‘Bright Star’ Makes Bay Area Critic's Top 10
TMC Arts’ production of “Bright Star,” a sweeping tale of love and redemption, ranked number 10 on the Top Ten Musicals and Plays 2023 in the SF Greater Bay Area, according to VMediArts.
The debut of a new Castro Valley-based theater company and its first musical production this past summer received high praise from Bay Area critics.
TMC Arts’ production of “Bright Star,” a sweeping tale of love and redemption, ranked number 10 on the Top Ten Musicals and Plays 2023 in the SF Greater Bay Area, according to VMediArts.
“Bright Star is a show that smiles with flair, comedy, dance mixed with some audience clapping and tapping, and a good old fashioned country love,” wrote Vince Mediaa, theater reviewer and Executive Producer of VMediArts . “Congratulations to the new TMC Arts Company - I hope to see more productions and the friends of Tri-Valley Rep who supported this impressive production.”
In his review, Mediaa noted his appreciation of the Castro Valley show—under the direction of Brian Olkowski and founder and TMC Arts artistic Director Dayna Speed—in a season that included inventive productions of “Kinky Boots” and “Hunchback.”
“I do my best to see one or two of the same musicals. Bright Star had four productions this past spring and summer. I wanted to touch base with the new TMC Arts company,” Mediaa said. “Their production won me over with a talented cast and solid craft team.”
Inspired by a true story of the “Iron Mountain Baby,” “Bright Star” is a musical written and composed by comedian Steve Martin and musician Edie Brickell (lead vocalist of the New Bohemians). The show opened on Broadway in February 2016 and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music, and the Bright Star original cast recording was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The New York Times distinguished Bright Star for its “winsome Country and Bluegrass score, yearning ballads, and square-dance romps rich with fiddle, piano, and banjo, beautifully performed.” The eight-piece band takes center stage alongside the actors.
The Castro Valley production at the Center for the Arts ran between August 19 and 27, 2023, and was co-produced by Berenice Sullivan of Castro Valley Arts Foundation and TMC Arts’ Dayna Speed.
TMC Arts’ next two musicals are “Anastasia,” directed by Olkowski, with auditions for roles starting on January 16 and 18, and “Oklahoma,” directed by Salim Razawi. Auditions for actors and dancers start on February 10.
The non-profit theatre company is currently accepting non-equity actors on a volunteer basis. There is no financial compensation offered at this time.
More information can be found on their website. (tmctheatre.org)