If you have a romantic bone in your body, prepare to fall hard. The much-anticipated Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on the bestselling novel by Robert James Waller, is set to begin previews on January 17th as it heads towards a February 20th opening night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre—and it is, in a word, remarkable. (Dubious? Then check out the website, bridgesofmadisoncountymusical.com, where you can hear a sample of Jason Robert Brown’s spellbinding score and immerse yourself in interviews, photographs, and reviews of the show’s debut at the Williamstown Theatre Festival last August under the direction of Oscar winner Clint Eastwood who, incidentally, starred as leading man Robert Kincaid in the 1995 film opposite Meryl Streep as Francesca Johnson.
As for the stage version, just know that the forces behind this labor of love are the ultimate Broadway dream team: Book: Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning playwright, Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden); Music & Lyrics: Tony winner Brown (Parade); and Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher, the resident director of Lincoln Center Theater.
The Bridges of Madison County also happens to mark Sher’s reunion with four-time Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara, who plays Francesca—she was also his leading lady in South Pacific and The Light In The Piazza.
The other key players in Bridges are Tony nominee Steven Pasquale (in his Broadway musical debut) as photographer Kincaid, and Tony-nominee Hunter Foster as Francesca’s husband, Bud.
Highly recommended—not only for the chemistry between Robert and Francesca (palpable), but also for the equally potent chemistry responsible for bringing Bridges to Broadway.