The opening song of the second act of Bright Star includes the words, “Something tells me it’ll be alright, something tells me it’s gonna be okay.” It’s a song of hope and promise. A hope that says, even though there is darkness in the moment, it won’t last forever.

Bright Star is a sweeping tale of love, sin, despair, heartbreak, perseverance and redemption. You know, the stuff of life. These things, ultimately though, are wrapped up … in hope. The hope of love. The hope of a child. The hope of a bright future. The hope of living into one’s calling and passion. The hope of grace and forgiveness. The hope in the belief that our past doesn’t define our future.

For those who believe in Jesus, hope is a core value that is central to our belief. To follow Jesus means to do so with hope. A hope deeper than mere optimism. It is a hope mixed with heartache and sorrow. Hope that holds in tension the reality of our current situation and the longing for a brighter tomorrow. This kind of hope puts our trust in the hands of a loving and merciful God.

The characters in Bright Star go through their own time of despair and hope. Each, at one point or another, experiences heartache, loss and regret, and yes, even guilt. The stuff with which we human beings can relate. I believe each of us can find ourselves in this beautiful story.

We all long, I think, for a word of hope. In a divided country, we need hope. In the midst of financial concerns, we need a word of hope. In the midst of our own fault and failures, we need a word of hope.

A show like Bright Star helps to capture that sense of hope for us, and as is the case with any musical, it will pierce right to the heart. The music will connect with your soul and breathe hope into your spirit.

I’ll hope you take the time to experience Bright Star. I believe you will find places that fill your heart with hopefulness.

And we can all use a little hope, right?

Hope calls us to live, breathe and claim these words of St. Julian of Norwich: All shall be well. All shall be well…and all manner of things shall be well.

Or in the words of Bright Star, the sun is gonna shine again.

– Jimmy Sherrod

For performance information about Bright Star, click here.