Rehearsing with Director, Amy Marie McCleary (center), is Jacob Anderson (Mayor Dobbs) and Bryant Howard (Jimmy Ray Dobbs — seated) in Timber Lake Playhouse's production of Bright Star. Bright Star opens August 3 - 13
MOUNT CARROLL, ILLINOIS (July 28, 2023) — Timber Lake Playhouse (TLP), the premier professional summer theatre of northwest Illinois, brings screenwriter and playwright Steve Martin (Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Roxanne) and chart-topping singer-songwriter Edie Brickell’s American musical inspired by their Grammy Award-winning collaboration “Love Has Come for You.” Bright Star features nearly twenty new songs — Americana with a touch of rock — and tells a beguiling tale that unfolds in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina between 1923 and 1945.
Billy Cane, a young soldier just home from World War II, meets Alice Murphy, the brilliant editor of a southern literary journal. Together they discover a powerful secret that alters their lives. Bright Star makes its TLP début with this entertaining musical of enduring love, family ties, and the light of forgiveness that shines from a bright star.
“In choosing Bright Star for TLP’s season, I was particularly drawn to its bluegrass music,” said Dan Danielowski, TLP Executive Director. “We heard a lot of positive comments for this type of music two years ago when we did The Robber Bridegroom, so it seemed a natural choice.”
Bright Star is directed and choreographed by Amy Marie McCleary. She comes directly from Circa 21 where she directed and choreographed their production of Escape to Margaritaville. She has also directed their productions of Saturday Night Fever, Disaster, and We Will Rock You. Music direction is by Oliver Townsend, scenic designs by Dan Danielowski, costume designs by Maya Faye Gordon, props design by Sydney Vega Pauley, lighting design by Frey Bendele, wig design by Josh Medina, and sound design by Dillon Allen. The Production Stage Manager is Elaina Veasey.
TLP’s production features two long-time TLP favorites are returning to the Playhouse for Bright Star. In the role of Daddy Cane is Jim Blanchette. Blanchette appeared in several shows at TLP in the 80’s and 90’s. John Chase (King Arthur in Spamalot, Sunset Boulevard, Buddy Holly Story, Inspector Calls) returns in the role of Daddy Murphy. Other cast members include Isabella Andrews (Alice Murphy), Bryant Howard (Jimmy Ray), Keaton Miller (Billy), and Olivia De Jager (Margo).
Inspired by a real event and featuring the Grammy-nominated score, Bright Star tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the 1920’s and 1940’s. An uplifting theatrical journey that holds you tight in its grasp, Bright Star is as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful.
“It is a kind of music that we have not often heard in our theatre,” said Danielowski. “I loved imagining our company singing to the accompaniment of a fiddle, banjo, and mandolin — with audience members tapping their feet in time.”
Information and tickets for all Timber Lake Playhouse events are available online at timberlakeplayhouse.org or by calling the Box Office at (815) 244-2035. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 10AM-5PM, and show days until intermission.
