This summer’s Youth on Stage musical at the North Fork Community Theatre in Mattituck is “Bright Star,” a tender look into the intertwined lives of a literary editor in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina who meets an aspiring writer who has just returned from World War II.
The show and its songs were written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, with an Americana and bluegrass score that transports audiences to this particular place and time, as editor Alice Murphy meets the soldier, Billy Cane, and they both begin to learn some deep secrets of their intertwined past.
The show, which opened in Mattituck Thursday evening, July 16, runs through Aug. 2.
Director Liz Liszanckie has been working on the theater’s summer Youth on Stage program for ten years now, and she brought in many youth and Youth on Stage alumni to work on the production team, including an all-youth pit orchestra (with the exception of one banjo player.”
“I am proud of the youth taking leadership roles and contributing to the show that they want to build,” she said this week.
That team includes assistant directors Kat Motlenski and Jocelyn Podlas, who call the play “a masterpiece in storytelling, and a stellar reminder of the importance of community and connection” in their assistant directors’ note.
Abby Tyler and Anderson S. Hipp star as Alice Murphy and Billy Cane in this production.
Jimmy Ray Dobbs is played by Joseph Podlas, Margo Crawford is played by Julia Sheldon, Mayor Dobbs is played by Cameron Hipp, Daddy and Mama Murphy are played by Adler McGough and Catherine Abbott.
Daddy Cane as an adult is played by Ryan Zollweg, while his youthful self is played by Alexander Wegman.
The show also features Zachary Lieberman as Stanford, Nate Ferguson as Daryl Ames, Kaitlynn Mazurkiewicz as Lucy Grant, Sammie Mazurkiewicz as Florence, Julia DiGirolamo as Edna, Sam Gilvarry as Max and Charles Larusso as Dr. Norquist.
Lilly Garcia, Rebecca Nyilas and Hannah Quigley play spirits and are featured dancers along with Sammie and Kaitlyn Mazurkiewicz, and the ensemble also includes Ellie Arm, Chas LoRusso, Gretchen Ocker, Lorelei Schaary and Ryan Zollweg.
“The Youth on Stage Program, established in 1971 and still running strong, is a labor of love upheld by those positively impacted by the program,” say the assistant directors in their show notes. “As alumni of this program ourselves, we can tell you firsthand how influential this program is. The bonds created in this theatre are so special, and it’s incredible to watch the growth that happens in this building in just short of three months. “Bright Star” is a story that highlights unity and compassion within a community, and, in doing so, powerfully captures the spirit of Youth on Stage by demonstrating how our individual stories intertwine and deeply impact one another.”
“Bright Star” runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through Aug. 2. Tickets are $30 and are available at nfct.com. The North Fork Community Theatre is located at 12700 Old Sound Avenue in Mattituck.
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