WASHINGTON — It was a bestselling novel聽that became an Oscar-nominated聽Hollywood tearjerker聽and a Tony-winning聽Broadway musical.
狈辞飞,听 comes to the Kennedy Center聽now through July 17.
“It’s just such a renowned, very special place,” star聽Elizabeth Stanley told 海角社区app.
“We’re pretty excited to be playing there.”
Based on the聽1992 bestselling novel by Robert James Waller, the heartbreaking story follows Francesca Johnson, a lonely housewife in 1960s Madison County, Iowa. When her聽husband and kids leave聽town to attend the聽state fair for the weekend, she聽strikes up an聽affair with Robert Kincaid, a traveling National Geographic photographer shooting a photo spread聽on the聽area’s聽covered bridges.
Three years later, the steamy romance hit Hollywood under future “Notebook” screenwriter聽Richard LaGravenese, who was fresh off an Oscar nomination for “The Fisher King” (1991).聽The 1995 film also showed a softer side for actor/director Clint聽Eastwood, having just directed the聽Best Picture-winning Western “Unforgiven” (1992).聽The “Bridges” movie also聽earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture and a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Meryl Streep in one of her most memorable roles.
“I had never seen the movie until after I got cast, and then Andrew, who plays Robert, he had also never seen it. We both read the book, and so we said, ‘We should watch the film,'” Stanley admitted. “Normally I’m worried about accidentally imitating whoever plays the role before, [but] I thought, well, if I’m accidentally able to pick up some techniques from Meryl Streep, that’d be OK.”
Few movie moments have made聽moviegoers聽choke up with tears like Eastwood dangling Streep’s necklace off the聽rearview mirror of his truck, stopped at a traffic light in the rain, as Streep’s husband naively honks behind him and a tormented Streep reaches for the door handle with trembling hands.
If you cried during that scene, “you’re not alone,” Stanley said.
The pure drama of the novel and seriousness of the film聽may have聽seemed like a challenge to convert into聽a stage musical. But聽the聽2014 Broadway production, starring聽Kelli O’Hara (“The King & I”) and Steven Pasquale (“Rescue Me”)聽proved that it could be done, earning four Tony nominations.
“If you are a fan of both [the book and film], you will be a fan of this also, because it is very much the same story. It just has the added element of music,” Stanley said. “Some people are like, ‘How does that work?’ Because they’re picturing like tap-dancing musicals. This is very much not like that.”
Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (“The Last Five Years,” “Parade”), blends Americana聽folk and soul genres聽with traditional Broadway ballads, including聽Stanley’s favorite “Almost Real.”
“People often ask me what my favorite song is, and I usually don’t say that song, but聽last night when I was singing it, I thought, ‘I should say this song!” Stanley joked. “It’s sort of a flashback moment. She’s talking about her early life, so I like the information that it’s giving. …聽Then musically, it’s really fun to sing. It’s a ‘big sing’ in terms of musicals, a little more on the heavy soprano side, which is really fun.”
The music won a pair of Tony Awards:聽Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations.
“The score is really lush,” Stanley said. “It’s a little bit classical in some points, especially the stuff that Francesca sings, I think it’s influenced by her being Italian. Then a lot of the stuff the other characters sing … their music is sort of folky Americana, a little bit country. So it just really flows very naturally into the storytelling, and it’s already such an emotional story that the music just really elevates it.”
That “emotional story” is crafted for the stage聽by聽Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman (“The Secret Garden,” “The Color Purple”), who adapted the novel聽into the聽musical’s book.
“I love Marsha as a writer. She’s really great at bringing out the feminine in the story, which as a woman, is really exciting. … It really is Francesca’s story,” Stanley said. “In terms of the storyline being a little bit different, [Norman]聽really wanted to introduce a little bit more of聽the sense of community and how Francesca is really living in a small town, so聽people are very much involved and around.”
The community feel makes for juicy small-town gossip about the steamy聽affair. Just how steamy is it? Enough that the Kennedy Center website recommends the show for ages 12 and up.
“It’s pretty adult,” Stanley said. “There’s no nudity, it’s not in-your-face, but it’s definitely a romance. There’s a couple scenes that are in a bed. It’s just a lot of insinuated moments. It’s really artfully done. It’s a good date. …聽I honestly think the perfect situation is to come with your girlfriends.”
The credit for this “artful” approach belongs to Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher (“South Pacific,” “The Light in the Piazza”), who mines chemistry between Stanley and co-star Andrew Samonsky.
“He’s聽so great. I’m so, so thrilled that I’ve gotten to do this role opposite him for this whole tour,” Stanley said. “We’ve been friends for a long time. The聽Broadway theatre community is kind of a small world, so it was really exciting when we found out we both got cast. It’s been a great ride together.”
The forbidden lovers remain sympathetic despite their dirty deeds, as聽Francesca’s dilemma transcends the extra-marital affair to explore聽universal themes of the head versus the heart.
“Most of us understand what it’s like,聽whether it’s in a relationship or it’s a job or whatever, at some point in your life, there are things we have to do because they’re the right thing to do or because they affect other people, and then there’s the part of us that wants to do what our heart is calling us to do and what makes us happy,” Stanley said. “We all are very familiar with that choice. That’s part of why it speaks to people, because that’s one of the hard things that everyone goes through at some point.”
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