Act 1

Bright Star begins with an introduction of Alice Murphy reflecting on her past,introducing her story, self, and determination (“If You Knew My Story”). The show then transitions to Billy’s arrival back in Hayes Creek after fighting in World War II. He reconnects with his community, including his father Daddy Cane and his old friend Margo. Billy finds that his mother passed away while he was gone (“She’s Gone”) and decides to leave Hayes Creek to pursue his true passion: writing. Billy, filled with energy and optimism, travels to Asheville to try to get his writing published in the Asheville Southern Journal (“Bright Star”). In Asheville, he meets a driven and witty team of people at the Asheville Southern Journal: Alice Murphy, Lucy, and Daryl. Billy’s youthful spirit combined with Lucy and Daryl’s attempts to get Alice to go out and celebrate the end of the war compel Alice to remember her adventurous youth in Zebulon (“Way Back in the Day”). The show then shifts to Zebulon in 1923, where Alice is beginning a relationship with Jimmy (“Whoa, Mama”). After spending time with Jimmy, Alice returns home to find her mother and father disappointed in her free-spirited and individualistic nature (“Firmer Hand/Do Right”). Jimmy returns to his home to find a similar conflict; Jimmy expresses a desire to explore the world around him while his father, Mayor Dobbs, wants Jimmy to follow directly in his footsteps (“A Man’s Gotta Do”). Back in 1945, Lucy, Daryl, and Alice review Billy’s writing, and Alice buys one of Billy’s stories because she sees his potential. Billy returns to Hayes Creek to let people know that he is moving to Asheville to pursue a writing career. Margo meets this news with happiness for Billy measured with sadness at his leaving (“Asheville”). The show moves back in time to the Zebulon Couple’s Dance, where Jimmy and Alice acknowledge their love for each other (“What Could Be Better”). Later, Alice meets with Dr. Norquist and discovers that she is pregnant. The mayor learns that she is pregnant and tells

Jimmy; Jimmy expresses his love for Alice while Mayor Dobbs is determined to deal with the problem himself. Alice’s love and happiness for her unborn child come into direct conflict with her community’s opinions of her pregnancy (“I Can’t Wait”). She knits her unborn baby a sweater and expresses her excitement to Jimmy. Despite Jimmy’s support, Alice is ultimately pushed to hide her pregnancy due to the pressures of the community. In 1945, Billy and Alice discuss his writing as Billy feels he’s not achieving the success he expected. Alice provides blunt feedback that often comes as a surprise to Billy, but they both connect on the earnest emotion behind his writing. In 1923 again, Alice’s child is born and Mayor Dobbs arrives to convince her family to give the baby up for adoption. Mayor Dobbs and Stanford convince Daddy Murphy to take Alice’s baby away from her, despite pleas from both Alice and her mother (“Please, Don’t Take Him”). Without anyone else knowing, Mayor Dobbs then throws the baby off of a moving train in a suitcase, blinded by his determination to preserve his family’s tradition

(“A Man’s Gotta Do Reprise”).

Act 2

Act 2 opens with Alice attempting to move past the tragedy of losing her child.

Despite her grief, Alice is prompted by her mother to pursue an academic career by attending college at Chapel Hill. The two time periods of Bright Star collide as Alice in the 1920s and Margo in the 1940s each find the motivation to move forward with their lives (“Sun’s Gonna Shine”). Then, in 1924 Jimmy Ray discovers what his father did and decides that, knowing their child is gone, he can never face Alice again (“Heartbreaker”). In the 1940s again, Billy meets Lucy and Daryl at the Shiny Penny, and Lucy encourages him to let loose and enjoy his time in the city (“Another Round”). Their time at the bar ends in a kiss between Billy and Lucy, leaving Billy contemplating what he wants. The next day, Billy learns that one of his stories is being published in the Asheville Southern Journal. Alice leaves on a trip to Raleigh, deciding to make a stop in Hayes Creek to have Billy show her around the places he has been writing about. In Raleigh, Alice stops at a government clerk’s office to try to find an adoption record for the son taken away from her years ago, but finds no record of the child or of Jimmy searching for him. Alice then finds Jimmy living in Raleigh. Jimmy finally tells Alice what happened to their son, and they grieve together (“I Had A Vision”). Billy returns home to Hayes Creek, and he and Margo confess their love for each other (“Always Will”). Alice goes home to Zebulon to see her father again. Daddy Murphy expresses his regret for what happened with Alice’s child, and to comfort him, Alice lies to him, saying her child was adopted and raised by a happy family. Alice then travels to Billy’s home to meet his father. She sees a familiar suitcase in his home and then the baby sweater she knit so long ago. At her urging, Daddy Cane tells the story of finding Billy as a baby in a suitcase that had been thrown off a train. Alice realizes that Billy is her child (“So Familiar”), and despite Billy’s reluctant reaction to this discovery, she is relieved and grateful to find her child (“At Long Last”). Back in Asheville a month later, Alice has reconnected with Jimmy and tells Lucy and Daryl about Billy and how she is going to be patient to wait for him to approach her. Billy arrives at the Asheville Southern Journal, ready to connect with his birth parents. Overwhelmed with the joy of reconnection and love, both Margo and Billy and Alice and Jimmy decide to get married. The community rejoices as they look into a bright future together (“Finale”)