THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY to Close May 18- Page 6

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 12:23am

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 12:31am

.

[binau]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 1:20am

It clearly was a spoiler.

[hundredsofhats]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 7:25am

[I hate the ads for Aladdin because it doesn't show anything. It just says what it is, and where it is, with some of the average score in the background. They don't show any actors, any sets, nothing. Of course I know the story, but the ads make me not want to see it. It's like, please show me something.]

Yeah, the ads were more of teasers than actual ads--The ads for the 5th Avenue Theater pilot production told a little more--they had Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed on the magic carpet with a bright orange background, and also with clouds in the background---although it did look really derpy, maybe that's why they changed it to the palm trees and the lamp for Toronto and then again for Broadway just the suggestion of the lamp, the carpet, and the Genie--and then I guess by not showing actors they can show the same ad regardless of the cast.

All this talk of Bridges sent me to listen to "Falling Into You"--very good, lots of feeling, beautiful singing from Stephen Pasquale too. I might actually buy the soundtrack.

[Jamie Pierce]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 11:18am

I blame Chris Christie

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 11:29am

ljay, the view from the rear mezzanine is fine! Though I do think the show benefits from sitting closer. But I've always had great sightlines from the last two rows of the mezz in The Schoenfeld and my view for my first trip to BRIDGES was no exception! :)

And that's definitely a spoiler. I had heard of both the film and the book well before seeing the musical, but I hadn't read or seen the book or the film. So the musical was my first exposure to the actual story. And I didn't know what decision Francesca was going to make until she made it. So, yeah, I think it's still a spoiler.

[boom3]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 11:57am

I edited the spoiler...I sorry, I'm new here and didn't know protocol :)

I've read the book and seen the movie. Knowing Francesca's decision in no way diminished the emotional intensity I felt when seeing Bridges for the first time at Williamstown. I've seen it twice on Broadway...the performances and score are so glorious. It's Francesca's and Robert's emotional journey that you get to share which makes Bridges such a unique and deeply felt experience. Go see it!!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 3:05pm

"they had Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed on the magic carpet with a bright orange background, and also with clouds in the background---although it did look really derpy, maybe that's why they changed it to the palm trees and the lamp for Toronto and then again for Broadway just the suggestion of the lamp, the carpet, and the Genie--and then I guess by not showing actors they can show the same ad regardless of the cast."

Man, that sound so much better! I would have wanted to see that. I get they can show the same ad regardless of cast, but they shouldn't. Kinky Boots and Newsies updated their commercials when two of their male leads left. Aladdin (Disney Dollas) can afford that. The commercial is so dull.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 1:37am

JRB won Best Score after PARADE closed in Febuary before the TONYS.

And it won Best Book also.

Very true, However the big show that year (FOSSE) was not eligible in either category. PARADE never really had a chance (according to Variety at the time) because LIVENT pulled their portion of the funding giving the show no cushion to fall back on.

There are those who may feel BRIDGES is closing too soon because the OCR will physically be in stores the day after the closing. But the release of the OCR rare sent the box office sales into orbit.It is a fine recording that I am enjoying listening to, while regretting not having had a chance to see the show.

[hundredsofhats]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 9:32am

[Man, that sound so much better! I would have wanted to see that. I get they can show the same ad regardless of cast, but they shouldn't. Kinky Boots and Newsies updated their commercials when two of their male leads left. Aladdin (Disney Dollas) can afford that. The commercial is so dull.]

Yeah, I'm not sure what their rationale was of not including any footage from the show, if to do that would make the ads more boring.

Here's the ads if you wanted to look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCjKvAusa0o"> 15-second spot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCNdidrQCNw"> 30-second spot




Updated On: 5/4/14 at 09:32 AM

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 11:46am

Hum. Since I saw it the score has been kind of growing on me (particularly Another Life and State Road 21) but I found the main relationship to be so impossibly dull that I couldn't enjoy the show.

Sad that this will be another disappointing Tony night for Kelli, but her long-awaited win should be for something better than this.

[mc1227]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 12:01pm

Kelli would have won anyway, but with this closing, I actually feel that this will seal it for her. Voters who have seen this show or are about to see it will realize the amazing transformation that takes place to become Francesca. As much as I enjoyed Jessie Mueller, I feel Kelli's heart and soul (not to mention her incredible voice) is felt in that theater every day, regardless of how many people are in the seats.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 12:05pm

Saw this on Twitter yesterday. Thought this was the appropriate place to share.




