REVIEW: BRIGHT STAR—Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company

JUNE 1—LONG BEACH

Fiddlesticks and banjos in Long Beach?

Yes sirree Bob! Darn tootin’ there is!

Right now, the warming sounds of country bluegrass music are breezing through the campus of the historic First Congregational Church of Long Beach, where the musical BRIGHT STAR opened on Friday evening, bringing a beguiling tale of love and redemption to Landmark’s spring theater season in their most enchanting musical to date. The musical plays through June 15th.

Inspired from a true story about the famous “1902 Iron Mountain Baby,” Director/Choreographer Megan O’Toole (“Phantom of the Opera;” “Carousel”) captains this entertaining enactment of enduring love, family ties, and the light of forgiveness with a top-notch cast and crew, making the production feel much larger than its footprint. And, with its modestly winsome Southern literary allusions, the musical moves with easygoing grace, telling a sentiment-spritzed story.

What’s surprising, however, is the source of the songs that give a heady lift to this nostalgia-tinged show, a romantic tale set in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains against the backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and the 1940s. The authors are actor/comedian/novelist Steve Martin (“Picasso at the Lapin Agile;” “Roxanne”) and chart-topping singer-songwriter Edie Brickell (“Shooting Rubberbands”), who rose to fame almost four decades ago. Perhaps more surprising (and even gratifying) is Martin’s grounded, comfort humor, which veers from the wacky comedy we usually associate him with. Instead, the piece has the feel of true inspiration and inventiveness.

Brooke Wittenmeier in Long Beach Landmark Theatre's BRIGHT STAR, Now Playing through June 15th at First Congregational Church in Long Beach

With both collaborating on the Tony-nominated score (its prime asset, which features 20 infectious songs, all refreshingly chockablock with exposition and woven with warmhearted simplicity) and the story, Mr. Martin provides the book and Ms. Brickell the lyrics. Steeped in the toe-tapping sounds of everything from authentic hoedown square dancing to old fashioned bluegrass knee slapping (think a rootsy, tuneful version of “Oklahoma!” without the dream ballet) — so much, that the propulsive first act hardly takes a break from applause as songs and dialogue rush forward together — you may, more precisely, be leaving this theater with a condition known as “stuck song syndrome.” Once the narrative reaches the second act, musical comedy heaven is upon us, and the tidy ending will leave you teary-eyed with a spring in your heart.

BRIGHT STAR is about a young soldier named Billy Cane (Malakai Howard; “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”), just home from World War II, who meets the heart of the show, Alice Murphy (Brooke Wittenmeier; “Rent”), an astute, no-nonsense editor of a prominent literary magazine. She admires his disarming pluck, and as they ease into each other’s orbit, a series of time-jumping scenes unspool the struggles and heartaches deep in Alice’s past, which soon comes to life onstage. One of those heartaches was her teenage breakup with then-fiancé Jimmy Ray Dobbs (Eric Dobson; “American Idiot”), dashing son of the perpetually furious local mayor (Jay Dysart; “Assassins”), with whom she was head-over-heels in love with, and conceived a child out of wedlock.

Malakai Howard and Charlie Carlos in Long Beach Landmark Theatre's BRIGHT STAR, Now Playing through June 15th at First Congregational Church in Long Beach

But although their love was pure, it fell victim to the interference of ambitious parents fearing a public outcry. Drunk with power (and, well, alcohol), the Mayor will apparently do anything — and we mean anything — to prevent his son from deviating from the righteous, financially-ensuring path he has already chosen for him.

Ms. Wittenmeier proves to be a real discovery with her appealing authenticity. She pivots convincingly between spirited young woman and hardened cynic, her honeyed voice sitting comfortably in the seductive twang of country, soaking into all the nooks and crannies the genre asks it to. She can either soar or sear at will, radiating with passion, or the wistful regret of a heart long broken and slow to heal.

Jay Dysart in Long Beach Landmark Theatre's BRIGHT STAR, Now Playing through June 15th at First Congregational Church in Long Beach

As a whole, the production gleams, with sound that is vibrant and crisp, and the broadly sketched numbers either lively feel-good rousers or laments with generalized lyrics the listener can easily identify with. The production also boasts an excellent ensemble cast with harmonious powerhouse voices and energetic dance moves.

