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'Bridges of Madison County' at Gammage paints a charming, if artificial, picture of romance

Dave Thomas Brown (Michael), Elizabeth Stanley (Francesca), Cullen R. Titmas (Bud) and Caitlin Houlahan (Carolyn) in the national tour of "The Bridges of Madison County."

Dave Thomas Brown (Michael), Elizabeth Stanley (Francesca), Cullen R. Titmas (Bud) and Caitlin Houlahan (Carolyn) in the national tour of "The Bridges of Madison County."


The national tour of "The Bridges of Madison County" opened its eight-show stop at ASU Gammage on Feb. 16 with an energy that mirrored the blustery passion of a chick-lit romance novel written to indulge middle-aged women.

Which makes sense, because that's exactly how it began.

The show is based on Robert James Waller's 1992 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, which was adapted into a movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep in 1995. The story made its stage musical debut in 2013, then moved to Broadway in 2014 and took two Tony Awards, for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations. It's now in the middle of its first U.S. national tour.

"Bridges" follows an Italian woman named Francesca (Elizabeth Stanley) who begins the musical discouraged that her life hasn't turn out as she'd hoped. After marrying an American soldier named Bud (Cullen R. Titmas) 18 years prior, she gave up her life in Italy and moved to Iowa with him so he could operate a farm. Francesca then took on the role of a supportive housewife and focused on raising their two children (Caitlin Houlahan and John Campione).

The musical begins in 1965 when Bud and the kids embark on a four-day trip to the national 4-H  Club fair in Indianapolis so their daughter can compete with her prize steer. With the house to herself for a week, Francesca aims to spend a quiet few days at home.

However, her plans change when a devilishly handsome National Geographic photographer named Robert (Andrew Samonsky) pulls his truck up to her house and asks for directions to a nearby bridge. Francesca offers to go with him and show him the way. 

The more she learns about the divorced world traveler, the more appealing he becomes. Soon they find themselves attracted to each other.

In an unsurprising turn of events, their encounter slowly develops into a steamy affair filled with plenty of on-stage intimacy. Turmoil ensues when Francesca must choose between life with her family and a new start with Robert.

The touring production cast is filled with exceptional actors who produced the best show possible with the rocky source material they were given. Stanley and Samonsky both gave incredible vocal performances that attested to their abilities, and overall the musical numbers were likable and fun to watch.

However, the core plot behind "Bridges" is too flawed for even the most talented cast to make it more than a shallow adaption of a risqué fantasy. Its abundance of sub-plots and lack of an emotional connection caused the story to drag on and lose its momentum.

As an audience member, the hardest hurdle to overcome was the sheer suspension of disbelief needed for the musical to work. Not only is the basic narrative unlikely — a smoking hot guy comes out of nowhere, featuring perfect hair and abs, somehow still single, and quickly falls in love with the protagonist — but their entire relationship is formed over the course of four days.

Given those circumstances, the audience could expect the passion and physical attraction between Francesca and Robert to drive the play, and for the most part, it does. However, the show also includes several meaningless subplots that fill much of the stage time.

Francesca's pesky but lovable elderly neighbors are the stiff comic relief of the show, as they spy on her through the window and speculate about her affair with "the hippie." Bud and his kids get several scenes at the 4-H Club competition, although nothing there has more than a passing impact on the overall plot. Robert's ex-wife and Francesca's ex-fiance are also characters in long-winded backstories that do little but complicate the plot without adding anything to its romantic development.

The pacing errors caused by including so many subplots hardly detract from the performers' excellent showing, but they do get in the way of a cohesive, emotionally fulfilling storyline focused on the romance between Francesca and Robert. This is unfortunate, because that's what the audience paid to see.

From a critical standpoint, the show has a lot of errors, but if taken with a grain of salt, it can still be an enjoyable evening watching sparks fly between two good-looking people. Although it's by no means perfect, at its core "Bridges" is a fun, romantic ramble through the timeless subject of attraction.

More information about the show and tickets can be found on the Gammage website.

Related Links:

ASU Gammage brings Broadway to campus in 2016

10 things you should look forward to when 'Hamilton' comes to Gammage


Reach the reporter at skylar.mason@asu.edu or follow @skylarmason42 on Twitter.

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