Ahead of this weekend's opening of Bright Star, cast and creatives from Spokane Valley Summer Theatre's new production of the musical joined E.J. Iannelli in the KPBX studio to showcase its folk- and bluegrass-infused songbook.
J. Clayton Winters, a touring Equity actor who previously appeared in last year's Bridges of Madison County at SVST, discussed his character in the musical, Jimmy Ray Dobbs. He also outlined the musical's pivotal time shifts between 1923 and 1946. Local actor Andrea Olsen, who recently choreographed SVST's season opener, Grease, shed some light on her character, Alice Murphy.
Matt Goodrich, the show's music director, talked about Bright Star's unconventional instrumentation and his first experience working with SVST after having done shows with Aspire and Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre.
Out in the SPR performance space, Goodrich, Olsen and Winters were augmented by Daniel Gore (mandolin) and Rebecca Stamm (fiddle) to perform three songs from the musical: "Woah Mama," "Way Back in the Day" and "What Could Be Better."
Bright Star was written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. Its narrative is based on the folk story of the Iron Mountain Baby, and its music has its origins in Brickell and Martin's 2013 bluegrass album Love Has Come for You.
Yvonne A.K. Johnson is directing this production of Bright Star, which opens this Friday (July 14) and runs until July 23 at the University High School Theatre (12420 E 32nd Ave) in Spokane Valley.
Tickets and more information are available at the Spokane Valley Summer Theatre website.
