A new musical performance "A Star is Born" is on the theater stage, combining the stories of two legendary films
A new musical performance, "Thus a Star Was Born," is being created on the Lithuanian Theatre stage, inspired by two iconic films: Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "All About Eve" (1950) and Bradley Cooper's "A Star Is Born" (2018). The original play, which combines the themes of both works into a story relevant to today, will begin its tour across the country on October 8.
Prominent names of Lithuanian theatre will meet on stage – Lina Rastokaitė, Jokūbas Bareikis, Simonas Storpirštis, Oneida Kunsunga, Paula Valentaitė, Adelė Šuminskaitė, Ainius Storpirštis, director Mykolas Vildžiūnas and playwright Marija Juzentavičiūtė. A team of professional creators and actors will invite the audience backstage at the theatre, where ambition, love, jealousy and the desire to be recognized collide.
"A Star is Born" is a story about real and fake relationships, power games, the cost of creativity, and choices that can change not only careers but also people's destinies. The play will remind you that the path to success often requires more than it seems from the outside.
According to the director of the performance, M. Vildžiūnas, the fact that the stories of the films "All About Eve" and "A Star Is Born" have been told and reinterpreted for decades only confirms their relevance today.
"All About Eve, which was released in 1950, is still successfully performing on theater stages, and A Star Is Born has received several new interpretations since the first film was shown in 1937. This proves that these plots are still influential and relevant. They talk about people, relationships, manipulation, jealousy, human insignificance and selfishness. All this leads to human drama, and human drama was, is and will remain one of the most influential forms of storytelling," says the director.
The creator emphasizes that not only drama, but also music will play an important role in the performance.
"There will be a lot of feelings leading to creativity and love. Songs from "A Star Is Born" will be played, the emotional and musical weight of which is exceptional. It will be both a performance and a concert at the same time. It is nice that this story is being created by a professionally mature cast, including the excellent young generation actress Paula Valentaitė, with whom we have already worked before, and the entire process is accompanied by the authors of the idea, the "Pepper Live" team, which has accumulated extensive stage experience and creates and produces unique musical projects. I am looking forward to meeting the audience not only as a director, but also as one of the actors in the performance. I believe that this meeting will be sincere and real," says M. Vildžiūnas.
Actress Paula Valentaitė, who plays one of the main roles, says that she was most interested in the character's journey.
"My character's aspiration is very close to what I felt at the beginning of my own journey. Not so much the goal itself, but the moment before it - when everything still seems like a dream, when you doubt yourself, you don't know if you'll succeed, but inside you feel a very strong desire to move forward. It seems to me that this very beginning of the journey is the most interesting, because a person is shaped not by where they end up, but by all the choices that lead them there," says the actress.
According to her, viewers are fascinated by these stories because they talk about growth and transformation.
"People are always attracted to stories about how we become what we really want to be. Also about people who appear in our lives at just the right time and sometimes trust us more than we trust ourselves," says P. Valentaitė.
Oneida Kunsunga says that she was most impressed by the music that will be played in the upcoming performance, as well as the human themes it explores.
"I was immediately captivated by the soundtrack of the film "A Star Is Born" and the songs that will be played in the play, as well as the characters created by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. It is a human drama that reminds us of truth, love, hope and faith," says the actress.
At the time, Simonas Storpirštis did not hide that he was convinced to join the play by the opportunity to work with a strong cast.
"What intrigued me the most was the team - the people with whom we will be creating this play. They are very good and interesting actors. The very idea of combining two different stories into one common narrative was also unexpected," says the actor.
In his opinion, viewers are always attracted to the opportunity to observe human transformation and internal compromises.
"It is interesting to see the path from the lowest to the highest career step, to observe at what cost it is achieved, what a person is willing to sacrifice, and where their internal compromises begin," says S. Storpirštis.
"This is How a Star Was Born" promises to be a unique theatrical experience that will intertwine classics, contemporary dramaturgy, and live songs.
