Julia Kell

According to folklore, one dark night in 1902 Irondale, Missouri, a mysterious person got onto a train holding a suitcase.  Inside the suitcase was a baby.

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Learn more about Bright Star the musical here!

As the train chugged along, the person was on a nefarious mission.  Out of sight of the other passengers, they hurled the suitcase out of the window, hoping to kill the infant trapped inside.  Luckily, a man named William Helms happened to be out for a walk.  He heard the baby’s cries, found him inside of the suitcase, and took him home to his wife Sarah Jane.  The two would end up raising the boy as their own.  This story is called The Iron Mountain Baby and much remains unknown about the boy’s history.  Musical duo Steve Martin and Edie Brickell have their own take on the tale.  In their 2016 Broadway musical Bright Star, Martin and Brickell have created a whole story around the Iron Mountain Baby and what led to the attempt on the child’s life.

As a fan of Martin and Brickell’s albums Love Has Come For You and So Familiar, I was curious about Bright Star.  Despite my curiosity,  I ended up forgetting about it in the Hamilton fervor.  There are many musicals I want to see, and I’ll confess—Bright Star wasn’t on the top of my list.  In fact, it wasn’t until this year that I saw Bright Star in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

As soon as the show began however, I couldn’t help but feel invigorated by the song ‘If You Knew My Story.’  At this point, I knew I was in for something special.  In this song, Mamma Murphy, played by Allison Briner-Dardenne, was spotlighted on the stage, standing in front of a wooden house, her rich, Southern voice mixing with the cry of cellos and violins.  Storytelling is an important theme in the musical and I believe this first song was a wonderful start to a story about a woman’s difficult journey to face her past and rediscover her future.  Even if you aren’t a bluegrass or country fan, the soundtrack definitely has the feel of Broadway.  The songs are powerful and perfect for the stage, complete with punchy lyrics and lively choreography.  ‘I Had A Vision’ is a tearjerker that will touch your heart, and ‘Whoa Mama’ will make you want to get up and dance.  I was also impressed by the plot, which is deep and thought-provoking.  What I found most interesting is how this musical deals with the difficulties women faced in the 1920s, addressing the topics of marriage and family.

The musical follows the life of Alice Murphy and takes place in 1940s North Carolina with flashbacks to Alice’s teenage years in 1923.  A rebel and the so-called ‘black sheep’ of her family, (as depicted in the song ‘Firmer Hand/Do Right’), Alice lands in hot water at 16 when she has a child out of wedlock with Jimmy Ray Dobbs.  Jimmy Ray’s controlling father, Mayor Dobbs, doesn’t want his son to marry Alice, as he believes his son should marry a woman who is wealthy and pure.  Determined not to let her ruin his son’s reputation, Mayor Dobbs forces Alice to give up her baby, promising to put him up for adoption.  After Alice’s son is torn from her arms, while her father helplessly stands and watches, Mayor Dobbs puts the baby in a suitcase and throws him off a train to die.  Later on, Jimmy Ray finds out the truth from his father and doesn’t tell Alice, not wanting to hurt her.  He ends up breaking off contact with her entirely, and the two move on with their lives. 

Meanwhile, their son, Billy, is living with the Cane family, the people who took him in when he was just a few days old.  Billy is a writer with the dream of becoming published.  His lofty goals lead him unknowingly to his mother, who has found success as the editor of The Asheville Southern Journal.  Though a harsh critic, she enjoys Billy’s writing and ends up publishing one of his stories.  Eventually, Jimmy Ray and Alice reunite, only for Jimmy Ray to tell her that their son died, resulting in a heartbreaking scene.  A few days later, Alice visits Billy at his childhood home and is shocked when he shows her the blue sweater he had as a child, the same sweater he wore when she held him in her arms.  She realizes then that he is, in fact, her son.  Though Alice’s original vision for her life didn’t work out, she is finally with Jimmy Ray and her son after 22 years. 

Bright Star makes an interesting statement about the agency of women during the 1920s.  Alice is forced to give up her baby and the thought of raising a family with Jimmy Ray.  She isn’t given a choice by Mayor Dobbs, a man who only cares about money and believes a person’s class matters more than their well-being and happiness.  Even though Alice can’t stand up for herself due to the overbearing pressure of Mayor Dobbs, she is by no means weak.

Alice is outspoken, driven, loyal, and caring—everything a strong woman should be.  An emotional moment in the musical shows Alice going home to her father years later.  There, he tells her he’s sorry for being a bystander when she was forced to give up the baby.  Alice forgives him, despite the fact that she thinks her child is dead.  This shows her own inner strength, kindness, and love for her father, even though he hurt her.  She hasn’t let herself become consumed by hatred and has become a successful literary editor, gaining wisdom, and making a life for herself despite her immense loss.  She has seemingly moved on, although a large piece of her still lies with Jimmy Ray and her son. 

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Even though Alice is forced to give up her child, she refuses to let her past determine her future.

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After she reunites with her child, in the song ‘At Long Last,’ she sings, 'Something always told me to hold on for this.'  This line shows how she stayed hopeful and never gave up; her love for her family was part of what kept her going.  Her ability to create a life for herself, while remaining optimistic and devoted in spite of the pain she suffered, is an inspiring and empowering aspect of her character.

Through Alice’s story, the musical Bright Star reminds us there was a time where women did not have as much freedom as they do now.  The musical sends the message that we should forge our own paths as women, taking advantage of the independence we have.  There may still be situations like Alice’s where people want to decide the outcome of our lives for us.  In these cases, we should do what gives us the most fulfillment and peace.  Whether this means starting a family, a career, or both, we should do what will bring joy to ourselves and others.  Even though Alice is forced to give up her child, and the circumstances are out of her control, she refuses to let her past determine her future.  She takes charge of her life and becomes successful as a result.  We can be the same way.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take others’ advice, but it’s important to be aware of people who are controlling, manipulative, and don’t actually have our best interests at heart.  If it’s a close friend or family member who is forcing us into something we don’t want, it can be difficult to resist; however, it’s paramount we don’t allow someone to darken our spirits.  This musical shows how standing up for ourselves can be hard and can even seem impossible.  But it also reminds us to never lose hope and persevere.  Listening to Bright Star, we can remember that no matter what we're facing, 'the sun is gonna shine again.'  

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