Cara AnnMarie and Jaclene Wilk in “Liberty’s Secret,” left; the film’s producer/writer/director, U-M prof Andy Kirshner, at Thursday night’s premiere screening at the Michigan Theater. (Right photo by Jenn McKee)

“This is like the bar mitzvah I never had,” U-M art and music professor Andy Kirshner joked while standing on the Michigan Theater’s stage on Thursday evening, hosting the premiere screening of his locally made, original feature film musical, Liberty’s Secret.

Indeed, the quip aptly described the event’s affectionate, enthusiastic, communal atmosphere. (Kirshner’s last words at the mic were, “Could my wife please raise her hand, so I can find my seat?”) Approximately a thousand people turned out to see Kirshner’s film about an unlikely romance that blooms between a jaded, Jewish Presidential campaign communications manager (Nikki, played by Chelsea native and U-M grad Cara AnnMarie) and a sheltered, small-town pastor’s daughter (Liberty, played by Oakland University grad Jaclene Wilk) whose angelic singing voice makes her not just America’s viral sweetheart, but the picture of “family values” wholesomeness that Nikki’s moderate Republican candidate, Kenny Weston (Williamston Theatre co-founder John Lepard), needs to win.

READ THE REST HERE