Surprisingly Delightful 'Bridges of Madison County' a High-Water Mark for Marriott Theatre

FIVE of FIVE STARS

...between the show itself and its cast, direction, costuming, scenery and the performances, I found this to be a grand slam.

That it was so surprisingly so makes it even better.

Perhaps it was because I was sitting five feet from the stage at Marriott as opposed to the upper balcony of the cavernous downtown Oriental Theatre, but though I had seen a sublime rendition of Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic The King and I just the night before and declared, "It's quite possible you won't see The King and I done any better elsewhere," I actually enjoyed myself more witnessing The Bridges of Madison County onstage for the first time.

This isn't to say there are songs anywhere near as delectable as "Getting to Know You" or "Shall We Dance." Brown writes sumptuous tunes, but more of the drive-the-story than hum-along variety.

Just in reading the Playbill pre-show, I was impressed by the caliber of the cast, which seems akin--on paper and in performance--to what you might expect on Broadway or a full-Equity first national tour.

I still recall Broadway vet Kathy Voytko being fantastic years ago in Stephen Sondheim's Passion at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and in Les Miz at Marriott (alongside her husband, John Cudia), and she is simply fantastic here as Francesca Johnson, an Iowa housewife born in Italy who follows her soldier husband to back to his farm, circa 1965. She isn't unhappy as the mother of two, but aware that certain dreams have gone unfulfilled.

As no surprise to those who have read Robert James Waller's 1992 mega-selling novel or seen the 1995 Bridges of Madison County screen adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, just as Francesca's husband, son and daughter have headed to a state fair without her, a ruggedly handsome, mildly iconoclastic photographer for National Geographic named Robert Kincaid ambles up her driveway asking for directions to one of the famed covered wooden bridges of Madison County.

Playing Robert is Nathaniel Stampley, who has starred in The Lion King, The Color Purple and Porgy & Bess on Broadway and was truly sensational heading Man of La Mancha at Marriott just last year, also under the direction of Nick Bowling.

Along with having one of the best singing voices I've ever heard, Stampley exudes an easygoing charm that never allows the adulterous affair between Robert and Francesca to feel cheap.

...Beyond Shatto, who has played Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on tour and Broadway, excellent work is done by Wydetta Carter as Francesca's lovable yet nosy neighbor Marge, whose husband Charlie is well-played by a frequent favorite of mine, Terry Hamilton, who doesn't even get to use his estimable vocal abilities.

The same can be said--just to illustrate how deep this cast is--about Nick Cosgrove, who played Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys on Broadway and tour but has a relatively minor, non-singing role here.

As Francesca's and Bud's children, Michael and Carolyn, Taylor Hake and Brooke MacDougal also merit note.

Two nights after seeing The Bridges of Madison County, which came after a bit of Spotifamiliarization with the Broadway cast recording, I can only name "To Build a Home," "Wondering" and a song that seems not to be named "Just One Second" but repeated those words in its refrain.

But with the wonderful voices of Voytko, Stampley, Shatto, Carter, Emily Berman and others, everything sounded delectable in person, including "Home Before You Know It," "What Do You Call a Man Like That?," "Another Life," "The World Inside a Frame" and "It All Fades Away."

Far more than upon taking my seat, I understand why director Nick Bowling--who hails from small-town Iowa himself--said of Brown's score:

"It's the kind of music you fall in love with the first time you hear it."

The decision to employ still images of Iowan landscape across the the theater's back walls works well thanks to Projection Designer Anthony Churchill, and while I would've liked to have seen photos of some of the actual bridges, Jeffrey D. Kmiec's inventive set design includes a skeletal yet impressive onstage bridge.

The costumes by Sally Dolembo are first-rate while often appropriately understated, and while I can't delineate the responsibilities of Music Director Ryan T. Nelson versus a Musical Staging credit for William Carlos Angulo, clearly they, the musicians and everyone involved in this terrific show deserve to share in the praise.

...While I certainly wouldn't mind seeing this show again and am already looking forward to Honeymoon in Vegas--and also plan to revisit the movie version of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years--I applaud Marriott's artistic team for not only being a bit adventuresome in programming shows but, clearly in this case, getting it so right in every respect.

The result is a bridge--from the tried & true to the new & terrific--almost anyone should enjoy crossing.