An audience of 100 people rose to their feet in the University of Georgia’s Cellar Theater Jan. 15 and offered the most thunderous applause they could muster for the life of Blackshear native, Bobbie O’Quinn.
It was the final performance of “Brighter than the Sun,” an original musical based on O’Quinn’s life by writer/composer Collin Hendley.
Hendley poured over four years of work into the show following the death of O’Quinn— his grandmother. The result is a bittersweet emotional bomb: big, earnest and unselfconscious about being as loudly joyful or hurt as it wants.
The show is made of anecdotes, with narration from “Old Bobbie” (played by Hannah Grace Laughlin) binding everything together.
Through Old Bobbie’s eyes, we witness her younger self (Kaitlyn Talsky) falling in love with future husband Russell O’Quinn (Marshall Smith), pursuing her dreams of a jazz singing career in California, living through personal traumas and helping friends and family confront their own.
Characters drive the show more than plot. At its core, “Brighter than the Sun” is akin to an afternoon spent visiting your grandmother and listening to her reminisce. However, there is no fluffy sugar-coating here. When dark moments and memories arise, they are presented with blunt, raw honesty.
In Act 2, especially, the emotional gut punches come in rapid-fire secession.
With three, sold-out performances, “Brighter than the Sun” has been a rousing success for Hendley and his collaborators.
The show’s score was understated, using only a keyboard, acoustic guitar and vocals as instruments. Elements of folk-rock, pop and jazz appear in the score with echoes of shows like “Waitress” and “Once”.
Hendley’s lyrics are simple and straightforward, avoiding unnecessary frills and trusting the actors to convey the emotional complexity and nuance of the score without beating the audience over the head with word play.
The actors more than delivered. There were no weak links in the main cast or ensemble.
As Old Bobbie, Hannah Grace Laughlin was incredible. In a gentle, southern drawl, she spoke directly to the audience delivering intimate monologues ranging from blissful contentment, enraged shame and shattered mourning. She was the backbone of the show, and broke the audience’s hearts at least twice.
During one of Laughlin’s monologues in the second act a student sitting in front of me clapped her arm across her mouth, biting into her sweater so her sobs wouldn’t be too loud.
Likewise, Kaitlyn Talsky as Young Bobbie came out the gate swinging with a voice as big and clear as her character’s ambition and optimism. Talsky played Bobbie as a slightly naive, charmingly quirky everywoman, and her performance contrasts beautifully with Laughlin’s.
Marshall Smith as Russell O’Quinn was a wholesome, salt-of-the-earth counter to Talsky’s Bobbie. He was assured, charming and made it easy to believe that someone could spend their whole life loving him.
Other stand-out moments came from Jillian Mitchell as Sis Young and Reagan Simmons as Myrtice Strickland. Hendley tasked them with delivering some brutal, mentally draining material and when their solos brought them to their knees, they took the audience with them.
Emma Hilleary as Jimmy Ray Strickland and Jackson Riddle as Jerry Strickland brought some much needed levity and playfulness in the midst of darker moments. Their energy was high, they won several big laughs from the crowd and point-blank it was fun watching them.
Director Caroline Leggett brought some truly inspired moments to the production. The staging of Act 1 numbers “Lost in the Wild” and “For Bobbie” used the ensemble cast to full effect, bringing a colorful, imaginary zoo and the horror of Russell’s experience in Vietnam to life.
Hendley himself said he planned to return to the script and write-in several of Leggett’s notes. “It needs to be like (this) every time going forward,” he said.
The entire production was a testament to the importance of investing in the arts and creating opportunities for students to grow creatively.
Every aspect of “Brighter than the Sun” was overseen by students, but it was a far cry from amateur. The production could easily have been a professional performance in a larger theater. With any justice, it will receive a big-budget treatment in the future.
It was art about regular citizens of Pierce County and it may have been the most moving theater event many people in the audience had ever seen.
“I’m drained: mentally, emotionally, physically,” someone behind me laughed after the audience finished its standing ovation and began trickling out of the theater.
If no investment is poured into the creative talents of local students, then local stories like “Brighter than the Sun” would never see the light of day.
It is not a perfect show. There were moments where you could feel Hendley and Leggett’s ambition stretching slightly past what their budget and resources would allow. One example is “When the Sun Goes Down” a brassy, Act 1 song that takes place in a nightclub. It seemed slightly hollow for lack of the bigger orchestral arrangement and choreography of the Broadway dance numbers it was emulating.
In other places, the dialogue occasionally threatens to be too sweet for its own good.
However, “Brighter than the Sun” has many more highs than lows, and all the moments that need to pack a punch hit hard. It is an outstanding show.
As it evolves on its way to wider audiences, it will become tighter, cleaner and more fully realized.
By the time “Brighter than the Sun” reaches Broadway, Hendley will have crafted a pierce of theater as truly spectacular as the woman whose memory it seeks to preserve.
•Ethan Mitchell is a staff writer for The Blackshear Times. Reach him at [email protected].
