Signature Theatre’s The Bridges of Madison County is a wistful revival that packs a romantic punch. Ethan Heard directs Marsha Norman and Jason Robert Brown’s musical adaptation of Robert James Waller’s 1992 novel of the same name. While the musical itself feeds into the all-too-familiar tropes of popular romance, the cast and creative team embrace the risks of passion, pleasure, and adventure behind the story’s testament to both physical and lifelong love.
The musical follows a four-day love affair between Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid, played by Erin Davie and Mark Evans, respectively. Davie is subtly stunning as Francesca, an Italian housewife now residing in rural Iowa with her husband and two children. Evans gives a magnetic performance as Robert, a wayfaring photographer with an elusive past. When Francesca’s family departs for the week, an act of fate leads Robert to Francesca, as he pulls into her driveway seeking directions to a local bridge—the sixth and final bridge he will photograph for National Geographic. The two form an undeniable attraction rooted in a longing for something different and a fear of the unknown.
Heard’s imagining of Francesca and Robert is erotic escapism at its finest. It is the guiltiest of pleasures. The 1960s gender politics of this musical need some serious attention, but The Bridges of Madison County instills a world where the postwar expectations of family and marriage truly are impossible to escape. The production is fully aware of this. Acknowledging the narrative’s iffy moments, Heard sees power in giving Francesca the chance to pursue personal fantasies and sexual freedom. Francesca finds agency in her own pleasure, and capacity for human connection in a time and place that otherwise feels foreign to her. The musical becomes a snapshot of just one fleeting moment in Francesca’s life—one that just so happened to be sung to life with intoxicating vigor by Davie and Evans.
The script is relatively traditional and prosaic, but The Bridges of Madison County has some hot and heavy moments. Like most romances, the musical is teeming with sexual tension: secretive glances, fiery touches, and breathless first embraces. Heard’s direction and Kelly Crandall d’Amboise’s choreography prioritizes the tension between characters—understanding that dramatic tension doesn’t always need to drive people apart, it can also bring them together. Chelsea Pace’s intimacy direction is remarkably well-staged, completely natural, and fully earned.
The chemistry between Davie and Evans is astounding, but Davie also demonstrates a nuanced understanding of Francesca’s equally complicated obligation to her family. While they occupy much less of the musical’s content, Francesca shares moments of love and intimate appreciation for her children, Michael and Carolyn, which rivals the romantic love she feels for Robert. Her many forms of devotion and commitment spin a complex web that cannot be easily untangled over the course of four days.
Nolan Montgomery and Julia Lennon play Francesca’s comically complicated teenage children with sharp-tongued irreverence and loving humility. As Bud, the patriarch, Cullen R. Titmas lives up to the challenge of heading this dynamic family and countering the more earnest love story Francesca shares with Robert.
Rayanne Gonzales and Christopher Bloch have near-perfect timing as a couple of nosy neighbors, Marge and Charlie. Nevertheless, deeply in love themselves, they remind Francesca they will always leave the light on for her should she need it. And finally, Marina Pires plays an assortment of minor characters with a memorably heartfelt and diva-esque appearance as Robert’s ex-wife, Marian.
Alternating between the encounter in Francesca’s home and the antics of her family at the Indiana State Fair (blissfully unaware of what’s going on with Mom), the Max Theatre is set up in an alley configuration (with the audience facing each other on alternating sides). It is fun to see the very same gasps, smiles, tears, and “aws” of audience members across the way.
Set designer Lee Savage’s two-sided farmhouse transforms into various settings to allow these many locations collide, but never interfere. Numerous transitions created a whirlwind of overlapping moments and interruptive phone calls that added to the drama, but rarely distracted from it.
Finally, Jesse Belsky’s lighting design uses every opportunity provided by the stage’s alley set-up. Gentle sunrises and twilight-infused colors from all directions were at once rustic and profoundly romantic. Belsky’s landscape was truly beautiful to look at and as warmly captivating as the love story itself.
The Bridges of Madison County has the charm of a paperback novel but with a bleeding heart behind it. Supported by a lovely cast and two impeccable leads, the musical is endearingly crafted. It has a penchant for guilty pleasures, but pays attention to the many love stories that can define a life.
Directed by Ethan Heard, The Bridges of Madison County, based on Robert James Waller’s novel with a book by Marsha Norman and music by Jason Robert Brown, runs through Sept. 17 at Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org. $40–$99.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated, it previously quoted the incorrect lyrics to one of the songs.