Review Roundup: THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY National Tour

The national tour of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations, launched in Des Moines, IA at the Des Moines Performing Arts Civic Center with an official opening on Tuesday, December 1st.

Let's see what the critics had to say:

Des Moines, IA

Michael Morain, The Des Moines Register: Stanley sings with a supple, expressive soprano that makes you think that, yeah, she probably did come from the land of Verdi and Puccini. Francesca often sings over an elegant solo cello that contrasts with Robert's wanderlusty ballads and, even more, with the jangly country tunes of her husband, Bud (Cullen Titmas), a git-r-done guy whose idea of a romantic getaway is a weekend at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

Los Angeles, CA

Margaret Gray, LA Times: But all its life, "Bridges" has attracted not only the eye-rolling reserved for romance novels (So mawkish! So implausible! When does his shirt come off?) but also exceptionally talented artists, whose commitment to adapting it might suggest cynicism if it didn't seem so heartfelt. For reasons nobody can quite explain, the naughty long weekend in 1965 of Francesca, a middle-aged Italian-American war bride, and Robert, a National Geographic photographer, seized the imaginations of a pantheon of American theater greats.

Don Grigware, BroadwayWorld.com: Brown's luscious score as well as Norman's eloquent book transplant the audience into different worlds, from Italy to Iowa and back, from farm and family into the realm of erotic dreams, that become almost every bit as real as what transpires around the two lovers. Great literature comes to vibrant life when we feel that life may indeed be a dream, and that it is nothing without love.

Jordan Riefe, Hollywood Reporter: As a composer, Brown's peripatetic style here ranges from folk through country and pop to Broadway bombast. In the score's favor, a number of interstitials that feature cellos and viola distinguish themselves, along with some of Francesca's solos, such as her stirring reminiscence of Naples, "Almost Real," in which Stanley exercises a sublime operatic soprano voice.

Erin Conley, Onstage Blog: Stanley and Samonsky, experienced Broadway performers in roles originated by Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale during the show's brief Broadway run in 2014, took on these vocally challenging parts with emotion and skill, drawing loud cheers from the audience for numbers such as the second act standout "One Second & A Million Miles." Stanley's Francesca was charming and endearing, and her thick Italian accent never wavered. Samonsky's sexy photographer was, appropriately, straight out of a romance novel. But this story is more than a romance-it is a reminder that life isn't always about happy endings and some fantasies are perhaps better off remaining as such. "Love is always better," Francesca sings in the show's final number as she reflects on the choices she's made, but the show makes clear that while it may indeed be better, it is not always the answer.

Keri Tombazian, 947 the Wave: It is not hard to fall with Francesca for the chiseled photographer, Robert (Andrew Samonsky). Samonsky never crosses the line at which his performance would stumble into a bog of sentimentality. He is wounded and handsome and ambivalent and wonderful. In a rich arch, Samonsky shows the pain of opening fists clenched around a safe but loveless existence. Beautiful, too, is the story of Francesca's nosey, but ever loving neighbors, Charlie (David Hess) and Marge (Mary Callanan) who witness from the window Francesca's infidelity. Seeing her friend in such a state stirs in Marge her own longings, which could easily lead to jealously, but instead land in empathy.

Elizabeth Stanley in L.A. Downtown News: "The longing that everyone has for that sort of idea of a soul mate, that there's someone in the world that gets you, is something of a universal desire. That resonates no matter where you live or where you're from."

Houston, TX

Everett Evans, Houston Chronicle: "One of the most beautiful and moving new musicals of recent years.Elizabeth Stanley and Andrew Samonsky give sterling performances as unexpected lovers Francesca and Robert - beautifully sung, honestly felt and delicately nuanced. From first note to final chord, The Bridges of Madison County Musical is a case of artistry and honest emotion prevailing."

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