A Star Is Born

How is a new star born — and how much do we pay for it?

One of the most anticipated plays of the year, A STAR IS BORN, takes the stage — premiering from October 8th across Lithuania.

The new musical play "A Star Is Born" is a witty, cruel, and incredibly moving story about the price of fame and the collapse of identity behind the scenes. When an accidental voice replaces the monarchy of the stage, the troupe splits, games of love and ambition reveal art as a commodity, and every duet becomes a confession. A musical tragicomedy about the price of fame, featuring a true constellation of Lithuanian actors on stage: Lina Rastokaitė, Jokūbas Bareikis, Simonas Storpirštis, Oneida Kunsunga, Agnė Šataitė, Paula Valentaitė, Adelė Šuminskaitė, Ainis Storpirštis, Mykolas Vildžiūnas. A witty, sometimes brutally funny story from behind the scenes, featuring live performances of legendary songs from the "A Star Is Born" film — it is a theater evening with a unique experience.

"A Star Is Born" is inspired by two iconic films – Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "All About Eve" (1950) and the Bradley Cooper-directed "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 of the country on October 8th.

A team of professional creators and actors will invite the audience behind the scenes of the theater, where ambition, love, jealousy, and the desire for recognition collide. "A Star Is Born" is a story about real and fake relationships, power games, the cost of creation, and choices that can change not only careers but also human destinies. The play will remind us that the road to success often demands more than it seems from the outside. According to the play's director, M. Vildžiūnas, the fact that the stories of "All About Eve" and "A Star Is Born" have been told and reinterpreted for decades only confirms their relevance today. "The 1950 film 'All About Eve' still successfully lives on theater stages, and 'A Star Is Born' has seen several new interpretations since the first film was shown back in 1937. This testifies that these plots are still impactful and relevant. They speak about people, relationships, manipulation, jealousy, human pettiness, and selfishness. All of this leads to human drama, and human drama was, is, and will remain one of the most powerful forms of storytelling," says the director. The creator emphasizes that not only drama but also music will play an important role in the play. "There will be a lot of emotions leading to creation and love. Songs from 'A Star Is Born' will be performed, whose emotional and musical weight is exceptional. It will be both a play and a concert at the same time. It is great that this story is being created by a professionally mature collective of actors, including the excellent young generation singer and actress Paula Valentaitė, with whom we have worked before, and the whole process is guided by the authors of the idea, the 'Pepper Live' team, who have accumulated extensive stage experience and create and produce unique musical projects.

I look forward to meeting the audience not only as a director but also as one of the actors in the play. 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 her character's journey. "My character's aspiration is very close to what I felt at the beginning of my own path. Not so much the goal itself, but that moment before it – when everything still seems like just a dream, when you doubt yourself, you don't know if you will succeed, but inside you feel a very strong desire to move forward. It seems to me that this beginning of the path 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, these stories fascinate the audience because they talk about growth and transformation. "People are always drawn to stories about how we become who we really want to be. Also about the people who appear in our lives at the right time and sometimes believe in us more than we believe in ourselves," states P. Valentaitė.

Oneida Kunsunga says that she was most impressed by the music that will be heard in the upcoming play, as well as the human themes explored in it. "I was immediately won over by the soundtrack of the film 'A Star Is Born' and the songs that will be performed in the play, as well as the characters created by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. It is a human drama that reminds us of authenticity, love, hope, and faith," says the actress. Meanwhile, Simonas Storpirštis does not hide the fact that the opportunity to work with a strong collective of actors convinced him to join the play. "I was most intrigued by the team – the people with whom we will create this play. These are very good and interesting actors. Also, the very idea of combining two different stories into one common narrative is unexpected," says the actor. In his opinion, the audience is always drawn to the opportunity to observe human transformation and internal compromises. "It is interesting to see the path from the lowest to the highest step of a career, to observe what price is paid for it, what a person is willing to sacrifice, and where their internal compromises begin," states S. Storpirštis.

"A Star Is Born" promises to be an exceptional theater experience, where classics, contemporary drama, and live-performed songs will intertwine.

Cast: Nina - Lina Rastokaitė Joe - Jokūbas Bareikis Mark - Simonas Storpirštis / Ainis Storpirštis Cora - Oneida Kunsunga / Agnė Šataitė Eva - Paula Valentaitė Steve - Mykolas Vildžiūnas / Ainis Storpirštis Brich - Adelė Šuminskaitė