Star Machine
It’s the summer of 2002 when an outrageous new TV talent show called "Star Machine" becomes a runaway sensation.
Sisters Jaz and Nikki audition for the show together but with different motives: Jaz wants the crown because she craves fame no matter the cost, while Nikki competes to gain approval from music industry elites.
Week by week, they claw their way toward superstardom. But even if Jaz and Nikki manage to beat out the competition, will achieving their dreams feel as satisfying as they imagine?
Infused with early-2000s pop energy, the new original musical "Star Machine" is a reflection on ambition that poses universal questions about the creative life. How does an artist define success? And in the end, is the journey actually the destination?
Performance Schedule
Friday, April 24, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 25, 4 & 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 26, 7 p.m.
About "Star Machine"
With music and lyrics by BW music theatre music direction alumnus Gideon Temple '25 and his brother, BW music composition senior Hank Temple '26, and book by Hollee Temple and John Temple, their parents, the show has both BW and Temple-family roots.
The Temple family initially came up with the concept of "Star Machine" in 2018, and a first draft emerged during the 2020 quarantine. The writers were encouraged when the show was named a semi-finalist for the 2021 O'Neill National Musical Theater Conference.
After Gideon and Hank Temple enrolled in the BW Conservatory as students, they created several staged readings and workshop performances on campus, culminating in an April 2024 concert presentation.
In 2024, "Star Machine" received a second O'Neill semi-finalist award and was also named a top six finalist for Northwestern University's American Music Theater Project. Learn more >