The Bridges of Madison County is a musical, based on Robert James Waller's 1992 novel, with a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on February 20, 2014, and closed on May 18, 2014. The Broadway production was directed by Bartlett Sher and starred Kelli O'Hara as Francesca and Steven Pasquale as Robert. Brown's work on the musical won the 2014 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations after the Broadway production had already closed.
Productions Pre-Broadway The Bridges of Madison County originated at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and ran from August 1 to August 18, 2013. The musical was directed by Bartlett Sher, with scene design by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Jon Weston, and produced by Stacey Mindich. The cast featured Steven Pasquale (Robert), Elena Shaddow (Francesca), Daniel Jenkins (Bud), Nick Bailey (Michael), Caitlin Kinnunen (Carolyn), Cass Morgan (Marge), Michael X. Martin (Charlie), Whitney Bashor (Marian), John Paul Almon, Jennifer Allen, Emma Duncan, Luke Marinkovich, Laura Shoop, and Tim Wright.
Kelli O'Hara had been originally announced to play Francesca in the Williamstown production, but because she expected her second child in September 2013, she was replaced by Elena Shaddow.
Broadway The musical played on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, starting previews on January 17, 2014, and officially opening on February 20, 2014. The musical closed on May 18, 2014, after 37 previews and 100 regular performances.
The creative team remained the same, with additional credits for Hair and Wig design by David Brian Brown and Make-Up Design by Ashley Ryan.
The original cast featured Pasquale, Bashor, Martin, Marinkovich, Morgan, Allen, and Kinnunen reprising their roles. The new cast members were Kelli O'Hara as Francesca, Hunter Foster as Bud, Derek Klena as Michael, Ephie Aardema, Katie Klaus, Aaron Ramey, and Dan Sharkey.
A recording of the original Broadway cast was recorded at Avatar Studios and released in April 2014 (digital) and May 2014 (CD) on the Ghostlight label featuring an 11-piece orchestra from the original Broadway production.
A reunion concert was staged on December 15, 2025 at Carnegie Hall with Pasquale, O’Hara, Klena, Bashor, Martin, Marinkovich, Morgan, Allen, and Kinnunen reprising their roles. Paul Alexander Nolan joined the cast for the concert taking over the role of Bud. Jason Robert Brown conducted the orchestra, and the concert included "He Forgave Me", a song originally sung by Chiara in Act Two that was featured in the Williamstown production, but was cut during previews on Broadway.Culwell-Block, Logan Paul Alexander Nolan Joins Bridges of Madison County Reunion Concert Playbill, November 20, 2025
Subsequent productions A US National tour, incorporating some minor changes, was announced by producers after the closing of the Broadway production. The tour began on November 28, 2015, at the Des Moines Civic Center in Des Moines, Iowa, with Brown conducting. Additional stops included the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California; the Hobby Center in Houston, Texas; The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada; the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The tour starred Elizabeth Stanley as Francesca and Andrew Samonsky as Robert. The tour ended in Greenville, South Carolina, in July 2016.
The international premiere of the musical was staged in Manila, the Philippines by Manila-based Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group. It ran from November 20 through December 6, 2015, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. The production starred Joanna Ampil as Francesca and Mig Ayesa as Robert. It was directed by Bobby Garcia, with choreography by Cecil Martinez, musical direction by Ceejay Javier, scenic design by Faust Peneyra, costumes by Eric Pineda, and lighting by Jonjon Villareal.
The Boston professional premiere of the musical was staged by the Speakeasy Stage Company from May 6 through June 3, 2017. Directed by M. Bevin O'Gara, it starred Jennifer Ellis, Christiaan Smith, Alessandra Valea, Nick Siccone, Christopher Chew, and Kerry Dowling.
Utah Repertory Theater Company staged the Utah state premiere production from November 25 through December 10, 2017, directed by Utah Rep Artistic Director Johnny Hebda and company member Chase Ramsey, at the Regent Street Black Box inside the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah, the first musical production in this venue. Stars Erin Royall Carlson as Francesca and Kevin Goertzen as Robert, with musical direction by Jeanne McGuire.
Menier Chocolate Factory in London staged the UK premiere that ran from 13 July 2019 to 14 September 2019. The production was directed by Trevor Nunn and starred Jenna Russell as Francesca and Edward Baker-Duly as Robert, along with Georgia Brown, Maddison Bulleyment, Shanay Holmes, Gillian Kirkpatrick, Paul F Monaghan, David Perkins and Dale Rapley.
A Danish production was planned for September 2020 at Fredericia Teater, but it was cancelled after the theater declared bankruptcy in early 2020.
The Bridges of Madison County had its Australian premiere at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney. The production opened on March 6, 2020, and was scheduled to run through April 5, but it closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Produced by Matthew Henderson and Neil Gooding, it was directed by Gooding and starred Kate Maree Hoolihan as Francesca, Martin Crewes as Robert and Anton Berezin as Bud.
A Spanish-language production officially opened on December 13, 2022, at the Teatro Gran Vía in Madrid, following previews from November 18, with Nina as Francesca and Gerónimo Rauch as Robert.
