Martin, a Grammy and Emmy winner, teamed with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter to write the show, which opened its pre-Broadway engagement Dec. 17 at in Washington, DC.
Here are some of the highlights from the PBS interview:
- Martin: We both grew up on musicals. We love their emotion and their melodies, and we got this...harebrained idea to write one ourselves.
- Martin: My part of the song was written on the banjo.... When you combine the banjo with the cello and the violin and the viola, you have the punctuation of the banjo and these long, long notes of the strings, and I think it鈥檚 a really good sound.
- Brickell: Well, I always loved that 'You are 16 going on 17 song' [from The Sound of Music].... That鈥檚 the one that breaks my heart, because it's so beautiful and so sweet. I love it. And so I woke up one morning realizing, we need a song like that. We need our '16 going on 17' moment. And so those little epiphanies helped direct the sense of writing.
The Kennedy Center engagement began previews Dec. 2 and will play through Jan. 10, 2016. , , , and are among the stars. The musical had its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe in 2014._444_296.jpg)
Jeff Blumenkrantz, AJ Shively, Emily Padgett and the company of Bright Star Photo by Joan Marcus Tony Award winner directs the production that will begin Broadway previews Feb. 25 at the Cort Theatre, followed by opening night on March 24.
Cusack, who starred in the musical's premiere at , is joined by Nolan, Mulheren, Bogardus, Hoty, , , , , , , , , Patrick Cummings, Sandra DeNise, , , , , , and .
Inspired by a true event, Bright Star, according to press notes, "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 her past. Together they discover a stunning secret with the power to transform their lives."
With music and book by Martin and music and lyrics by Brickell, the production has choreography by , scenic design by , costume design by , lighting design by , sound design by , musical supervision by , musical direction and vocal arrangements by and orchestrations by .
The Broadway production is produced by .
For more information visit or call (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.
