Bridges of Madison County Previews

First preview is tonight. Who is going to be there?

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Rush tickets are $37, sold at 10 when the box office opens and cut off at 11.

^Student or general rush?

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I have tickets to see it on Valentine's Day. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm very curious to read people's thoughts.

I've spent a year looking forward to this show. More than any other, truthfully. The source material is very dear to me for a lot of reasons. It resonates strongly because of my parents' divorce, a really difficult time for me. And I was rooting for this show more than I was any other this year. The score is stunning. The set is beautiful. The lighting design is extraordinary.

But the show falls flat. And they're both just too young - and the plot suffers because of it. The story is completely different when they're younger. It's harder to forgive them. It's harder to accept it.

Kelli is wonderful and will grow into the role. But the biggest obstacle is her age. And she can't fix that. Pasquale has a beautiful voice. But he's not Robert Kincaid. Or at least not the version the original author created. There are some lovely songs, some wonderful performances. But there's something fundamentally wrong here that I'm struggling with...

SPOILERS AHEAD (if you haven't read the book or seen the film)

As many of you will already know, the author originally provided a wonderful set-up. Francesca's children find her letters after her death. Her mementos have collected dust, but she's never thrown them away because of what Robert means to her. From the beginning, we know this is unlike any other love she's experienced. In fact, it may be the first time she's ever truly felt it. But here, this device is cut. And we never see her children forgive her. Or their struggle to accept what she did. And without that, it's awfully hard to feel any sympathy for Francesca.

Additionally, we learn about Francesca's life in Italy. This is hard because she seemed awfully unhappy there. And since Bud took her away and gave her a life, one has to wonder why she's STILL complaining? And one starts to think she'll never be happy, even if she does run away with Robert.

I could write a book about this because of how much I love the material... But it's late. And time to get to bed.

I wish them all a lot of success. And I'm going to go back and see it again soon. And I really hope they're able to fix these issues. But I fear that there are some they simply can't without some major re-writing. I'll be curious to see how they use this preview period.

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Do you think the show would fall flat for someone who hasn't read or seen the source material? So I mean, do you think it's strong enough to stand on it's own when it isn't be compared?

That doesn't really answer your question. Does it? Sorry. It's a tough one to answer because of how close I am to the material.

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I hope that they see the issue and tackle it. There are two wonderful songs, but they damage how the audience thinks of Francesca. I'm curious to know over the week what others who know the novel and film intimately think. I did speak to quite a few other audience members on the way home. Some liked it, but those who knew the book as I do really struggled with how different the resonance of the piece was here.

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Thanks for your insightful comments. I saw it in Williamstown last summer and loved about 75 percent of it. Is it still 2:45 or was it cut? I, too, loved the score. I also thought Pasquale was in sonorous voice and predict he will be a Tony contender come spring. I intend to see the current incarnation of the show very soon. But while watching Elena Shaddow in the role written for Kelli O'Hara, I couldn't imagine O'Hara's being as luminous and authentic as Shaddow. I do hope the former grows more fully into Francesca as time goes on. I don't know whether age really matters as much as establishing believability and conveying the characters' great emotional need.

I was on the street at 11:10pm tonight. So a little over three hours with a stop though for the crashing set piece and a long intermission.

Kelli's accent is fine. But I'm not the best judge of that, to be honest. For me, it's her aging that is less defined. But I'm sure she'll improve that with preview time. (Honestly, the design team needs to consider a wig for the later scenes.)

Does anyone else think that Francesca sister's song about telling him and seeking forgiveness really sends the wrong message? I struggle with this especially, because the sister has been so clearly defined as, well... a skank. But Francesca is everything opposite. Why should another of her sister's dalliance have such a deep impact on her decision? It threw me. Though the song is lovely.

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I fell in love with the show at Williamstown. After tonight, I think I realized that I had fallen in love with the score and with Elena Shaddow. Like someone said above, I can not *wait* to own the cast recording.

I've never read the book or seen the movie, but I agree that Act 2 falls a little flat. It's too long, and the timing is off; the stories of years are told very quickly and then it felt to me like there were several rather repetitive songs in a row that didn't move the narrative forward. I could listen to them all day, they're stunning, but I was getting antsy. I also felt like that in Williamstown, but there was something about Elena Shaddow that gripped me, and Kelli O'Hara didn't do that for me. She's in absolutely fantastic voice, but there was more of a hardness and an edge to Shaddow that, interestingly, made it easier for me to empathize with her. O'Hara's Francesca felt a touch more passive. That being said, I'm not sure I would have noticed if I hadn't seen Shaddow first.

I also agree that there's an age problem, not the least of which is that Derek Klena and Hunter Foster, at least from the mezzanine, were not plausible as son/father.

I will be back closer to opening to see how it's coming along and simply to revel in the score live as much as I can! And I'll be there in a heartbeat if I see/hear that Shaddow is going to get to go on.

This nails it:
"Overall, I think this has the potential to be very good. At the moment, it is just good."
I am one of those people who had no freaking clue about the source material. Never read the book or saw the movie. I didn't know Kelli's character was Italian until they started talking about Napoli, to me her accent in Act I was just odd. I thought for whatever reason, she did much better in Act II. Having seen Jessie Mueller both in SF and Thurs on Broadway, I still like and appreciate her performance far more than Kelli's. I thought Pasquale was phenomenal. And this will not be the show that makes me despise Hunter Foster less.
Technical note: I recognize this was the first night of previews, but what the f*** with all the banging backstage? There's less offstage noise at my goddaughter's high school productions.