We are presented, for instance, with how a character feels while knitting one's soon-to-be born baby's sweater in "I Can't Wait;" the selfless promise of being ready for a departed lover's return with Margo’s (Rosie Quintana; “Damn Yankees”) "Asheville;" the enchanting "Way Back in the Day," as Alice wistfully remembers simpler times; and the down-home rave-up, "Firmer Hand," by Matt Winkler’s (“The Pirates of Penzance”) God-fearing Daddy Murphy, who keeps scolding the wayward Alice as it skitters along to the rhythm of foot-stomps, despite the daughter's wearied "Do Right" countering.

Rosie Quintana and Malakai Howard in Long Beach Landmark Theatre's BRIGHT STAR, Now Playing through June 15th at First Congregational Church in Long Beach

The song, “Bright Star,” also has that same, earthy, down-home feel with such an unabashedly folksy-sweet flavor that it breezes along on gentle gusts of spirit and optimism. Many of the numbers in fact can be considered exuberant, such as the succinct, it'll-get-better outlook in the company’s "Sun’s Gonna Shine” at the top of Act 2, which drives the message home with its chipperness.

The endearingly charming Mr. Howard as Billy makes for a very appealing male ingenue — radiating youthful ambition and a nice unvarnished innocence that charms all ages. He also has great chemistry with the sweet-faced Ms. Quintana as Margo, childhood pal who secretly pines for him. Billy’s greatest ambition is to be a writer, and he sets out to achieve his dream almost immediately. So, with a passel of short stories in hand, he heads straight for, yes, The Asheville Southern Journal (supposedly the literary hub of the south in this story).

Then there’s that perfectly sole aural spotlight in the show with "A Man's Gotta Do," led by menacing-voiced Jay Dysart, when it develops into a father/son counterpoint battle with Mr. Dobson’s Jimmy Ray, and reprises at the end of the first act. Mr. Dysart’s love-to-loath-him villainy of Mayor Dobbs is pure spine-chilling. Also effective is the fun-loving number, “The Shiny Penny/Another Round,” which evokes sympathy, laughter, and dance with Mark Waters’ Daryl and Bobby Brannon’s Lucy providing welcome comic respites (during which Ms. Brannon loses her wig in the mix with hilarious results).

The Company of Long Beach Landmark Theatre's BRIGHT STAR, Now Playing through June 15th at First Congregational Church in Long Beach

So, all “hemming and hawing” and “straddling the fence” aside, let me just affirm that while it is true that BRIGHT STAR is considered a no-frills, narrative-driven musical, it is also unquestionably an intimate southern epic, mired in sorrow and tragedy, but ultimately enveloped in hope, heart, mirth and love. An excellent performance in every way.

LANDMARK THEATRE LONG BEACH PRESENTS — BRIGHT STAR; with Music, Book and Story by STEVE MARTIN and Music, Lyrics and Story by EDIE BRICKWELL. Director/Choreographer MEGAN O’TOOLE; Scenic Designer NATHAN AMONDSON; Costume Designer JAMES CARHART; Lighting Designer DEREK JONES; Sound Designer KEN BEAUPRE; Producer JAY DYSART; Technical Coordinator COREY SHAW; Technical Director HAROLD KAST; Stage Manager ALINA MORGAN.

BAND: Musical Director CURTIS HEARD; JORDAN BUSH; ERIC MESSERSCHMIDT; AMANDA DUNCAN; GREG ADAMSON; ANNA FORD; LISA SANTANA; JACK SNEDDON; PRAWIT SIRIWAY.

WITH: BROOKE WITTENMEIER; MALAKAI HOWARD; CHARLIE CARLOS; ROSIE QUINTANA; RICHIE MUHAMMAD; MADISON BROWN; EMILY “EC” CIPRIANI; MARK WATERS; BOBBY BRANNON; LISA BODE HEARD; MATT WINKLER; JAY DYSART; ERIC DOBSON; MATT KOPP; DOUG EMSLIE; CARON LOWE; BRIANA BONILLA; RON TROESTER; ERASMUS CONWAY; JADZIA KOPP; MARK BRUCE-CASARES.

BRIGHT STAR will continue performances through June 15th at the historic First Congregational Church of Long Beach, and is located at 241 Cedar Avenue, downtown Long Beach. For tickets or for more information, please visit https://lblandmark.org/tickets/

Chris Daniels

Arts & Entertainment Reviewer

The Show Report

Photo Credits: Byron-Josh Reyes