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Brickell is nominated along with comedian-musician Steve Martin for Best Original Score Written for the Theatre. Both Brickell and Martin wrote the music, and she wrote the lyrics.
"Bright Star" is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where successful Southern literary editor Alice Murphy mentors aspiring writer Billy Cane, a young soldier just returned home from World War II with flashbacks to 1923.
The musical was inspired by Brickell and Martin's Grammy Award-winning collaboration on the 2013 bluegrass album "Love Has Come for You." The album won a Grammy for "Best American Roots Song." Their second album, "So Familiar," is out now.
Brickell is most famous for her debut multi-platinum album "Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars" with New Bohemians in 1988. She lives in New Canaan with her husband, singer-songwriter Paul Simon, and their three children.
"Bright Star" earned a total of five Tony nominations:
- Best Musical
- Best Book of a Musical: Steve Martin
- Best Original Score Written for the Theatre, Music by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell and Lyrics by Edie Brickell
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Carmen Cusack
- Best Orchestrations: August Eriksmoen
"Bright Star" began previews at the Cort Theatre on Broadway on Feb. 25 before officially opening on March 24.
It had its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in 2014 and had a workshop by the New York Stage and Film at the Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College in July 2013. The musical opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 2, 2015.
In every category, "Bright Star" is up against the wildly popular "Hamilton," which made history this year with 16 Tony nominations. Click here to see the nominations.
The Tony Award winners will be announced at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. The show will be broadcast on CBS-TV with host, James Corden.
For more Tony Award nominations, click here to visit the official website.
For more information on "Bright Star," including ticket availability, click here for the official website.
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