“The Bridges of Madison County” revolves around a woman whose life has not turned out the way she had imagined. But then, one day, a well-traveled, artistic man of the world shows up at her door.
“It features Francesca, a housewife, and Robert, a photographer who comes into town,” noted Southwest Florida Theatre Music Director Julie Beardon Carver. “It's all about their relationship, the relationship that develops.”
That relationship brings her to a crossroads: leave with the man who offers her the life she always dreamed of or remain on the mundane Iowa farm where she and her taciturn husband are raising their two children.
“We definitely are excited about our cast for this,” said Carver. “Robert will be played by Branch Fields, who played our King Arthur in ‘Camelot,’ and our Francesca is Michel Vasquez, who played Maria in our ‘West Side Story’ last spring.”
They have big shoes to fill. Clint Eastwood played Robert in the film opposite Meryl Streep in the role of Francesca. But they have an advantage over Eastwood and Streep.
“Gorgeous music,” Carver declared. “The music is just so moving and so lovely. It's the story you know, but the music makes it.”
Winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Score and Orchestrations, this sweeping romance is about the roads we travel, the doors we open and the bridges we dare to cross.
“The Bridges of Madison County” is at the Music & Arts Community Center in Fort Myers through March 7. For tickets, visit https://gulfcoastsymphony.org/concert/the-bridges-of-madison-county/.
MORE INFORMATION:
“The Bridges of Of Madison County” is based on the best-selling novel by Jason Robert Brown and 1995 film starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. It was developed into a musical by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown (“The Last Five Years,” “Parade,” “Songs for a New World”) and Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman.
The story follows Francesca Johnson, a beautiful Italian woman who married an American soldier so she could flee war-ravaged Italy. She looks forward to a rare four days alone on their Iowa farm while her family heads to the 1965 state fair. Her life is upended when a ruggedly handsome, National Geographic photographer, Robert Kincaid, pulls into her driveway seeking directions. What happens in the ensuing four days may very well alter the course of Francesca’s life.
The musical premiered on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Feb. 20, 2014.
Brown's work on the musical won the 2014 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations after the Broadway production had already closed.
At one time, Madison County had 19 covered bridges, built between 1868 and 1889. Builders covered the bridges to extend their lives indefinitely. Only six covered bridges remain today, and five are original structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
