“After so many months with little community or engagement, this is the perfect opportunity to come together and celebrate. Let yourself journey across the miles and back in time as together we come to believe – as the song says – 'The Sun is Gonna Shine Again.'”
— Kate Muchmore Woo, Director of Bright Star and co-Chair of TWU Theatre
Trinity Western’s Theatre Department presents Bright Star, the beguiling bluegrass musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.
Inspired by true events and featuring a Tony-nominated score, Bright Star is a sweeping tale of love and redemption that will get your toes tapping and your heart soaring.
Performances March 15 – April 2 at 7:30 p.m., plus Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. Exact schedule, tickets, and more info at www.twu.ca/theatre.
Boy Meets Girl Meets Bluegrass
In the aftermath of World War II, literary editor Alice Murphy meets an aspiring young writer just home from the battlefield. His determined spirit ignites a spark of recognition in Alice, and she sets out on a journey to understand her past. What she discovers holds the power to transform a lifetime of heartache. Set against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and featuring loveable characters and a sweeping score, Bright Star is sure to get your toes tapping and your heart soaring.
“Bright Star is a love story for the ages,” says director and co-Chair of Theatre, Kate Muchmore Woo. “The journey of the characters is joyful, tragic, and ultimately deeply satisfying. With gorgeous, gut-wrenching songs and rousing banjo and fiddle music, it is sure to be a crowd pleaser.”
Bright Star involves faculty from both the Music and Theatre Departments in TWU’s School of the Arts, Media and Culture. Dr. Allan Thorpe is Musical Director and it is his responsibility to oversee the musicians, while Dr. Joel Tranquilla is the vocal coach, ensuring the young actors can faithfully deliver the bluegrass melodies.
“The music is absolutely wonderful – full-bodied, accessible, and really perfect for this group of performers,” says Tranquilla. “There’s an honesty and a directness which is so refreshing to hear.”
Thorpe agrees, noting that “The bluegrass style of the music has a friendly charm that welcomes us into the world of the play. It is a pleasure to support these talented young artists who bring to life what was once just words and dots on a page.”
With seventeen actors and eight musicians, as well as numerous others helping behind the scenes, Bright Star is a big undertaking. But as we begin to emerge from shutdowns after two years of the pandemic, it is the right show at the right time.
“This is a story of resiliency in the face of loss, something we are all far too familiar with,” Woo says. “Like the characters, we have lost sight of what life used to be like and some days we don’t know how we will make it through. But Bright Star shows us that miracles can happen and new dreams and hopes are just around the corner.”
The rolling blues of the Appalachian hills where the story takes place inspired Vanka Salim’s rustic set and Graham Ockley’s romantic lighting. With scenes in both the 1920s and the 1940s, costume designer Kerri Norris and choreographer Lalainia Lindjberg Strelau evoke two different eras with flare, fashion, and fun.
“After so many months with little community or engagement, this is the perfect opportunity to come together and celebrate,” Woo exclaims. “Let yourself journey across the miles and back in time as together we come to believe – as the song says – 'The Sun is Gonna Shine Again.'”
Coquitlam native Madison Willoughby plays Margo, who is caught in a love triangle vying for the affections of aspiring writer, Billy Cane. “Margo has a gentle demeanor and a fiery soul,” Willoughby says. “It’s such fun to play a smart woman with real strength and passion. And singing these songs is pure delight!”
Jennifer Mamchur is a graduating BFA in Acting student, who plays Mama Murphy, a central character as Alice Murphy’s mother. Here are a couple things she has to say:
“There is a lot of heartache in Alice’s life, but there is also this throughline of forgiveness and hope that I find so essential – especially at times like this, in the middle of a pandemic, where hope is hard to see.”
She continues, “There is so much heart, laughter, sorrow, and love in the music. I love being able to dance and sing these wild and wonderful songs that showcase the exhilarating rollercoaster of the human experience.”
Braedon Grover Sunnes, who plays Billy Cain, comments, “Bright Star’s sound is the highlight of this musical. The instantly recognizable rhythms of bluegrass transport listeners to a new world, the Blue Ridge Mountains of the American South. Though the setting might be unfamiliar, the story of finding light in the darkness is something we can all relate to, particularly right now. It reminds me that there is always something we can hold onto when things seem at their worst.”
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier global Christian liberal arts University. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.
Trinity Western University is grateful for our Theatre faculty, students and alumni who are talented, dedicated, and godly individuals who have made positive and lasting contributions to the TWU community and to society at large. Program closures, when necessary, are painful decisions, and we can’t underestimate the toll that such decisions have upon our community. Due to a decade long pattern of insufficient enrolment, limited opportunity for enrolment growth in Theatre, and significant operating expenditures relative to tuition fees, TWU made the difficult decision to close the Theatre programs (and MA TESOL program) over a period of three years, allowing time for current students to graduate well.