Stephen Lee News

The new musical BRIGHT STAR, from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, will play a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater from December 2, 2015 to January 10, 2016. Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, BRIGHT STAR will have its Kennedy Center official opening night on Thursday, December 17. BRIGHT STAR will begin performances on Broadway on Thursday, February 25, 2016 with an official Broadway opening night on Thursday, March 24 at the Cort Theatre. Carmen Cusack will make her Broadway debut as Alice, a role she originated in BRIGHT STAR's world premiere production, and will be 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. Inspired by an astonishing true event, the wholly original new musical BRIGHT STAR tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and 40s. When successful literary editor Alice Murphy meets an ambitious young soldier just home from World War II, their connection inspires Alice to confront a shocking incident from her past. Together they discover a long-buried secret with the power to transform their lives. With music and book by Steve Martin and music and lyrics by Edie Brickell, BRIGHT STAR is based on an original story by Martin and Brickell and features direction by Walter Bobbie, choreography by Josh Rhodes, scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Tom Watson, musical supervision by Peter Asher, musical direction and vocal arrangements by Rob Berman, orchestrations by August Eriksmoen, and casting by Howie Cherpakov. BRIGHT STAR was developed and had its world premiere at The Old Globe in San Diego (Barry Edelstein, Artistic Director; Michael G. Murphy, Managing Director). BRIGHT STAR runs December 2, 2015 - January 10, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets starting at $45 are available on the Kennedy Center website, in-person at the Kennedy Center box office, or by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.

The new musical BRIGHT STAR, from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, will play a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater now through January 10, 2016. Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, BRIGHT STAR will have its Kennedy Center official opening night tonight, December 17.

The new musical BRIGHT STAR, from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, will play a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater from tonight, December 2, 2015, to January 10, 2016. Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, BRIGHT STAR will have its Kennedy Center official opening night on Thursday, December 17.

Tickets for the Broadway run of Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell's much-anticipated new musical BRIGHT STAR are officially on sale. Tony winner Walter Bobbie is at the helm, with Carmen Cusack on tap to make her Broadway debut in the musical, which begins previews Feb. 25, 2016 at the Cort Theatre, ahead of an official opening night on, March 24. Before its Broadway bow, BRIGHT STAR will play a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center from Dec. 2, 2015 through Jan. 10, 2016. Below, go inside the recording studio with Martin and the company!

BOO, hiss - he's behind you! Traditional pantomime fun for the whole family comes alive this December with Babes in the Wood, featuring song and dance, gender-swapped roles, groan-worthy jokes and an avalanche of ad-libbing.

Tickets for the Broadway run of Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell's much-anticipated new musical BRIGHT STAR are officially on sale, BroadwayWorld has confirmed this morning.

The new musical BRIGHT STAR, from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, will play a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater from December 2, 2015 to January 10, 2016.

The two authors and director Walter Bobbie talk about the excitement of creating a fully original musical.

Some bright news from BRIGHT STAR! BroadwayWorld has learned that the new musical from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, will play Broadway's Cort Theatre (138 West 48th Street).

Today in 1998, Footloose opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 709 performances. Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow (among others), the lyrics by Dean Pitchford (with additional lyrics by Kenny Loggins), and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. It starred Jeremy Kushnier as Ren McCormack, Stephen Lee Anderson as Reverend Shaw Moore, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Ariel Moore, Tom Plotkin as Willard Hewitt, and Dee Hoty as Vi Moore.

To celebrate the big casting news, we're flashing back to the show's original run at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. Check out highlights and photos of the cast in action below!

BroadwayWorld is excited to announce the complete cast and Broadway dates for the new musical BRIGHT STAR from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell.

The inaugural WATU Adelaide Youth Choir Festival, comprising more than 120 choristers from South Australia and interstate aged between twelve and nineteen years, will be held from 7-10 October 2015.

Tonight, 12 May 2015, the multi award-winning smash hit Billy Elliot the Musical celebrates ten years in the West End.  The musical received its world premiere at the Victoria Palace Theatre in March 2005 with the gala opening night taking place exactly 10 years ago today.   To coincide with the 10th birthday celebrations, Billy Elliot the Musical today announces an extension to the West End run, releasing over 600,000 tickets for sale, taking booking through to 17 December 2016.  In addition, the first UK and Ireland tour of Billy Elliot the Musical is also announced today, opening at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in February 2016.  Further tour dates and booking details will be announced shortly.

Host and award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot welcome judge Christina Tosi, renowned pastry chef, owner and founder of New York City's Milk Bar, to Season Six of MASTERCHEF, premiering with a special two-hour event Wednesday, May 20 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). The culinary smash hit moves into its regular time period the following week on Wednesday, May 27 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).

Today in 1998, Footloose opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 709 performances. Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow (among others), the lyrics by Dean Pitchford (with additional lyrics by Kenny Loggins), and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. It starred Jeremy Kushnier as Ren McCormack, Stephen Lee Anderson as Reverend Shaw Moore, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Ariel Moore, Tom Plotkin as Willard Hewitt, and Dee Hoty as Vi Moore.

In celebration of this season's ON THE TOWN, we've collected 10 of our favorite dance musicals. From classics like ANYTHING GOES, 42ND STREET, A CHORUS LINE and WEST SIDE STORY to modern marvels such as NEWSIES and STRICTLY BALLROOM, the way choreography is used to tell a story continues to evolve and inspire.

What I found so utterly engaging about the world premiere of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's new musical BRIGHT STAR is its complete unpretentiousness. Certainly its musical style --American bluegrass with a heaping helping of laid back mountain charm -- has the kind of lilting homespun ease that makes you feel like you're listening to the neighborhood jug band on mama's back porch, and there's something oddly comforting about that.

The Old Globe presents World Premiere of Bright Star, a new American musical featuring music by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin, lyrics by Brickell, and book by Martin, based on an original story by Martin and Brickell. Directed by Walter Bobbie, Bright Star runs now through November 2, 2014 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Scroll down for photos from the opening festivities!