The Bridges of Madison County
Book by Marsha Norman, Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Based the Novel by Robert James Waller
Original Direction by Bartlett Sher, Direction Recreated by Tyne Rafaeli
The Fox Theatre
April 5, 2016
Elizabeth Stanley, Andrew Samonsky
Photo by Matthew Murphy
The Bridges of Madison County National Tour
The Bridges of Madison County was one of those books that everyone seemed to be reading in the early 1990’s. It has since become a well-known film, and now it’s a musical, featuring a score by one of the most celebrated modern composers, Jason Robert Brown. And the score is gorgeous, as are the production values. Unfortunately, despite a good cast, the story isn’t quite as gorgeous.
Although this was a best-selling book and a popular movie, I haven’t read the book and this version is the first adaptation I’ve seen. It tells the story of a lonely Italian woman, Francesca (Elizabeth Stanley) who married an American soldier after World War II and moved with him to his farm in Iowa. After years of living with Bud (Cullen R. Titmas) and raising their now-teenage children Carolyn (Caitlin Houlahan) and Michael (John Campione), Francesca is bored with farm life and misses Italy. When Bud and the kids take a trip to a state fair to show off Carolyn’s prize steer, Francesca stays home, where she soon meets traveling photographer Robert Kincaid (Andrew Samonsky), who has been sent by National Geographic to take pictures of the area’s famous covered bridges. He stops at Francesca’s to ask for directions to the last bridge, and the two are soon intrigued by one another, as Robert has recently traveled to Francesca’s hometown of Naples and his more worldly, less conventional outlook on life intrigues her. They begin an affair, despite the frequent calls from Bud and Francesca’s neighbor and friend Marge (Mary Callanan) to check up on her.
This affair is apparently supposed to be life-changing for both Francesca and Robert, but the way it’s presented in this musical, I don’t really buy it. Everything moves too quickly and isn’t given the proper resonance. I keep finding myself sympathizing with the nice-but-boring Bud, and with his and Francesca’s kids, who have no clue what’s going on back home while they have their own “adventures” at the fair that don’t have much bearing on the rest of the story. The music is gorgeous, representing a variety of styles from a more classical sound to country and folk, and there are some stand-out songs, some with clever settings like Marge standing in for a radio singer singing “Get Closer” as Robert and Francesca dance. There’s also the haunting “Who You Are and Who We Want to Be” and Robert’s memorable “It All Fades Away”, but despite the beautiful music, the story around the songs reads as kind of shallow, with the connection between Francesca and Robert seeming little more than superficial, and the story’s continuation after the key events making the supposedly torrid affair seem kind of pointless.
The show looks great, as well. With a positively stunning set design by Michael Yeargan, adapted for the tour by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams and beautifully realized lighting by Donald Holder and Michael Jones, the atmosphere of the sweeping farmlands of Iowa is well-embodied. There’s also excellent, well-suited costume design by Catherine Zuber that captures the style of the time period.
The cast for this show is also excellent, led by a top-notch performance by Stanley as the disillusioned Francesca. Her presence and strong voice help to make her character relatable despite the lack of chemistry with Samonsky’s nice-looking but somewhat bland Robert. The real stand-outs in this cast are the supporting performers, especially Callanan as the nosy but supportive neighbor Marge, and David Hess as her affable, loving husband Charlie. Houlahan and Campione are also excellent as Francesca’s children, the nervous but determined Carolyn and the initially rebellious but well-meaning Michael. Titmas is also fine in the somewhat flatly written role of Bud, and there’s a strong ensemble that fills out the cast, representing townspeople and various people from Francesca’s and Robert’s personal history.
The Bridges of Madison County is a good-looking, great sounding show, but I wish it was more than that. It’s set up as a great love story but it doesn’t come across that way, especially with the lack of chemistry between the leads and the sense that most of the subplots are merely window-dressing for the unconvincing main event. I haven’t read the book so I don’t know if the story is better told in novel form, but here it’s all kind of thin. Still, it’s Jason Robert Brown, so the music is wonderful, and the songs are well-sung. There’s enough here for a reasonably interesting story, but I wish there had been more of a point to it all.
Elizabeth Stanley, Andrew Samonsky
Photo by Matthew Murphy
The Bridges of Madison County National Tour
The national tour of The Bridges of Madison County plays at the Fox Theatre until April 17, 2016.
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