Bright Star

I had first heard of  Bright Star a couple years ago when the touring company performed it at Pioneer Theatre. Ivy and I knew very little about it. Most of the cast was made up of the original Broadway show. I was particularly impressed with the lead, Carmen Cusack, who played Alice Murphy. She blew my mind. Such an amazing artist. I wanted to play Alice. I waited for the day that I could be a part of the show. 

When Hale announced they were doing it I was overjoyed. I then looked at the cast breakdown  and saw that the age range they wanted for Alice was 10 years younger than me. I quickly realized that although Carmen Cusack was my age, it was a long shot that I would be cast as Alice in the real world of theatre. And it made sense, Alice was 16 in the flashback scenes and in the present day (1940's) it is 20 years later and she would be in her late 30's. SO, I set aside that dream and focused on just getting in the show. I would be anything. Ensemble or Mama Murphy, I did not care. I just wanted to be in it.

I tried out with the song, Lovesick Blues. (the Patsy Cline version) I made the mistake of printing it out in a weird key. I don't know much about music theory and it was a key that could have been started on the same note but easier to read for the accompanist, who also happened to be the musical director, Kelly Dehaan, He jokingly gave me a hard time about it, but the room was friendly and I felt really good about my audition. Luckily, I had done Steel Magnolias just months before and the producers were excited to see me there and could recommend me to the director, Dave Tinney.

I got a call  back for Mama Murphy with just one other woman, Julie Waite. The show would be double cast, so I thought our odds were pretty good. Haha! But, then at the callback the Kelly explained that they cast from different groups, so just because you may be called back with one other person does not guarantee a role.

Although, after Julie and I sang, Dave said, "I am not sure why we even had you two come in. That was wonderful and we appreciate you coming, but..." The way he said it was like, we should have just cast them and not wasted their time coming in. But, I was still not sure. I have had many great auditions for Hale and they end up going in a different direction, so I wouldn't believe it until I saw my name on that cast list. 

After a grueling 2 weeks of waiting, I finally got the email that I had been cast. Mama Murphy! I was on cloud nine and stayed on that cloud for all of rehearsals and into our run. We all came in with the music and lines pretty much off book. We only had three weeks of rehearsal before tech, so it was intense and fast paced. Here we are above at the Sitzprobe. That was a magical day. This score, I could seriously sing for years and never tire of it.

And the set...once we moved into the theater...I was in awe of the technical aspects of this show. The set, lighting, sound, costumes, wigs, props, and the crew was just the bomb! I was anxious to get this show in front of an audience and hear their reactions and feel their energy. 

And I got to work with this amazing talent. My double, Julie. I was always skeptical of double casting, but working at the Hale has changed that perspective. There is something to be said about collaborating on a character with someone. Whether it be a director when you are single cast or the director and another actor. There is a chance to also watch the show and learn from that experience. I still prefer to be single cast, but I do not mind one bit if I am double cast. It was a joy from start to finish and when we opened I rarely got to see her, so that was a bummer. The only real downfall really. 

Then came opening night, January 20, 2020. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. People are not as familiar with this play so I noticed with each audience it took them a few scenes to get into the show and warm up to us. But, then we had them in the palm of our hand and could take them on this splendid journey.

 The audible gasps and laughter. The sniffly, and the silence where you could hear a pin drop. It was all such a delight. I loved having friends and family come and share this with them. Here I am with Russ and Janell. Franci came too with Katrina, Kam and Aubrey.

 Ivy had been in the show the year before at her high school, so my family already knew the drill, but it was fun to see a different vision of it. they really enjoyed it.

And most of my friends from my neighborhood came. That was a fun day. 

from l to r: Emily, Camille, Jess, Suzanne, Me, Diana, Carly, Amy, Betsy, Carrie and Heather. My friends Tasha and John also came and just raved about it. 

Getting into the run and sharing the stage mostly with these two, Donna (Alice) and Dave (Daddy Murphy) was such a blast. I never knew what little nuance they would throw in or if Dave was going to make his entrance on time. Haha! Bu, he was always there. And I loved his silly stories.

