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    Theater Review

    Famous wistful romance becomes more layered on musical Dallas stage

    Lindsey Wilson
    Feb 5, 2016 | 3:46 pm
    Elizabeth Stanley and Andrew Samonsky in The Bridges of Madison County
    Elizabeth Stanley and Andrew Samonsky found love in a hopeless place: Iowa.
    Photo by Matthew Murphy

    It's hard to top Meryl Streep. The vaunted actress was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of a lonely Italian housewife in the film The Bridges of Madison County, but now actresses are being asked to make Francesca Johnson sing — literally and figuratively — in the musical version.

    First it was Broadway darling Kelli O'Hara, who received a Tony nomination for her work. Now on the national tour it's Elizabeth Stanley, who is also a Broadway vet.

    Stanley's faultless comic timing and silvery voice help keep the small, intimate show from being swallowed up by the massive space that is the Music Hall at Fair Park, turning "just another movie-to-musical adaptation" into a delicate and vulnerable experience.

    The operatic folk/pop score by Jason Robert Brown is also a selling point. Brown's signature style can especially be heard on the songs "Another Life" and "It All Fades Away," but overall his Tony-winning music and lyrics sweep the love story along with soaring melodies.

    There's just one main problem when your heroine is Italian: that accent.

    Though she came over to Midwestern America decades ago as a war bride, Francesca still speaks and sings with a heavy, rolling Italian lilt, making it near impossible to understand half of what she's conveying. The show's opening song, "To Build a Home," relies almost entirely on the technical elements swirling around Francesca to set the scene, because her lyrics are incomprehensible.

    But when she's understood, oh, does Stanley sparkle as Francesca. Marsha Norman's feisty book, based on the novel by Robert James Waller, places Francesca front and center, telling us of the brief but passionate affair she has with a visiting photographer (the hunky Andrew Samonsky). Instead of seeing the whirlwind romance through steamy flashbacks as her children, Michael and Carolyn, read a diary (like in the movie), the mostly chronological storytelling propels the action.

    To help convey the busybody atmosphere of the Johnsons' small town, members of the ensemble remain onstage throughout, watching from chairs at the stage's sides and moving set pieces but lingering to eavesdrop for a second or two. This gives the show a sophisticated, surreal quality, highlighting the moral dilemma Francesca faces.

    The most interested of the townsfolk is next-door neighbor Marge (a delightful Mary Callanan), who obsessively tracks the comings and goings of the handsome stranger Robert.

    Though hardly involved with the affair, Francesca's two children (played by Caitlin Houlahan and Dallas native John Campione), are interesting characters in their own right, heightening the tension when Francesca considers abandoning her life — and them — to leave with Robert. Her husband Bud, however, is really only given moments to prove how little he understands his wife, whom he often praises for her beauty and not much else. Cullen R. Titmas is fine as Bud, but he's far less of a sympathetic character.

    For something that was first a popular book, then a well-received movie, it's difficult to imagine how turning this story into a musical could bring out more layers. It's a pleasant surprise to find that it does.

    ---

    The Bridges of Madison County plays at the Music Hall at Fair Park through February 14.

    reviewstheater
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    Season Announcement

    Big spenders + bigger voices fill Lyric Stage's 2025-26 Dallas season

    Lindsey Wilson
    Jun 18, 2025 | 12:29 pm
    Rocky Horror Picture Show with Tim Curry
    The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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    For its 2025-26 season, Lyric Stage is pairing a sweet transvestite with Civil War-era sisters, a dance hall hostess with harmonizing ghosts, and a whole bunch of divas with their much-deserved spotlight.

    Now in its 32nd season, the nonprofit Lyric Stage is dedicated to the development and preservation of musicals, having produced more than 125 productions, which include 21 world-premiere musicals and two Off-Broadway shows.

    Under the helm of newish artistic directors Tricia Guenther and Scott Guenther, four of its current shows will take place in its Lyric Studio Space near the Trinity River, with one at Moody Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District.

    First up (and just in time for Halloween) is The Rocky Horror Show — note the missing "Picture." This is the stage version on which the cult classic movie was later based, but don't worry, audiences are still encouraged to shout at the performers and throw toilet paper and other props.

    Sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.” It runs October 10-26, 2025 at Lyric Stage Studio and is not family-friendly.

    For the holiday season, Forever Plaid - Plaid Tidings brings Francis, Jinx, Smudge, and Sparky back to Earth on the orders of Rosemary Clooney to put a little harmony into a discordant world.

    Stewart Ross' musical is sprinkled with Christmas offerings and audience favorites, like the riotous three-minute-and-eleven-second version of The Ed Sullivan Show, this time, featuring the Rockettes, the Chipmunks, and The Vienna Boys Choir. It runs December 5-21, 2025, at Lyric Stage Studio.

    For one night only, the Dallas Divas return just in time for Valentine’s Day.

    Showcasing some of the most talented voices in Dallas, singing songs ranging from Broadway to pop, the performance is a Lyric Stage tradition. It is February 11, 2026, at Moody Performance Hall.

    Inspired by Federico Fellini’s Night of Cabiria, Sweet Charity explores the turbulent love life of Charity Hope Valentine, a hopelessly romantic but comically unfortunate dance hall hostess in New York City.

    With a tuneful, groovy, mid-1960s score by Cy Coleman, sparkling lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and a hilarious book by Neil Simon, Sweet Charity captures all the energy, humor, and heartbreak of Life in the Big City for an unfortunate but irrepressible optimist. The production is the original 1966 Broadway (not the movie version) with such hit songs as “Big Spender,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” “I’m a Brass Band,” and “Baby, Dream Your Dream.” It runs April 17-May 3, 2026, at Lyric Stage Studio.

    Closing out the season is Louisa May Alcott's timeless Little Women, with a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and music by Jason Howland.

    The musical follows the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but the publishers are not interested in a woman's creativity. Her friend, Professor Bhaer, tells her that she has to do better and write more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America. It runs July 17-August 2, 2026, at Lyric Stage Studio.

    Season tickets, which range from $40-$60, are available beginning July 1. Lyric Stage is located at 1170 Quaker St. in Dallas.

    dallas divasfederico felliniforever plaidlittle womenlyric stagemoody performance hallnight of cabiriarockettesrocky horror showsweet charitysweet transvestitetheatertime warpvienna boys choirmusical theatremusicals
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