A full list of dates are below

Today, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Keller Williams and Grateful Dead's Rex Foundation release DOS. DOS is the second Keller Williams' Grateful Grass album to benefit the charitable non-profit organization started by the Grateful Dead to give grants to a variety of worthwhile causes. DOS is available for digital purchase now at nugs.net, with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit The Rex Foundation.

Hangtown Halloween Ball just unleashed the first wave lineup announcements for their 4th annual harvest celebration including 3-nights of Railroad Earth along with the Meter Men featuring Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter Jr. with special guest Robert Walter, Leftover Salmon featuring Bill Payne of Little Feat, ALO, Jeff Austin Band featuring Danny Barnes, Ross Martin and Eric Thorin, The Motet (original and Jamariquai set), Poor Man's Whiskey, Robert Walter's 20th Congress and many more.