Darlin' Cory

By Phillip DePoy & Kristian Bush
Book by Phillip DePoy
Music by Kristian Bush
Lyrics by Phillip DePoy and Kristian Bush
Directed by Susan V. Booth​
Originally produced at Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA
September 8 - October 3, 2021



Set against the backdrop of 1920s Appalachia, Darlin' Cory is a haunting new musical by playwright & novelist Phillip DePoy (Edward Foote) and Sugarland's Grammy-Award winning front man, Kristian Bush (Troubadour). In a tiny mountain town with no road in – and no road out – a community carries secrets of all sizes. But when a young woman with ambition and intelligence collides with a pastor deeply committed to preserving the status quo, cracks begin to appear in the town’s well-constructed façade. And when a stranger appears with a mysterious backstory and the best moonshine anyone’s ever tasted – some of those secrets threaten to spill. With an original folk-country score, this modern-day myth inspired by local lore promises to leave audiences on the edge of their seats.


Artistic Statement: 
Darlin’ Cory celebrates the power of changing the world starting with the person three feet from you. It tells the story of Clara Bledsoe, a girl born into a man’s world, and a town of lies and secrets. Clara is bold and fearless, a true heroine who stands up to and speaks out against the oppressive traditions in the town. Clara is the catalyst for exposing dangerous secrets in this closed-door and closed-minded community. In a time and place where knowledge is considered dangerous, she goes so far as to teach another girl in the town to read, giving her a chance to be more than a silent witness to injustice. Darlin’ Cory is a story of Southern heroism, but it is also an American story that will be shared well beyond the Deep South. The script and score written by music legend Kristian Bush of Sugarland and acclaimed novelist and playwright Phillip DePoy is powerful and sticks in your ears and heart, showing that it only takes one step to change a community if we are brave enough to take it.

Grant Statement: 
Musicals can famously take as long as five to ten years to develop. Darlin’ Cory was created in less than two. This production was the perfect event for reopening the Alliance’s Coca-Cola Stage to the Atlanta community after 18 months of pandemic darkness – a local story set in the Appalachian mountains of North Georgia, with an all-local cast and creative team, on the epic scale our audiences have come to expect and love on our largest stage. With such a short and intense gestation period, every moment of rehearsal was crucial in making this production worthy of our much-anticipated reopening celebration. We are deeply grateful to the Edgerton Foundation for providing an extra week of invaluable rehearsal time, enabling us to investigate the story more thoughtfully, shape the characters more deeply, and make the music soar for the community of Atlanta and those who will experience it in future productions.



Generous support for this production is provided by Dean Dubose and Bronson Smith. This production is supported in part by the Bold Theater Women's Leadership Circle.