“BRIGHT STAR”: Performances are underway for “Bright Star.” Presented by Kelsey Theatre and Maurer Productions OnStage, and directed by Judi Parrish, the musical runs through June 9 at Kelsey Theatre. Above: Alice Murphy (Lauren Pelaia, standing in front of members of the ensemble) makes a hopeful discovery that a heartbreaking incident from her past may have ended differently than she has been led to believe. (Photo by John M. Maurer)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

There is a striking duality in Bright Star, a musical that is being given an exuberant, heartfelt production at Kelsey Theatre. A story that has a devastating incident at its center is juxtaposed against a rousing, mostly jovial score infused with country and bluegrass songs.

The show’s often humorous but sensitive book is by comedian, actor, and musician Steve Martin. The lyrics are by singer-songwriter Edie Brickell (of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, and The Gaddabouts). Brickell and Martin share credit for the story and music.

Bright Star is inspired by the story of the Iron Mountain Baby, which provides the title for a song from Love Has Come for You, a 2013 bluegrass album by Brickell and Martin (the latter is an avid banjo player, and does so for the recording). Two musical numbers from the show, “(When You Get to) Asheville” and “Sun’s Gonna Shine” originated with this album, while several others appear on the writers’ 2015 album So Familiar.

In August 1902 William Helms, a 67-year-old farmer and Civil War veteran, walked along the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railway (later the Missouri Pacific Railroad), collecting lumber. He saw a train cross a bridge, and then he heard a strange sound. Following the source of the noise, he found a valise containing a baby. Helms and his wife nursed the baby to health and eventually adopted him. They named him William Moses Gould — “William” for his foster father, “Moses” for his rescue from the river.

The song (“Sarah Jane and the Iron Mountain Baby”) by Brickell and Martin is preceded by the much earlier “Ballad of the Iron Mountain Baby,” which originated in 1902 or 1903. The plot of Bright Star is rooted in this line: “It must have grieved that mother’s heart to cast her baby away.”

In crafting the plot of Bright Star, the writers shift the focus to the (fictitious) birth parents — especially the mother, who is given the name Alice Murphy. Here, the birth parents are innocent of the unconscionable act, which is planned and forcibly executed by others. Further, Martin and Brickell add a Romeo and Juliet dynamic to the birth parents’ relationship, of which one of their fathers sternly disapproves.

The action takes place in North Carolina. The time setting has been changed to a “present day” in mid-1940s Asheville, with flashbacks to Zebulon in the early 1920s.

Bright Star played on Broadway in 2016, following a premiere at the Old Globe and a subsequent run at the Kennedy Center.

Judi Parrish directs this Kelsey production. Having created sets and lighting for several shows (including this one, in collaboration with other designers), Parrish knows how to use stage elements effectively to enhance a story. She also brings a strong sense of pacing, keeping the action moving smoothly and swiftly.

Entering the auditorium, we see a picturesque image projected: a majestic mountain against a bright blue sky. Set Designers Parrish and John Maurer have furnished the stage with a rustic cabin, flowers, and a few wooden chairs.

Lighting Designers Jackson Seigel and Parrish have illuminated the stage so that it appears to be covered by a variety of flora. This floral motif is reflected in the dresses with which Costumers Melissa Ritmann and Michelle Ritmann-Littlehayes outfit several of the women.

Crucially, the design team knows when not to let their creations be pleasing to view. It adds a powerful layer when, as the protagonists grieve a loss they are powerless to stop, the visual tableau behind them turns dark and abstract. When Alice faces harsh scrutiny from other characters, she is under spotlights both literal and metaphoric.

Music Director Sue den Outer cues the orchestra for a folksy, reflective introduction in which the strings are prominent. Alice (portrayed by Lauren Pelaia) enters and breaks the fourth wall to sing “If You Knew My Story.” Alice admits, “I’ll die trying not to live in the past,” and vaguely refers to “my heaven and my hell.” The number starts out slow and introspectively, eventually becoming briskly uptempo.

