BRIGHT STAR (Pre-Broadway) at the Kennedy Center — Page 3

The BroadwayWorld.Com review is also up: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Review-Martin-and-Brickells-Sweet-and-Pretty-Broadway-Bound-Musical-BRIGHT-STAR-Plays-Kennedy-Center-20151218

I very much enjoyed the score, liked the set a lot and thought the show was very well sung and acted by a talented cast. I agree with previous posters that Paul Nolan was a standout. But even with all of those positives, I really didn't like the show as the book was just horrible. I was bored during most of Act I. Act II was definitely better, but from part way through Act I, you know exactly what is going to happen. I wish it all the best and am always rooting for new and original musicals, but unfortunately I think its book is going to hinder its success on Broadway.

Maybe my tastes are overly simple, but I really liked it. The music and dancing are good and the cast is incredibly strong. (Loved the sets, too!) There's a weak spot here and there in the book -- you can spot the twist coming a mile away -- and maybe things tie up a bit too neatly at the end, but I found it funny and moving by turns and enjoyed it very much. I wish it luck on Broadway.

I think my favorite number was Emily Padgett's second-act number -- she was fantastic.

I saw the matinee today (1/7/16) and all I can say is... uh okay.

Throughout the whole piece I honestly just felt like the actors were way better than the material. I was kinda bored and just thought it wasn't my thing through act one, but from when Alice's baby was taken, I really couldn't take it seriously. The act one closing scene is ridiculous and melodramatic, and it really comes out of no where... all I can ask is why? Why have him clearly throw the bag backwards then make it visible again?

And I thought act two was all over the shop- some of the musical performances were great, but Alice telling everyone what happened got really repetitive. Speaking of repetitive, the lyrics...

'a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do when hes got to'... ugh. Just no. A few times is okay, but it gets downright annoying. Also, Alice's '11 o'clock number' was just her repeating the same line over and over. The lyrics were kind of just (pleasedontkillme) dumb.

The instrumentals were all great, however eventually the score just blended together and I couldn't really distinguish from about 3 songs. The set and costumes were all good.

The musical just seems to play out like a Disney movie, and I found myself wondering why I should care about any of what is happening on stage. I mean, the story itself is interesting, but it's newspaper article interesting. Not really enough for a musical imo. Also the cast all sang with very strong accents, much like is heard in country music (I understand it's because of the style of music, but they were all over the place).