Berkshire on Stage

It’s a love story, which began as a best-selling novel by Robert James Waller in 1992, turned into a movie in 1995 starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, and adapted into a musical which premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2013 and moved to Broadway in 2014. Jason Robert Brown wrote the music and Marsha Norman wrote the book. The Bridges of Madison County starred Kelli O’Hara and Stephen Pasquale.

Now at the Ghent Playhouse, the story follows Francesca (TracyLynn Connor) in 1965, an Italian woman who left war torn WWII Italy to settle down with an American soldier turned farmer, Bud Johnson (Jeffrey Jene) and raise a family in Iowa. While her family goes to the State Fair to show their prized steer, Francesca stays home and is visited by noted photographer Robert Kincaid (William Wright Heatley) who is searching for a covered bridge he has been unable to find for a project he is shooting for National Geographic. This random meeting sparks a love affair over three days, tapping into unknown feelings and desires in both Francesca and Kincaid, leading to incredibly difficult choices going forward in their lives.

The musical opens with two window frames in the background holding photographs which shift from Italy’s history, and Kincaid’s photographs providing a perfect backdrop for the audience (Projection Designers: Michael McDermott and Michael C. Mensching). We are greeted by Francesca and the large ensemble singing To Build a Home describing Francesca’s journey from a young Italian wartime bride to a wife and mother on a farm in rural America. 

Conner, a veteran of this role, displays comfort and ease as her glorious soprano fills the room. Her notes often rise in crescendo, and her talent easily gives O’Hara a run for her money.

Jene as husband Bud obviously loves his wife as he takes his squabbling teens, believably played as Michael (Carlos Vasquez) and Carolyn (Amelia Scheriff), off to the State Fair assuring Francesca he’ll be Home Before You Know It. This ‘typical’ family shows no signs of significant conflict, providing little hint of Francesca’s unmet needs.

When Francesca greets Kincaid, offers to help him find the covered bridge, and invites him in for iced tea and then dinner, we watch as she starts to fall for this artist who sees her and talks to her differently, perhaps seeing the artist in herself. We watch Kincaid, who has spent a life behind a camera, wondering what he has been looking for and how he has been lost.

Heatley, as Kincaid, sings ably and sincerely. We witness the relationship grow over dinner, as we hear his ex-wife, Marian (Molly McClarnon) sing beautifully and mournfully about her failure to connect with her former husband in Another Life.

As we watch the passion develop and witness the urgency of this love affair, I struggle to see the chemistry between Francesca and Kincaid as played by Conner and Heatley. While I recognize with opening night, the chemistry might still build over the run, I watch Conner carry the emotion of this show, often displaying the feelings in her eyes which are not as visible in those who play opposite her.  I need to understand why Francesca is unfaithful to her husband, what leads to the inevitability of this affair. Heatley as Kincaid needs to incite more desperation and ardor.

Jene, as Bud, is the devoted husband who comes back from the Fair and finally ‘sees’ what he has missed in his wife and recognizes something has changed. We experience Francesca trying to follow her heart, yet recognize how much she loves her family and what leaving them might mean. One Second and a Million Miles, a fabulous duet between Francesca and Kincaid, displays their connection, their longing, and impossible choices.

Nosy neighbors Marge (Chelsea Beatty) and Charlie (Bill Douglas) are the couple that provide comic relief as well as the comfort one sees in a small close community. Their presence and performance are welcome, breaking up the drama between the leads. 

The large ensemble on this small stage gives community theater performers a chance to provide a lovely chorus while moving the numerous set pieces including a kitchen, a bedroom and the infamous covered bridge, beautifully designed by Michael O’Keefe. Michael C. Mensching and Michael McDermott co-direct, masterfully moving numerous actors and set pieces swiftly amongst scenes.

As a fan of Jason Robert Brown and a lover of this score, I was thrilled to hear a perfect small live band (Ellen Rizzo, Music Director), set by the side of the audience, accompany the voices. I questioned the use of real instruments on stage by characters who were not actually playing them.

The shades and colors of the lights by Lighting Designer, Kassidi Jarvis, effectively depict the various times of day, and show off the photography of Kincaid. Costumes, designed by Joanne Maurer and Krin Mason, perfectly reflect the area and the time periods as the story goes from the 60s to the 80s, as we learn what happens to all the characters in the future.

I am thrilled to see a local production of The Bridges of Madison County, having missed the premiere in Williamstown and the relatively short run on Broadway. The Ghent Playhouse, a small theater, can put on a big show. Conner brings a Broadway caliber voice to the Ghent stage. Fortunately, the show runs for three weekends, giving ample opportunity to see this moving love story.

The Bridges of Madison County, music by Jason Robert Brown, lyrics by Marsha Norman, co-directed by Michael C. Mensching and Michael McDermott, music director Ellen Rizzo, runs April 12-14, 19-21, and 26-28 at the Ghent Playhouse, 6 Town Hall Place in Ghent NY. CAST: TracyLynn Connor as Francesca, Jeffrey Jene as Bud Johnson, William Wright Heatley as Robert Kincaid, Carlos Vasquez as Michael, Amelia Scheriff as Carolyn, Molly McClarnon as Marian, Chelsea Beatty as Marge, Bill Douglas as Charlie. ENSEMBLE: Nate Beynon, Erika Duraski, Linda Thorburn, Maria Lally-Clark, and Katie K. Snyder. CREATIVE TEAM: Projection Designers Michael McDermott and Michael C. Mensching; set designers Michael O’Keefe and Ed Dignum; costume designers Joanne Maurer and Krin Mason, lighting designer Kassidi Jarvis, Sound Designer Joshua Hororwitz. MUSICIANS: Ellen Rizzo, Joanne Mensching, and Josiah Myatt.

The Bridges of Madison County runs for three consecutive weeks: April 12-14, 19-21, 26-28. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 pm. Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available online only: $23 for members, $28 for nonmembers, and $12 for students. Tickets and memberships can be purchased at GhentPlayhouse.org with no additional processing fees.