Pelaia delivers an outstanding performance as Alice. Equipped with a robust mezzo-soprano and the ability to deliver the lyrics with a convincing Southern accent, she projects the character’s mixture of steely, brisk authority and vulnerability.

Even more important: Pelaia clearly understands Alice’s emotional arc. The actor successfully conveys her character’s journey from buried pain; to even more acute despair; and finally, to a glimmer of hope, as she makes a discovery about her baby’s fate.

Michael Hall brings affable sincerity as Billy Cane, a World War II veteran turned aspiring writer who arrives to pitch an article to Alice, who in the 1940s is literary editor at The Asheville Southern Journal. Lexie Chiasson is charming as the supportive Margo Crawford, Billy’s love interest.

Pat Rounds and Jenna “Jay” Moschella are entertaining as, respectively, Daryl Ames (a iterary snob and another aspiring writer who perpetually submits ideas to Alice, under a variety of pseudonyms), and the spunky Lucy Grant, Alice’s gatekeeper employees. (These characters add much of the musical’s humor.)

As Jimmy Ray Dobbs, the baby’s father (who is desperately keeping painful information secret from Alice), Michael Gearty brings debonair tenacity. Next to Pelaia, he also brings the strongest voice; the two sing well together on “What Could Be Better” and “I Had a Vision.”

Jimmy’s father, Mayor Dobbs, is essentially a moustache-twirling villain (metaphorically, since he is clean-shaven), but Sean Downing is fun to watch in the role. A sturdy baritone, he infuses the right amount of grizzled, macho doggedness into “A Man’s Gotta Do.”

Similarly, Ed Forsthoffer and Lisa Ernst are convincing as Daddy and Mama Murphy, Alice’s parents. This duo has more of an arc to convey, as these parents journey from exasperated and despairing disapproval, to sympathy (and in Mama’s case, protectiveness, and anger at the behavior of the fathers). Jim Morris brings mature introspection to the role of the baby’s foster father.
This writer would have like to see a bit more movement in the early musical numbers (especially the first), but it picks up midway through the first act, launching into high gear by the second. Choreographer Haley Schmalbach (assisted by Siena Kassa) creates a particularly energetic dance for “Another Round,” in which Daryl and Lucy take Billy for an after-work drink at the Shiny Penny Cafe.

As is sometimes the case with other productions (at any venue), there seem to be periodic issues with dynamic balance between the singers and orchestra. At times the voices are a bit difficult to hear.

That said, Sue den Outer gets a lovely sound out of both the vocal ensemble and the orchestra. In particular, the blending of voices in the ensemble is exquisite. Sound Designers Noah Schwartz and Daniel Adamy enhance the rural setting with a variety of noises that one might hear in nature.

Listeners who are fastidious about precision in rhyming may raise an eyebrow at a few of the lyrics (especially in “Firmer Hand/Do Right,” in which Brickell rhymes “hand” with “lamb” and “shenanigans”). Martin’s book could flesh out some of the characters, in particular giving Alice’s parents’ change of heart a bit more setup. Also, more of a demarcation between decades could be established by the music.

That said, Martin and Brickell know how effectively a musical’s book and score can work in tandem to tell its story. In particular, the anguishing “Please Don’t Take Him” is a fine example of a musical number that serves as an extension of the script, conveying a substantial segment of a scene.

The writers understand something else: a musical can be uplifting, even transformative, when a devastating situation is undercut by the resolute optimism and goodwill of its characters and their songs. Bright Star accomplishes this with songs such as “Sun’s Gonna Shine” and the title number. Most of Bright Star’s songs are written in a way that enables performers to sweep audiences up in the enthusiastic energy of the moment.

That is a task to which the Kelsey cast admirably rises. By the end of the show, it may be the audience’s eyes that shine brightly.

“Bright Star” will play at the Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor, through June 9. The Kelsey website recommends the show for audiences 13 and older. For tickets, show times, and further information call (609) 570-3333 or visit kelsey.mccc.edu/shows_current.shtml.