A Star Is Born

A new musical play, "A Star Is Born," arrives on the theater stage, combining the stories of two legendary films

A new musical play, "A Star Is Born," is being created for the Lithuanian theater stage, 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 weaves the themes of both works into a story relevant to today, will begin its tour of the country on October 8.

The stage will bring together prominent names in Lithuanian theater: Lina Rastokaitė, Jokūbas Bareikis, Simonas Storpirštis, Oneida Kunsunga, Paula Valentaitė, Adelė Šuminskaitė, Ainius Storpirštis, director Mykolas Vildžiūnas, and playwright Marija Juzentavičiūtė. This team of professional creators and actors will invite audiences 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 price of creativity, and the choices that can change not only careers but also people's destinies. The play will serve as a reminder that the road to success often demands more than it appears 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 continued 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 released in 1937. This testifies to the fact 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 has been, 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 great deal of emotion leading into creativity and love. Songs from 'A Star Is Born' will be performed, the emotional and musical weight of which 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 group of actors, including the excellent young-generation actress Paula Valentaitė, with whom I have worked before, and the entire 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.