Bridges of Madison County

A Review by Elyse Trevers

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Rarely does a novel capture the hearts of so many readers the way "Bridges of Madison County" did in the early ’90s. Selling more than 50 million copies, it remained on bestseller lists for three years. Now more than 20 years later, it’s become a Broadway musical starring the divine Kelli O’Hara and gifted Steven Pasquale.

With lyrics and music by Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Last Five Years) and a book by Marsh Norman ("‘Night, Mother") the musical tells of a passionate four-day love affair between a frustrated Italian war bride, Francesca, and an itinerant photographer, Robert Kincaid. Francesca (O’Hara) came to the US after World War II, settling in Iowa with her husband Bud. She has spent her life raising her children and taking care of her family. She tolerates her life, but even her teenage daughter notes her mother’s discontent.

Bud takes their two children to the state fair for several days, leaving Francesca alone on the farm. Francesca would never have acted on her malaise had fate not intervened in the form of a National Geographic photographer sent to Iowa to photograph the local bridges. Robert is a wanderer; his long hair and solitary ways cause the locals to consider him a hippie (but neighbor Marge notes that she wouldn’t have rejected him if he came up her driveway.) Quickly Francesca and Robert become attracted to one another and begin a glorious, albeit, short affair. Then her family returns. Although she yearns to runs away with Robert, at the last minute, her love of family is more important than her own desires.

Norman has fleshed out the script, adding neighbors and Robert’s ex-wife. She gives the characters backstories, and in some of the segments when the two main characters are developing their relationship, those characters sing songs on the other side of the stage. The play profits from the extra depth, but it makes it feel overly-long. With the development of the husband and the two adolescent children, the audience understands Francesca’s dilemma. The neighbors and extra characters are also used quite skillfully to move scenery and even ‘build’ the bridge. There are no surprises in the musical — only a better understanding of what keeps Francesca from leaving.

Brown’s music is distinctive. Francesca’s songs bring out O’Hara’s glorious lyric soprano voice and Pasquale is a wonderful tenor with a rock and roll style. At times the shows feels distinctively operatic; Francesca opens the show with a recitative detailing her exodus from Italy to Iowa. My colleague noted how much the music and the relationship initially reminded him of Once. Some audience members may be unhappy in that the show is not a typical old-fashioned musical.

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