LINK

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 1:52pm

Great cartoon

Even though Pasquale was robbed, I hope for a double win for Kellie & JRB

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 1:57pm

I know we're very late to this party, but having just returned from a blitz of show-going (7 shows in 5 days), BRIDGES stood head and shoulders above every other Broadway offering we saw-- gorgeous score, simple elegant staging, thought-provoking emotional libretto, and of course Kelli's magnificent performance. Everything we want in a musical play and seldom find. This show is the true heir to the great works of Rogers and Hammerstein. So it comes as no surprise at all that the closing notice went up while we were wasting time at BULLETS OVER BROADWAY. For us, this one was the real deal.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 2:00pm

Great cartoon! I love how New York centric it is.

hundredsofhats, thank you. I love those ads and wish they could have continued playing them with it got to Broadway. The current ad really sucks.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 2:07pm

"but I found the main relationship to be so impossibly dull that I couldn't enjoy the show."

Different strokes. I found their chemistry scorching, and was brought to tears by the fate of their relationship.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 2:09pm

^^^ I think 99.9% of people thought that. ^^^


Updated On: 5/4/14 at 02:09 PM

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 2:53pm

Perhaps but probably not attributable to the fact that I saw Elena Shaddow as Francesca.

Honestly I feel a bit guilty at my complete inability to account for why I disliked this show so much.

[newintown]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 4:04pm

I seriously believe that if 99.9% of the people who saw this show felt the way you say, it wouldn't be closing so soon and at such a loss.

Look, I loved The Scottsboro Boys, but I have no need to pretend I know what anyone else who saw it thought (except those few whose opinion I heard or read). Clearly it had a small number of champions, of which I was one.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 5:11pm

They had incredible chemistry, everyone knows that. That wasn't the problem with the show. The score and the actors were universally praised.

[Steve721]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 5:46pm

"I seriously believe that if 99.9% of the people who saw this show felt the way you say, it wouldn't be closing so soon and at such a loss."

Obviously, there is self-selection in terms of the audience for Bridges (or any other show)--people don't buy expensive tickets unless they think they might like it. So I expect that a fairly large majority of the people who actually saw Bridges loved it or at least liked it. And by any objective standard, If/Then, Rocky and Bullets all got worse reviews than Bridges, yet those shows are still around.

Bridges didn't have a star draw (like Idina) and had a story that would only appeal to a narrow audience. In hindsight, I think a show like Bridges would have survived only with rave reviews and gobs of Tony nominations. But with mixed reviews and nothing else to draw a wider audience, it was toast.

Updated On: 5/4/14 at 05:46 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 7:25pm

“Tell me how a nothing confection like Aladdin , who everyone said was dead in Toronto, is now a huge success…”

Because they are going to the version that is playing on Broadway?! after fixing things since Toronto? And “everybody said” doesn’t mean anything if they are selling tickets. I went and enjoyed it a lot. I like Bridges more, but they hardly seem to be pulling from the same audience.

“In what way is a musical about a mother engaging in adultery a lovely musical for Mother's Day?”

Maybe she is now divorced and wishes she bolted much earlier than she finally did?

“And that's definitely a spoiler.”

If more people had supported this show, it wouldn’t be a spoiler, since ya’ll’d’ve seen it.

“Bridges … had a story that would only appeal to a narrow audience.”

People who have had an intense romantic connection with someone?!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 7:36pm

I hope a lot of people on here are going to the closing performance, it should be fabulous!

"Even though Pasquale was robbed, I hope for a double win for Kellie & JRB"

Goddamnit Roxy, I hope for the same thing!

"People who have had an intense romantic connection with someone?!"

LIKE

[After Eight]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 7:43pm

"This show is the true heir to the great works of Rogers and Hammerstein"

That's like saying a pack mule is the true heir to Secretariat.

But hey, why not? Someone here proclaimed the score to Marie Christine to be as good as that of Porgy and Bess, so I guess one may as well go the whole nine yards and throw all caution and sanity to the winds altogether.

I now await someone proclaimng the score to Fun Home superior to Bach, Beethoven and Brahms combined.


"I think 99.9% of people thought that."

Nonsense. The comments of the people in this thread alone show that statement to be ridiculous.