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‘Tonight Show': Steve Martin Talks His Broadway Musical ‘Bright Star'

Steve Martin mused over all his used material and sang about all his talk show visits on Monday’s “Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon. 

Martin was showing off his Broadway skills for the new musical, “Bright Star,” that he co-created with Edie Brickel.

As Fallon called Martin to the stage, the actor sang backstage that he was worried he would have nothing to talk about, noting that he burned through all his material during his many appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman.”

“I only agreed to come on this show Feb. 29 because I thought this day didn’t exist,” he sings to himself in the mirror. “Damn leap year.”

And while “Bright Star" officially opens on March 24, the show’s cast, led by Carmen Cusack, gave the audience a live performance of “Sun’s Gonna Shine.”

Martin told Fallon the song was the first that he created for the show and it inspired Brickel to move forward with the project. The show alternately takes place in the 1920 and 40s and it revolves around a woman’s life and a mystery that is slowly revealed throughout the performance.

“Bright Star” is Martin’s first Broadway production With Brickel and he told Fallon that the first opening line is the most important for a comedian. The same could be said for the theater and the two expect the show to be a hit.

Musicals are new territory for Martin but the comedian is familiar with the importance of first impressions in show business. His late night show visits go back to when Johnny Carson smoked during the “Tonight Show” and the quality of a guest’s performance on the talk show often determined how successful someone would be.

During a visit in 1974 on the “Tonight Show,” Martin appeared in a white suit and a spade-studded tie. He imitates a Las Vegas performers jaunty, rushed speech.

“This is not a Vegas act,” he said to the audience. “You know, I’m not Vegas.”

Now, he’s doing a Broadway act.

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