The Bridges of Madison County (Menier summer musical)

“One Second and a Million Miles” is, simply, gorgeous. Operatic yet casual, it’s such a glorious sweep of a song: JRB’s pianistic showy-offy-ness, moody Midwestern guitars, exquisite harmonising, and two passionate voices matching two passionate characters. That said… this eight minute long duet does almost nothing for plot or character progression – it’s literally one second long. Nonetheless, not one guitar strum of those eight minutes/one second feels wasted – to spend time in this gorgeous unhurried company is enough.

Such, overall, is The Bridges of Madison County. Often more concerned with charming cameos and mini moments of mood than really re-evaluating a relationship, Bridges never swings for the fences, as JRB does at his best (controversial opinion: that best is still Songs for a New World), but whilst the show never truly digs into emotional depths, it charm nonetheless. Like its lead, its laid-back romance warms your heart, and you want to go with it – unlike its lead, it doesn’t prove hidden artistic depths, but perhaps that doesn’t matter. This production’s workmanlike construction somewhat mirrors the show’s lack of worry over depth and nuance, but sets it in a home you end up feeling homey in. Sometimes, you just want to curl up in front of the telly, watch pretty actors fall in love and break their hearts, and cry. Sometimes you want to travel far and pay £50 for the privilege. Sometimes, you want beautiful music too. This miniature romance is what it is.

The score may not be vintage JRB, but it is rather lovely. His usual pianistic flourishes and those glorious arias remain, but there’s a hint of Glenn Campbell, of Jimmy Webb – music of the Midwest that can’t be rushed. JRB appropriates these songs surprisingly well, mixing them with his syncopation and style effortlessly. It lacks the punch of his best work – often the laid-back songs are too laid back to serve much purpose. Nonetheless, that it’s too relaxing is hardly a complaint, and for a story like this the melancholy of his best work wouldn’t work. The setting fundamentally doesn’t quite work for a JRB piece – he’s trying to spin the plates of a two-hander, a family drama, a soppy romance, and a musical style that doesn’t want to rush, whilst not wanting to write anything TOO challenging, and the show ends up far more mood over meaning – but nonetheless it’s charming.

Sir Trevor’s stiltingly literal set doesn’t help, however. Clunking in and clunking out, Sir Trevor’s odd decision to bring every prop into coherent reality ends up hampering the pace and, worst, dampening the magic. The intimacy this show demands is met by the Menier, but challenged by the insistence to make every setting and every scene as photo-realistic as possible. Perhaps that was his intention, but the awkward pauses and OTT sets make it over-real. At its best, the characters sit, sing, romance and win our hearts. Sir Trevor’s decision to direct it like a DH Lawrence drama is odd, but when he allows his cast to be themselves, there is a real magic.

Bridges could have been quite profound if – as is bubbling under – it had argued that within the middle of nowhere, operas can bloom if given have the chance. In, for example, the rather lovely “When I’m Gone”, the implication is that that relationship – an unchallenging marriage-of-convenience from the outside – is actually as dramatic underneath its initial simplicity, is built on true timeless love, and he feels fears as profound as anyone – simply, instead, tied to something superficially simpler. If you squint I think this interpretation holds up – think how Clint’s character isn’t given an expository song, but his wife is given a ghostly mood song instead. The book, however, presses nothing quite so interesting. JRB’s musical argument is perhaps that there is as much romance in a Glenn Campbell scene as there is in a Rogers and Hammerstein scene, as the two musical motifs intertwine, but the concern seems more on establishing mood than meaning. We never truly inquire into why towns like these are ripe for romance – we just accept it and, amidst a glorious score, get swept up in it.

Largely, this is because the book is uninterested in elevating Robert James Waller’s book to anything. Francesca and Robert are lovely but perhaps don’t make timeless star-crossed lovers – she, in particular, is given the chance to truly express that artistic side of herself that longs to be free. The thing is, hokey as a plot like this is, it’s lasted for a reason. When two actors as charming as these get together, and music as gentle yet simmering with syncopation as this is sung, it would take a heart of stone not to go with it. It’s a winning romantic formula, especially when performed by performers who get the mood. Jenna Russell’s greatness has always been in being at home in soap operas or rock operas, and her ability to convince both as a bored housewife and so romantic underneath is what makes her character shine. Edward Baker-Duly makes a surprisingly good Clint Eastwood (better than Clint), an unforced charm helping the time pass by. I actually felt the two children nailed their performances, taking roles that could otherwise drag the plot or fall into cliché and, like Russell, grounding them in absolute reality, whilst delivering such charming music.

Overall, my little heart melted at this, despite it being far from great. JRB’s score is charming, but not amongst his best, and Sir Trevor’s production treats it as a museum piece already. Nonetheless, I was very much won over to its romantic charms. It’s populated with beautiful performances that give the piece wings, and the simple fact is a plot like this, when given the romantic sway of a Jason Robert Brown ballad, can’t help but charm. It’s fluff, for sure, but it’s fluff that works. Operatic yet casual, it wins you over.

P.S. Jenna Russell was great, but her best work? Um… Fun Home?

P.P.S. Having gone on a Glenn Campbell and Jimmy Webb binge since invoking them, they really were quite extraordinary, weren't they?

P.P.P.S. I didn’t buy a programme – what did JRB say about the novel? My mum read it recently and enjoyed it – she enjoyed the show more than I, I didn’t mind the flaws whilst I don’t think she noticed them – so I’d be interested to know why he found it bad – and why he then adapted it! There are so many romances out there – why this?