With her family away at the 1965 state fair, Francesca Johnson looks forward to a rare four days alone on her Iowa farm. But when ruggedly handsome National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid pulls into her driveway seeking directions, what happens in those four days may very well alter the course of Francesca's life. Based on the best-selling novel, and developed by a Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning creative team, this new musical captures the lyrical expanse of America's heartland along with the yearning entangled in the eternal question, 'What if...?'"
The Bridges of Madison County stars four-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O'Hara (South Pacific, The Pajama Game) and Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me, reasons to be pretty). It features a score by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years) and a libretto by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman (The Color Purple, The Secret Garden). It will be directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher (The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific), who reunites with his celebrated Tony Award-winning South Pacific design team, including scenic designer Michael Yeargan, costume designer Catherine Zuber, and lighting designer, Donald Holder. Sound Design is by Jon Weston (How to Succeed..., The Color Purple).
One of the works that put Jason Robert Brown on the map is The Last Five Years, a 2001 two-character chamber musical that deconstructs in microscopic detail the entirety of a relationship, from first encounter through marriage to breakup. A variation on that theme, this time chronicling just four whirlwind days of intense passion, is trapped inside the composer-lyricist's cluttered stage retelling of The Bridges of Madison County. Fussy direction and design choices and cumbersome book scenes crowd the central couple, but the gorgeous voices and thoughtful characterizations of Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale in those roles help counter the weaknesses of this problematic romantic musical.
...Pasquale's performance, which is technically impressive and shows at least flickers of nuance. As the cliches pile up, you feel for him, and for O'Hara, and their director, Bartlett Sher, whose credits include some of the most compelling stagings of American classics in recent years (including the 2008 revival of South Pacific in which O'Hara memorably starred). They are burdened, after all, not only with the sentimentality of Bridges' premise, but with supporting contrivances such as Francesca's dull, inexplicably suspicious husband, called Bud, and a nosy but goodhearted neighbor, Marge, who uses binoculars to peer into Francesca's home. (Marge and Bud are respectively, and gamely, played by Cass Morgan and Hunter Foster.)
2014 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2015 | US Tour |
First National Tour US Tour |
2019 | West End |
Menier Chocolate Factory's West End Premiere Production West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Score | Jason Robert Brown |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Steven Pasquale |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Kelli O'Hara |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Marsha Norman |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Bartlett Sher |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Jason Robert Brown |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Jason Robert Brown |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | The Bridges of Madison County |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Jason Robert Brown |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Jon Weston |
2014 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Kelli O'Hara |
2014 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Steven Pasquale |
2014 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | The Bridges of Madison County |
2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Kelli O'Hara |
2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Jason Robert Brown |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Donald Holder |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Jason Robert Brown |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Jason Robert Brown |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Kelli O'Hara |
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