When you find yourself at a dinner theater sitting next to two people who’ve seen the same musical three times, you pay attention. That was the case during Bright Star at Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Johnstown, where a couple of self-declared superfans eagerly shared their love for the show’s sweeping romance, soaring harmonies and Appalachian soul.
They’d seen it at the Arvada Center, Theatre Aspen and even attended a local Colorado high school production. While they enjoyed aspects of the other productions, the couple was clear: Candlelight’s production, directed by Steve Wilson, was the most polished, emotionally charged version they’d seen.
I hadn’t seen Bright Star before, but by the time Jennasea Pearce’s Alice and the ensemble around her sang the final notes, I was all in. This production, running through June 8, blends a predictable but poignant plot with exceptional performances, lush vocals and a bluegrass band so good it just might convince you to pick up a fiddle on the way home.
A tale in two timelines
Written by banjo-wielding comedy legend Steve Martin and folk-rock icon Edie Brickell, Bright Star is a Southern Gothic musical romance loosely inspired by a true story. The show bounces between 1920s and 1940s North Carolina, following Alice Murphy, a sharp-minded literary editor with a buried past. When she crosses paths with Billy Cane, a young WWII veteran and aspiring writer, it sets off a journey of reckoning that brings long-buried secrets to the surface.
With its bluegrass-fueled score and earnest Americana heart, Bright Star made a quiet splash on Broadway in 2016, earning six Tony award nominations. In this lovingly rendered production at Colorado’s largest professional dinner theater, it lands with a thunderclap of emotion.
Under the direction of Wilson, the production leans into the story’s sentimentality without overplaying the melodrama. The twists are predictable if you’ve ever read a Nicholas Sparks novel or seen a Hallmark movie, but the way the story unfolds with humor and sincerity keeps it compelling. It’s a show that wears its heart on its sleeve, and that’s exactly what makes it work.
The show’s success rests on the shoulders of its lead, and Pearce delivers. As Alice, she gracefully navigates the role’s time-jumping demands, effortlessly shifting from a commanding but reserved adult to a hopeful teenager with raw honesty. Her vocals are precise and moving, especially in moments of deep emotional reckoning, like Alice’s harrowing plea to keep her baby, “Please, Don’t Take Him,” and her heartfelt reunion with a long-lost family member, “So Familiar / At Long Last.”
The rest of the cast brings energy to this southern drama. Andrew Hensel is all charm and bright-eyed ambition as Billy Cane, the young writer who lies his way into Alice’s office. His chemistry with Paige Bryant’s warm, grounded Margo Crawford, the small-town bookstore owner quietly pining for him, makes for some of the show’s sweetest moments, particularly in their romantic Act II duet, “Always Will.”
Jude Thurman and AJ Milunas nearly walk off with the show as Lucy Grant and Daryl Ames, Alice’s quippy office mates. They had some of the sharpest reactions in the cast and their barroom romp “Another Round” is easily the show’s comic highlight. Thurman’s bite and Milunas’ sass make them a pair you wish had a spin-off.
Jazz Mueller, as Jimmy Ray Dobbs, Alice’s first love, takes a bit to find his footing but delivers a devastating rendition of “Heartbreaker” in Act II that justifies the slow burn. As his father, Mayor Josiah Dobbs, Carter Edward Smith avoids cartoonish villainy, portraying a man who believes he’s doing the right thing, even if it costs him his soul.
Scott Severtson also impresses as Daddy Murphy, a father whose failures are made complex by a performance grounded in grief and stubborn hope. It’s a strong 19-person ensemble all around — critical in a show that frequently switches between decades, towns and emotional registers — with each supporting player adding texture to the story’s small-town setting.
Design, direction and dinner deliver
Wilson guides the production with a steady hand, keeping the story’s shifting timelines clear. There’s a quiet confidence to his staging — he knows when to step back and let the material breathe. Costume designer Deb Faber also helps delineate the decades with period-appropriate flair, maybe a touch too polished for rural North Carolina, but undeniably pleasing to the eye.
Vocal director Jalyn Courtenay Webb deserves special praise for shaping the show’s rich soundscape and harmonic depth. Choreographer Tia Bloom keeps the movement lively and rooted in character throughout. From playful sequences in Margo’s bookstore to quieter moments like the moving reconciliation between Alice and Jimmy in “I Had A Vision,” Bloom’s work underscores the show’s emotional beats.
Scenic designer Casey Kearns opts for a minimalist, functional set of wooden slats and a raised platform for the onstage band, giving lighting designer Vance Mackenzie room on the scrim and downstage to play with color and shadows.
The show’s band — the Mason Jars — are more than window dressing. Led by conductor Mason Siders, they’re an integral part of the show’s texture, delivering Martin and Brickell’s folk score with toe-tapping energy and emotional nuance. Watching them live on stage, in costume, subtly reacting to the story, is one of the show’s many pleasures.
Yes, this is dinner theater, and Candlelight takes that seriously. The themed menu includes options like Mama Murphy’s Meatloaf and Jimmy Ray’s Catfish. I went with the Lemon Caper, which was flavorful and moist (a significant upgrade from the Cajun cod I tried at Candlelight’s season 17th opener), and the coffee during intermission kept the cozy vibes going.
Candlelight has long been known for its glossy, big-hearted productions of musical theater classics. Bright Star, though not as instantly recognizable as Cats or The Little Mermaid, might be one of the company’s best in recent memory.
For those unfamiliar with the show, this is the perfect introduction. For those longtime fans like the couple I sat next to? It’s a bright star indeed — perhaps the brightest yet.
ON STAGE: Bright Star. Through June 8, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, 4747 Marketplace Drive, Johnstown. $47-$85.50