When Susquehanna Stage presents "Bright Star," audiences will discover a musical full of the ups and downs of human emotion.

"It's a beautiful show," said Lakisha Welch, who portrays Alice Murphy, the woman at the center of the story. "There's an element of fate in this show. It's a show about being true to yourself and trying to right the wrongs of the past in the best way you know how. It's about characters looking for redemption."

"Bright Star" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, July 25 and 26 and Aug. 1 and 2, as well as at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays, July 27 and Aug. 3. It will be performed at Susquehanna Stage, 133 W. Market St., Marietta.

Written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, the Tony Award-nominated show is loosely based on a true story. It's set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and moves back and forth in time from the 1920s to the 1940s.

"The show is the journey of Alice," Welch explained. "When she's young, she falls in love with the mayor's son. They have a child, but the mayor does not want that stigma for his son, and he says he's going to take the baby and put it up for adoption."

It turns out what happens to the baby is actually much darker, but the show is not just sad or depressing, said Daniel Graf, who portrays Alice's love interest, Jimmy Ray Dobbs.

"It's a show about grief and mourning and loss," he said, "but it's so much more as well."

Lindy Keefe, who plays Lucy Grant, a co-worker of Alice's in the later timeline, agreed with Graf's assessment.

"It's a statement on grief and loss, but it's also one of hope and reunion and connection," she said. "I think it's surprisingly fun as well. I've seen shows where you leave, and you just feel heavy, and I don't think this is one of those shows. It balances those feelings and emotions really beautifully."

The show's title refers to the characters finding their way and discovering who they were meant to be, Keefe shared.

"Your bright star is the thing that guides you and what you do in life," she stated. "Love perseveres in this show. There's the love that Alice has as she reconnects with her romantic love, but there's familial love as well, finding your family again or creating your chosen family."

The storyline moves back and forth between Alice as a teenager and as a career woman who has risen to the top in the literary world.

For Welch, portraying the differences in her character has provided an opportunity to hone her acting skills.

"It is a challenge, because I am way older than 16," she said with a laugh, referring to Alice in the 1920s. "I've been working on changing the tone, pitch and inflection of my voice as Alice ages, and there's also the physicality of it. Alice is a young, wild and free-spirited young lady who becomes this ultra-sophisticated take-charge kind of woman."

"Bright Star" features a cast of 20. Additional lead characters include Zach Haines as Billy Cane, a man with whom Alice shares a mysterious connection, and Jordyn Johnson as Margo Crawford, a childhood friend of Billy's.

The score includes Americana music with bluegrass and country themes, providing the perfect backdrop to the story's time and setting. The dance numbers also complement the plot, Keefe said.

"The dancing matches the sound and time period," she said. "There's swing and tap and folksy music. The dance numbers show fun, rhythmic movement in a way that really matches the tone of the show."

Like Keefe, Jared Mattson portrays one of Alice's co-workers in the 1940s scenes. His character, Daryl Ames, only knows the surface of Alice's story at first but begins to learn more about her past as it's revealed to him and Lucy.

He noted that playing the comic relief in a show full of heavy themes has been fun and a unique challenge to embrace.

" 'Bright Star' is so fun because it's simple characters, but it's set in a story of epic proportions," he remarked. "It's easy to connect with the characters, but you leave the show going, 'Whoa!' with this rollercoaster of emotions."

Audiences will also walk away connecting to at least one character in the show, Graf said.

"Because there are different characters that go on different paths throughout the show, everyone who comes to see it will take something different away with them," he said. "There are so many different character arcs in this show, and audiences get to see the development of every single character."

For more information or to purchase tickets for "Bright Star," visit http://www.susquehannastage.com.