I shared a dressing room with Donna and Brianna (Margo). We had some great talks and it was a fun dressing room. We laughed a lot and also gave each other space to focus before the show. Very professional and time that I looked forward to each performance. My favorite song in the show is "Asheville" and Brianna sang it. I would just sit in the dressing room and listen intently each night. She sang it so beautifully.

I loved our cast. They were all so talented and the thing about each person was that you could tell they wanted to be there. They were proud to be in the show, and got excited about it. We were a team. We had each others back and all got along well. And I can honestly say that we all gave or heart to this show. We committed to it each night and there was electricity in the air because of that commitment.

One of my favorite parts of the night was the opening number. It put us all in the right head space to do the show each night. The play is well constructed and they knew what they were doing to open the show with this number. (If You Knew My Story) Dave gave us the direction to tell our own story. Even though Alice was in the spotlight we all had a story to tell that night. Our story. 

This play did not work if the ensemble and supporting characters gave their energy to what was going on in the scene. It fell flat. He literally had to lean in and give our energy and focus to the person singing. We had to listen and react to what they were expressing without pulling focus. These are "real" people. No broad characters, just real people in a memory play going on their journey. 

There were some intense scenes to be sure, but we had to keep everything based in truth. We had to be vulnerable and lay ourselves before the audience. Some nights it would get pretty raw for me and I would cry at intermission. I am usually one who can separate what happens on stage with off stage. But, some nights I couldn't shake it for a bit and crying helped me release and then get back into the right head space to do the second act.

I adore playing a mom onstage. It is all I ever wanted to be besides an actress and I love portraying "role" onstage. I have been evil and manipulative moms onstage and that can be fun for sure. But, my favorite are moms like Mama Murphy and M'Lynn in Steel Magnolias. They moms that love their children beyond comprehension. The mom that is the sage and shows empathy and compassion. We all need those kind of "moms" in our life. And to be able to be there for Alice each night and relive the story being told about these two amazing women was pure heaven. Donna was a dream to work with and like I said, most of my scenes were with her and Dave. I was spoiled.

The give and take. The connection. It was exciting each night for things to be in the moment and slightly different. We got to play and try new things. It was a great lesson of being in the moment. Still being within the confines the dirctor set and the stage manager maintained, but still keeping things fresh and alive.

Another way our cast got to keep things fresh and alive as that we were privileged to have Bre Welch go on as Alice's understudy. She pretty much did all of our Sat Matinees so Donna didn't have to do three shows in one day.

I adore Bre. She was Lucy in our cast and then she went on for Alice for when needed. Talk about putting the work in. It wasn't like a double cast situation where you had equal rehearsal time. She would do her scenes as Lucy and then watch Donna. Often filming the scenes so she could work on them at home on her own. When she first did a run through with us, I was blown away! She is so smart, so talented and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. It kept me on my toes to perform with Donna and Bre. They both had unique things to bring to the role and I loved being able to react and connect with each of them. It kept things alive and fresh. 

I also got to perform with the other cast a couple times. That was a real treat. After rehearsing with them for a few weeks it was fun to see them all again and play. 

Little did I know that the last time I would perform in this show would be with the other cast on Tues night performance...

Yes, due to Covid 19 we were cut short half way through our run. I felt so bad for Julie because her last performance had been on a Sat. I went on Mon and Tues and then they canceled. We didn't have a chance to say goodbye. No cast party, no closure. We thought maybe there was a chance we could go back after a couple weeks, but my the end of March it became clear that we were done. I took the following pictures when I came to pick up my dressing room belongings and turn in my script. One last pic of the set, above.

The wigs and hats

Stage L Props

And my dressing room cubby. I cried. I love this show with all my heart and I don't think ANY of us were ready to say goodbye. It has been one of the highlights of my very long theater career. Top five shows for sure. I will miss it.

UPDATE: May 24, 2020 There is talk of bringing Bright Star back for a limited run once theaters are able to open. It could be this summer or fall, but they are hoping to do it. They had to outright cancel Titanic the musical for Hale, but every other show in their season they are hoping to do at a later date. We will see how it all pans out. I am crossing my fingers!