Act I
After an introduction from Alice Murphy (If You Knew My Story), the story begins with Billy coming home from the war. He comes home to his father and learns that his mother has died. (She's Gone) We meet Margo, Billy's old friend who is clearly carrying a torch for him, but he's oblivious. Billy is a writer, and he has been sending Margo stories to edit. She has typed them up for him. He decides to go to Ashville to try to get his stories published. (Bright Star). (I don't remember the exact order of all that but that's the gist.)
Billy goes to the Asheville Southern Journal where he is told by the staff, Daryl and Lucy, that the editor is notoriously tough. Alice Murphy comes out and meets him. He tells her he has a letter from a famous author and she agrees to read his stories. He leaves, and she tells Darryl and Lucy he's a liar, and she wants to read his stories because good liars make good writers. Daryl and Lucy ask Alice if she wants to go out with them, and Alice tells them she used to be a lot more fun. (Back in the Day).
We go back in time and a younger Alice is at a farmhouse. She finds Jimmy Ray fixing an icebox and asks why the mayor's son is fixing an icebox. She tells him she wants him to ask her to the couple's dance. They flirt and are both playing hard to get. (Hey Mama). She gets home late and gets in trouble. (Firmer Hand/Do Right). Meanwhile, Jimmy Ray goes to his dad's office and his dad is trying to get him to marry someone from the "right" family. (A Man's Gotta Do)
We go back to present day, and find out that Alice has agreed to pay Billy as a writer but isn't buying any of his stories yet. He tells Margo he is moving to Asheville and she laments that he's leaving her. (Asheville).
Going back in time again, we find Alice at the couple's dance, where Jimmy Ray is dancing with another girl. She grabs another guy to make him jealous, and they end up slipping away together to sneak down to the river. She tells him she has to get home (What Could Be Better) but instead they... Well you get the idea.
We then are taken to a doctor's office where Alice learns she is pregnant. The doctor promises not to tell, but the mayor finds out and tells Jimmy Ray. Jimmy Ray asks his dad not to do anything, but he goes to Alice and her parents and offers a cabin in the woods where she can hide during her pregnancy. Jimmy Ray proposes to Alice and she says yes, but not now. Alice and Jimmy Ray are both happy about the baby (I Can't Wait) but she agrees to go away until after the baby's born to avoid bringing shame to the family.
At the cabin in the woods, Alice has a baby, and her parents are there when the mayor shows up. She asks where Jimmy Ray is because he has been there every day fawning over his son. The mayor says he's running an errand. He tells Alice he has arranged for an adoption agency to take the baby, and all he needs is a signature from Alice's father since she's a minor. Over the pleas of Alice and her mother, her father signs the paper and the mayor puts the baby in a suitcase. (You Can't Take Him). The mayor tells them he is taking the baby to Raleigh. Instead, he throws the baby from the train. (A Man's Gotta Do, reprise).
Act II
Alice is devastated over the loss of her baby and her mother is trying to console her. (Sun is Gonna Shine). She learns that someone has paid for her to go to college in Chapel Hill.
Jimmy Ray comes into his dad's office. The mayor is drinking and Jimmy Ray tells him he needs to stop. He informs his dad he is going to Chapel Hill and that he and Alice are going to go to Raleigh to try to find their baby. His dad tells him what he has done, and Jimmy Ray decides he can't face Alice again. (Heartbreaker)
Going forward in time again, we learn that Alice has agreed to publish one of Billy's stories. She is getting ready to take a trip home on personal family business, and she agrees to meet him in his hometown and meet his family. Billy goes out drinking with Darryl and Lucy. (Another Round). Lucy kisses him.
We then go to Raleigh, where Alice is at the adoption agency asking about the records of her baby, but there are no records of a baby dropped off that day. She asks if a man has come looking for the same baby, and the woman says no. Alice goes and finds Jimmy Ray coming out of his house after a woman and some kids. She asks if they're his, and he said no, they're his sister's. He has never married. She asks why he never came looking for her or the baby and he reveals his father had paid to send her to Chapel Hill, tells her what his father did to the baby. (I Had A Vision)
Meanwhile, Billy has come home and goes to the bookshop where Margo works to tell her he is going to be published. He tells her he kissed a girl and it made him realize he loves her. (Always Will). Billy goes home and tells his father that his editor is coming to visit. Alice shows up, and Billy's father tells him he'll get him a bag to carry some things back to Asheville. He comes out with the suitcase Alice's baby was taken in, and the sweater she had knitted the baby is in it. Alice realizes Billy is her son (So Familiar), and Billy's father tells him how he found him when he was "toad kickin." Billy storms off upset saying he had a mother who died. But Alice is thrilled to learn he is alive. (At Long Last).
Alice is back in the office, and Darryl and Lucy comment that she has been spending a lot of time with Jimmy Ray. She is expecting him, but suddenly Billy and Margo walk through the door. He apologizes and said he was just shocked. She says his father would love to meet him and he says he wouldn't know him if he saw him, but then Jimmy Ray walks in and they know they are father in son. Billy tells them he is marrying Margo and Jimmy Ray asks Alice if she'll go to the wedding. Alice responds of course she will; he's her son. Jimmy Ray says "not theirs, ours" and gets down on one knee. She says yes and they all live happily ever after. (Finale)
The Bright Star reprise is sung during curtain call.
