Shine Bright

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's Broadway triumph sweeps into Dallas

The five-time Tony Award-nominated musical Bright Star is coming to the Winspear Opera House for a limited run June 12-24, thanks to the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Broadway Series. It's the show's first national tour since its Broadway run, and while some audiences may not be familiar with the newish musical, they're almost certainly familiar with its creators.

Musician Edie Brickell and actor/author Steve Martin are the team behind the sweeping tale of love and redemption, set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and '40s. Propelled by an ensemble of onstage musicians and dancers, the story unfolds as a rich tapestry of deep emotion, beautiful melodies, and powerfully moving performances.

Texas ties
Both Martin and were Brickell were born in Texas, with Brickell originating in Oak Cliff and Martin in Waco. Brickell called Dallas home for most of her life, attending Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studying at Southern Methodist University before forming the folk band New Bohemians and focusing her career on music and songwriting.

Martin and his family, meanwhile, relocated early in his life to California.

Making it as musicians
After being signed to a recording contract with the band Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians in 1988, Brickell's musical career took off. She has had a tremendously successful career with groups such as the Gaddabouts and the Heavy Circles, as well as a critically acclaimed solo career. It was her work with Steve Martin in 2013, however, that eventually led her to Broadway.

Martin and Brickell first collaborated on the bluegrass album Love Has Come For You, featuring the Steep Canyon Rangers band. The title track won the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song in 2013. The Texas-born duo toured with the band to promote the album, and eventually worked together to create the music, lyrics, and story of Bright Star, which opened at Broadway's Cort Theater in 2016.

Broadway bound
Martin had already ventured in playwrighting with Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Underpants: A Play, but Bright Star was the first venture into musical theater for these two artists, who had already found vast success in film and commercial recording music. The score was lauded by theater critics for its buoyancy, warmth, and instrumentation, and it was nominated for a 2016 Tony Award for Best Original Score (along with Best Book of a Musical for Martin).

Don't miss an opportunity to see this refreshingly genuine musical when it stops in Dallas June 12-24. For tickets, call the box office at 214-880-0202 or visit the AT&T Performing Arts Center's website.

Edie Brickell and Steve Martin.

Photo by Danny Clinch

Edie Brickell and Steve Martin.

openings music celebrities promoted theater

Music and Fashion

Miranda Lambert's 'Velvet Rodeo' wardrobe stars in new DFW exhibition

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” at National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame

Photo by Tyler Conrad

“Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo” will open on November 7 at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame.

Country star Miranda Lambert is bringing a bit of Las Vegas glamour and bling to North Texas. Her one-of-a-kind wardrobe from her "Velvet Rodeo" residency will go on display at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in Fort Worth when its new Icons Gallery opens November 7.

According to a release, the exhibition, called "Miranda Lambert: Velvet Rodeo," was created in collaboration with Lambert, and will feature costumes from the singer's Las Vegas residency, which ran from September 2022 to April 2024.

Lambert said her inspiration came from an earlier visit to the Fort Worth museum, where she spotted historic Western pieces that she photographed and sent to her stylist, Tiffany Gifford. They combined those influences with the glitz of Elvis Presley's heyday to create the "Velvet Rodeo" wardrobe.

“Seeing these pieces now have a life beyond the stage as part of the Museum’s new Icons Gallery feels really full circle and special,” Lambert said in a statement.

Visitors will now have the opportunity to study garments usually seen in motion and under stage lights, appreciating the details that help transform clothing into an essential part of a performance.

The Icons Gallery is part of the Museum’s 16,000-square-foot expansion, which introduces new galleries and experiences that explore the accomplishments and influence of women of the West. The $19 million expansion features a new entrance facing Dickies Arena, new galleries including a photography gallery, an event space accommodating up to 250, and the new Cowgirl Carousel.

Miranda Lambert, right, with rodeo queens onstage at the 45th Cowgirl Hall of Fame Induction Luncheon at Dickies Arena. Photo by Ashley Gongora

Lambert, who was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2021, is an active mounted shooting competitor and horsewoman, giving her a connection to the West that reaches beyond her music. "Velvet Rodeo" brings together Lambert's identity as a cowgirl and her creative expression as a performer.

“Miranda’s confidence, determination and independence make her a wonderful representative of the women we honor,” says Pat Riley, executive director of the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame, in the release. “Opening our Icons Gallery with this collaboration celebrates her accomplishments while giving visitors a new way to connect with a cowgirl they know and admire.”

According to a museum spokesperson, the temporary exhibition will remain on display for at least one year; no specific end date was given.

In preparation for the expansion grand opening, the Cowgirl will be closed to the public beginning October 19 and will reopen November 7, with a members-only preview at 10 am and a public opening at noon.

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