[Free Lance-Star] 'The Bridges of Madison County' arrives at Riverside
Sep 20, 2023
When Patrick A’Hearn, producing artistic director of Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, saw the movie “The Bridges of Madison County,” he recalls thinking it would make a wonderful musical.
The movie — which opened in 1995 starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood and is based on a 1992 novel by Robert James Waller — tells “such a beautiful love story,” A’Hearn said.
“I always thought to myself, ‘This would make a good musical, and luckily someone else did, too,” he said.
Riverside’s production of the 2015 musical “The Bridges of Madison County,” with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, opened Wednesday and runs though Nov. 12.
It stars Adrianne Hick — who’s appearing in her third Riverside production — as Francesca Johnson, an Italian war bride living in Madison County, Iowa, in 1965, and Hick’s husband, Andrew Foote, as Robert Kinkaid, a photographer with National Geographic who is visiting the area to photograph the county’s famous covered bridges.
The two experience a strong connection that leads to a four-day affair. Their romance ends when Francesca makes the decision to stay in her marriage rather than leave with Robert, but it changes both of their lives forever.
Hick said that for her, the musical — which had a Broadway run in 2015 — is about more than simply an affair.
“That’s not how we approach the piece,” she said. “It’s really about connection and emotion. It’s about rediscovering yourself and making connections and using experiences that you have to better your life going forward.”
Hick said every adult will be able to relate to not necessarily the characters’ experiences, but to their feelings and emotions.
“I think the emotions that the characters have are very, very real — loneliness, that loss of self when you become a spouse or parent or you move to a new place, and meeting somebody who makes you feel like yourself again,” she said. “People will relate to that and it can be cathartic.”
Working with her husband is an exciting opportunity, Hick said. The actual rehearsal process is short, she said, but because they’re married, they could take the work home with them and “really delve” into their characters.
“Even though it is a musical with an ensemble and other characters, a lot of the show is just two people,” she said.
A’Hearn said the opportunity to cast Hick as Francesca is one of the main reasons he wanted to stage the show.
“She was amazing in our production of ‘Bright Star,’” he said. “That’s when I started talking about doing this. I said, ‘I would kill to see you do this role.’”
A’Hearn said “Bridges” is “something different” for Riverside audiences.
“It’s one of the newer Broadway musicals and we like to mix that in at Riverside and do the tried and true good ones but also the newer ones, the progressive ones,” he said. “It’s not your traditional musical. To me, it’s more of a terrific drama play with music.”
The music is “one of the highlights of the show,” Hick said, and A’Hearn said the show’s music director, Carson Eubank, will emphasize the lush, gorgeous score and songs.
A’Hearn is using projections and moving video to add to the “cinematic quality” of the production.
“This is our first production that will have full, life-size scenery,” he said. “You’re going to see absolutely gorgeous visuals. It will seem more like a movie than anything else we’ve done.”
For Hick, everything comes together to share the central message of the show — that love is always better.
“Whatever that means to you — loving yourself, loving your family — the message is that choosing love above everything else is always better,” she said.
Adele Uphaus: 540/735-1973
@flsadele
If You Go
"The Bridges of Madison County," Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, 95 Riverside Pkwy., Fredericksburg. Wednesdays–Sundays through Nov. 12. $75 for adult dinner and show (discounts available for seniors 65+, children 3-12 and show only). 540/370-4300; riversidedt.com