The Bridges of Madison County had its Swiss premiere produced by Zurich English-Speaking Theatre (ZEST) at the Theater im Seefeld Neumünster in Zürich for a limited two-week run in November 2022.
On December 15, 2025, at 7PM in the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall, originally produced on Broadway in 2014, the original cast of The Bridges of Madison County, led by Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale, reunited for one night only at Carnegie Hall to benefit MCC Theater. Jason Robert Brown conducted a 20-piece orchestra in an expanded version of his Tony Award-winning score. The production was directed by Bartlett Sher, with musical direction by Tom Murray.
Roles and principal casts Character Williamstown Broadway National tour Francesca Johnson Elena Shaddow Kelli O'Hara Elizabeth Stanley Robert Kincaid Steven Pasquale Andrew Samonsky Bud Johnson Daniel Jenkins Hunter Foster Cullen R. Titmas Marge Cass Morgan Mary Callanan Charlie Michael X. Martin David Hess Michael Johnson Nick Bailey Derek Klena Dave Thomas Brown Carolyn Johnson Caitlin Kinnunen Caitlin Houlahan Marian Whitney Bashor Katie Klaus
Plot Act I
Francesca Johnson, an Italian war bride living in Winterset, Iowa in 1965, has had eighteen years of quiet, largely unfulfilling farm life ("To Build a Home"). For three days, her family—stoic husband Bud, rebellious son Michael, and reluctant daughter Carolyn—are journeying to Indianapolis for the national 4-H fair to show Carolyn's prize steer, Stevie ("Home Before You Know It"). After her family departs, Francesca plans to spend the weekend relaxing, free from responsibilities. That afternoon, a blue pick-up truck pulls into her driveway, carrying Robert Kincaid, a photographer for the National Geographic. He has traveled from Washington State to photograph the famous covered bridges of Madison County, but has been unable to find the seventh covered bridge, the Roseman Bridge. Francesca agrees to help and to accompany him to the bridge for a short scouting trip ("Temporarily Lost"). Once at the Roseman Bridge, Francesca feels something developing between her and Robert ("What Do You Call a Man Like That?").
As the two return to the Johnson farm, Francesca invites Robert in for a glass of tea. Francesca, learning Robert was recently in her hometown of Naples, is eager to see pictures of his trip, but he does not have the pictures with him. They discuss everyday life in the quiet of Winterset ("You're Never Alone"). Realizing that it is too late for Robert to eat at one of the restaurants in town, Francesca persuades Robert to stay for a supper of homegrown vegetables and one of the recipes that Francesca brought with her from Italy. Francesca's neighbors Charlie and Marge, an older couple who are firmly entrenched in the farm life of Winterset, see Robert and his truck at Francesca's home and speculate about his being there. Robert, whose hippy presence has caused some commotion in the town, prepares dinner with Francesca. Francesca asks about the guitar that Robert has brought into the house, as well as its former owner, Robert's ex-wife, Marian ("Another Life"). While cooking, Robert and Francesca share a drink from a long-neglected bottle of brandy. After dinner, where both Robert and Francesca have clearly established a connection, Robert leaves in order to shoot the Roseman Bridge at dawn. Both contemplate their shared evening together. While Robert thinks about the dinner with Francesca ("Wondering"), Francesca receives a telephone call from Bud, during which she confides that she has opened the brandy that she had been saving.
The next day, while Robert is composing the photograph at the Roseman Bridge, Francesca shops for a new dress ("Look at Me"). Realizing that Robert has awoken feelings within her that she has not felt since she left Italy, she goes to the Roseman Bridge in search of him. At the bridge, Robert explains to her the process of composing a meaningful photograph ("World Inside a Frame"). Robert gives Francesca a copy of National Geographic featuring the photographs he took of post-war reconstruction in Naples. Francesca opens up, revealing her fiancé, Paolo, was killed during the war, and she tearfully describes how her life in Naples corresponds to the photographs that Robert took. Realizing that their connection is more significant than she had initially believed, Francesca again invites Robert to clean up and dine at the farm.
While Robert is cleaning up, Francesca receives another call from Bud: Carolyn's steer has advanced to the final and they have to stay another day at the fair. Francesca is disoriented from her interactions with Robert and Bud. Bud celebrates Carolyn's victory in the nearest bar and reflects on his relationship with Francesca ("Something from a Dream"). Francesca bathes and prepares for her dinner with Robert. While Robert waits in the kitchen, Francesca comes downstairs in the new pink dress that she bought that day. Finally alone with Robert and the implications of the time that they have shared, Francesca asks Robert if this is what always happens when he wanders into a town—she has bought a new dress and invited him in and everything is about to change for them. Robert asserts that he never steps into a world where people belong to each other and that he never intended for their relationship to go this far. They kiss, but are interrupted by a phone call from Marge. Marge asks Francesca to make plans the next day, but Francesca tells Marge that she already has plans to go to Des Moines. After the call, Robert and Francesca dance in the kitchen to the radio ("Get Closer"), and then realize that, while both unknowingly searching for a connection, they have found each other ("Falling into You"). After their dance, Francesca leads Robert upstairs to her bedroom.
Act II