Love, forbidden but unbridled. Imagine the beautiful misfortune of meeting the perfect human being, the one who completes you, at the absolute worst time in your life, the most untimely, the most devastating? The short-lived Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County was based on a film with Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, but musical genius Jason Robert Brown wrote the most beautiful music and lyrics to bring forth a heartbreaking story to the stage. Add the brilliant voices of Tony winner Kelly O’Hara and heartthrob Steven Pasquale as Francescsa and Robert as they bring Brown’s songs to vivid, tragic life. They breathed unbelievable passion into these desperately star-crossed characters, and this song makes me sob every single time I hear it. The uncertainty of the hope that Robert holds dear and the sad realization the Francesca could never leave her children and husband, no matter the cost. I am lucky I was able to see this musical twice, including their final performance which was brutally poignant and beautifully performed. I’m including two versions of the video, one of which is a video of their performance, the other a capturing of their singing it for the recording of the original score.
From the historical writing archive. Original date: November 7, 2019. Recovered from local source material; editorial review is still in progress.
