12/7/2015Theater: The Quiet Pleasures of Bridges Of Madison County | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=8f40d9cb-6fc2-4dbe-9bd5-cdc790fc5937&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/3Theater: The Quiet Pleasures of Bridges Of MadisonCountyTheater: The Quiet Pleasures of Bridges Of Madison CountyTHE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY ** 1/2 out of **** GERALD SCHOENFELD THEATREWho would have guessed that a critically reviled novel by Robert James Waller would prove so enduring? TheBridges Of Madison County was the wholesome 50 Shades Of Grey of its day, a publishing phenomenon thatsold some 50 million copies worldwide even though you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who admits to liking it.Bizarrely, Clint Eastwood chose to direct and star in a film version.</p><p> With Meryl Streep! That tough guy tacklingthis soap opera? Thanks to a canny screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, they turned the romantic mush into athoughtful, sexy, focused film. (That should be no surprise; some of the best movies come from pulpy works.)LaGravenese worked wonders and Streep and Eastwood made the most of it, their nearly 20 years of agedifference adding a helpful poignancy to this romance.And now here is a Broadway musical with first-class talent on stage and behind the scenes.</p><p> It's made with care.Jason Robert Brown has fashioned some wonderful, romantic music.</p><p> The two leads are compelling.</p><p> Andunfortunately the book by Marsha Norman, the directorial choices of Bartlett Sher and even some of the well-made songs by Brown step by step manage to undo the creative re-imagining of the film, adding characters andbits of humor and backstory and a span of time that do nothing but get in the way of the quiet, bittersweetromance that is its reason for being.In short, they've turned what should be an affecting chamber piece into a busy, crowded mess.</p><p> The cast albumwill surely be enduring and anyone who chances to see it will find some hushed beauty a la Once.</p><p> But there is abetter, trimmer show tantalizingly in reach and that ultimately frustrates the viewer.The story is simplicity itself.</p><p> Francesca (the beautifully voiced Kelli O'Hara) is a war bride, an Italian woman whomarried an American soldier and found herself transplanted to the wide open spaces of Iowa.</p><p> It's 1965, she's inher mid-40s, the children are squabbling teenagers and their likable if dull father Bud (Hunter Foster, good asalways) is taking them to the State Fair.</p><p> Francesca has chosen to stay home and is eagerly anticipating fourdays of peace and quiet where she can take long baths, sip iced tea and no one will be asking her what's forbreakfast, what's for lunch, what's for dinner? She's not unhappy, really -- despite a frustrated desire to be anartist -- but a break from family demands? Heaven.Up comes Robert Kincaid (Steven Pasquale), a photographer from National Geographic who's lost and needsdirections to one of the area's famed covered bridges.</p><p> Francesca insists on showing him the way, they strike upa tentative friendship and it soon blossoms into passionate romance.</p><p> Francesca loves her children and is fond ofher husband but this is fate! Will she be true to her wedding vows or be true to the passionate need for morethan mild contentment that's burning inside her?One can easily see the appeal of this tale and the fantasy of a dashing romantic figure who comes out ofnowhere and tells you what you've always known: Your life should be far more romantic, passionate andexciting than this! But of course Francesca remains with her family, savoring the memory of this passion andknowing she did the right thing, or at least the only thing she could do and live with herself.12/7/2015Theater: The Quiet Pleasures of Bridges Of Madison County | Evernote Web https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=8f40d9cb-6fc2-4dbe-9bd5-cdc790fc5937&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/3The scenic design of Michael Yeargan, aided by the fine lighting of Donald Holder, creates a warm, wide-openstorybook feel, with spare elements like a stairway, a stove, a window and some piling to indicate the home, thefarm, the neighbors and the bridges Kincaid came to photograph.</p><p> But throughout the show, secondary cast-members are seated onstage, watching the proceedings.</p><p> Yes, in small town life no one is really alone, but thisfeels oppressive and accusatory, more like The Scarlet Letter than a Harlequin romance.The book by Norman doesn't just send the rest of the family off to the fair -- it follows them there.</p><p> Instead ofseeing Francesca and Robert reveling in their private paradise and blissfully blocking out the world for amoment, we watch the kids come to a new understanding about their paths in life, see the father share a drinkwith strangers in a bar and hear all of them call home seemingly every five minutes with complaints andquestions.</p><p> The result is that Francesca and Robert are almost never alone on stage.</p><p> Instead of an intimate,unexpected oasis, we're constantly reminded of the people Francesca is breaking faith with.</p><p> This is an unaskedfor romance but with the children rarely out of sight and neighbors impassively watching, it feels more like atawdry affair.</p><p> That spoils everything.Ironically, some of composer Brown's best songs are part of the distraction.</p><p> Robert Kincaid's ex-wife Marian(Whitney Bashor, who kills with her one tune) sings a lovely faux Joni Mitchell tune called "Another Life."Friendly neighbor Marge (Cass Morgan) has fun with her comic number "Get Closer." Marge's husband Charlie(Michael X.</p><p> Martin) leads off a big second act number "When I'm Gone." A more anonymous country tune "StateRoad 21/The Real World" is the sole weak number but unfortunately kicks things off after the intermission.Yet even the best of these feels distracting.</p><p> Martin and Morgan are pros and wisely don't become an intrudingpresence.</p><p> Still, when the show is reaching its emotional climax, you can't help wondering why the minorcharacter of Charlie is suddenly taking center stage.</p><p> The same goes for all the subplots about a daughternervous about the Steer Of The Year competition (a vivid Caitlin Kinnenen) and a son (a fine Derek Klena) whois trying pot and pondering any future but one stuck on a farm.</p><p> The actors are solid, the songs are good...and it'sall a waste of time.</p><p> Towards the finale in "When I'm Gone," Francesca and Robert are literally lost in a crowd,their story overwhelmed by everyone else's story.It's a pity because when you pare back the unnecessary, the two lovers and their songs are definitely strongenough to have remained the focus of a tighter, more intimate show.</p><p> O'Hara and Pasquale are the same age sothat creates a different dynamic than the man of the world vibe of the book or the much older man of experiencefrom the movie. (Eastwood was 19 years older than Streep; in the book Robert is probably about eight years hersenior.) But it's just as valid.O'Hara sings beautifully and very convincingly with a subtle Italian accent to her English throughout.</p><p> Pasqualematches her in belting out the big numbers and their chemistry is evident, though the humor and awkwardnessas they warily get closer to passion is more effective than the tumbling around on bed.</p><p> I'm looking forward tolistening to their songs like "What Do You Call A Man?" and "Falling Into You" again and I'm sure they'll proveeven stronger on repeated listens.But we're given flashbacks to Italy featuring Francesca's free and easy sister and flash-forwards to collegegraduations and weddings and funerals and a decade or more of far-off pining.</p><p> And it all just gets in the way.The most vivid moment is when everyone -- even the orchestra -- falls away and Robert and Francesca arealone onstage and he sings of his love for her in a song that stays boldly a cappella for quite awhile.</p><p> Theaudience is hushed, the moment is lovely and for a while you can savor the quiet pleasures of The Bridges OfMadison County and glimpse the simpler show it should have dared to be.THEATER OF 2014Beautiful: The Carole King Musical ***Rodney King ***
