On the 18th and 19th of May, Kent Theatre performed the play Bright Star, a musical written by Steve Martin, with music by Edie Brickell.
Led by Director of Performing Arts Mr. Geoff Stewart, and English Teacher Ms. Carlie Robbins, the cast delighted two full houses. Mr. Stewart expressed how much he wanted to do this play, which has been a hit in quite a few high schools across the country, and how thrilled he was when they had the exact number of actors that the play needed to put on the show.
Bright Star is the story of one woman, Alice Murphy, at two different points in her life: the first, when she was a young girl (played by Addy Smith), living a carefree life in Zebulon, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains; the second, when she was a well-to-do magazine editor in Asheville, 22 years later (played by Grace Libby). Her story is connected with a young man called Billy (played by Will Saxton) who wants to be a writer. As a young teen, Alice is hopelessly in love with small town heartthrob Jimmy Ray (played by Carter McCabe), the son of the town mayor (played by William Manatt), who, like Alice’s parents, does not approve of their relationship. Alice gets pregnant, but as soon as she gives birth, her child is taken away from her. More than two decades later, Alice is the successful editor of The Asheville Southern Journal, and meets a promising young writer named Billy. Eventually they realize that they share a hometown, and when Alice sees the handmade sweater she knitted for her baby 20 years before in his personal belongings, she realizes that Billy is the son she lost so long ago. The two settings of the play required some creativity from the Tech Theatre team, led by Technical Director Ms. Stephanie Jackson.
To be able to perform such a popular play, the students needed to put in a lot of effort. Mr. Stewart explained that they have been practicing for this play since the beginning of spring term, but that the work began before then, as all the students needed to memorize their lines during spring break. Said Mr. Stewart, “I cannot begin to express how proud I am of these students. They came to the first rehearsal knowing their lines perfectly. They are great people to work with, and we really enjoyed working together.”
Lyia Fu ’27 attended the play and said, “it was amazing, I was hooked till the very end. I think it was a huge success.” Kayla Otoo ‘26 cheered, “It was great! I was completely hooked and I definitely did not see that plot twist coming.” Those kinds of rave reviews should be a pat on the back for a stellar cast and crew!
