Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Sounds like a musical you won't want to miss, right? Not so fast. "Bright Star" has a few flaws that are impossible to overlook. Let's start with the storytelling, which is so far-fetched it could make "Oklahoma!" seem like a work of documentary drama. Not to give too much away, but Alice's romantic impetuosity in her youth has fateful consequences that only a show as sentimentally over the top as this could happily resolve."
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Edge - Highly Recommended

"...This is one star that deserves the luster it received on Broadway, and I expect it will continue to shine for years to come. But if you can make sure to see Cusack in the lead role, do not miss your chance. She is perfection."
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Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...I’m not sure how to categorize Bright Star. You might call it a musical fable. Bluegrass on Broadway. A return to a simpler world. Whatever. It is a lovely way to spend an evening, and offers the full-throated delight of Carmen Cusack, the brightest star to come along in quite a while."
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Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended

"...There’s no brighter star lighting up L.A. stages this month and next than the dazzling Carmen Cusack, reprising her Tony-nominated star turn as Alice Murphy in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Bright Star, a musical so stunningly staged and gorgeous to the ear that it’s easy to go easy on its Stella Dallas/Imitation Of Life-style soap."
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Will Call - Somewhat Recommended

"...The show is “corny as Kansas in August”, as the song goes but it’s an upper all the way. It’s manna from Bluegrass heaven, if you’re a fan of this genre. If not – the jury is still out but let’s hope you’ll become one before the final curtain. The band on stage never stops churning out lively melodies, they make the foot-stompin’ dance numbers take second place. A little clogging might make the difference (choreography by Josh Rhodes). This melodrama takes place in North Carolina and spans several decades. It’s based on the true love story of Alice (Carmen Cusack) and Billy (A. J. Shively), fraught with obstacles, an out of wedlock pregnancy, paternal animosity, well, you’ll see it all. The first act closes with a horrendous act, which will not be disclosed here."
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Haines His Way - Highly Recommended

"...Carmen Cusack is pure joy personified from the opening notes of the show. Her voice contains the heartbreaking catch of Patsy Cline's as well as the pure C&W twang of Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. She effortlessly transforms herself from the 1945 sophisticated magazine editor Miss Murphy to Alice, her much younger self, a girl too smart to stay in her hometown but not smart enough to avoid becoming an unwed mother. The heartbreak of having her baby taken from her is palpable in "Please Don't Take Him," especially coming after her beautiful lullaby "I Can't Wait"."
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Ticket Holders LA - Recommended

"...Let me start by saying Martin and Brickell's plot is about as predictable as Dotard Donnie's reaction to criticism ("Sad!"), but still their bluegrass-tinged music is gloriously infectious, while Walter Bobbie's direction is extraordinarily fluid and the simple but effective design elements in the production could not be more impressive. Add to this a wonderful ensemble cast, particularly Carmen Cusack, A.J. Shively, Jeff Blumenkrantz, and Stephen Lee Anderson all reprising their original Broadway performances, and a worldclass band led by musical director/keyboardist Anthony DeAngelis-showcasing the dynamic George Guthrie on banjo and Martha McDonnell on violin-and even the script's most predictable and improbable themes can be forgiven."
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