Hearts Ache in the Heartland. ‘Bridges of Madison County’ Brings Iowa to Broadway
Ben BrantleyFebruary 20, 2014: “Iowa.” When Kelli O’Hara sings that word, a plain place name becomes a prism of rippling ambivalence. Portraying an Italian war bride transplanted to the middle of America, Ms. O’Hara finds a breathtaking sweep of feelings within the iteration of those three small syllables. “Iowa,” she sings, in the number that begins the new musical The Bridges of Madison County, and you hear both the heady hope of liberation and the hopeless acceptance of captivity. And suddenly, Madison County starts to seem like a far more exciting place to visit than you might have imagined.
READ THE REVIEW