Jason Robert Brown's THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY Will Headline Williamstown Theatre Festival, Starring Kelli O'Hara

by BWW News Desk Jan. 6, 2013

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, with music from Jason Robert Brown and a book from playwright Marsha Norman , will take a bow at Williamstown Theatre Festival this summer.

Kelli O'Hara, who appeared in FAR FROM HEAVEN at Williamstown Theatre Festival last year and is currently appearing in Broadway's NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, is set to star. Bartlett Sher, a Tony Award winner for the 2008 revival of SOUTH PACIFIC (also starring O'Hara), is set to helm the production.

The show will be based on the 1992 bestselling novel which was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep. "I think that when musicals are made, taking from the movie is the wrong thing to do because it is a different genre," O'Hara told BroadwayWorld's Pat Cerasaro last year. "I think Meryl Streep is one of the most brilliant actresses in the world, so I think it's a mistake to try to redo what she did. Plus, we are doing the younger version of the love affair - so, we're sticking closer to the words in the book."

Though no specific dates have yet been announced, Williamstown Theatre Festival's Artistic Director, Jenny Gersten, has confirmed that it is scheduled and tells the New York Times that the show is slated for August.