The Bridges of Madison County, a two-time Tony Award winning Broadway musical, will be at Wharton Center for Performing Arts this weekend. The musical takes you on a journey through "one of the most romantic stories ever written."
I spoke with Elizabeth Stanley, the actress who plays Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson, about her role, how she prepared for the show, and more. Check out my interview with her below.
CIARA GARCHOW: Tell me about your role as Francesca.
ELIZABETH STANLEY: It's a really wonderful role that I feel really lucky to be playing. There's a lot the character is going through during the play and it's a fabulous score that I get to sing. Both as an actor and singer, it's really a wonderful challenge and a really rich role to be doing.
GARCHOW: How did you prepare for this role?
STANLEY: The normal stuff you do as an actor – studying the time period in which it takes place, learning about the history. This musical takes place in 1965, she's an Italian war bride living in Iowa. My family is also from Iowa, they are Iowa farmers. I'm not Italian, but I definitely understood the area in which she was living. I looked at pictures of my grandparents. I've also been to Italy, so I dug up those pictures again. I worked on learning what was going on in Italy at the time she was living there. She had a dialect, so I worked on that. You kinda start doing those things on your own before you start rehearsals. All the work you've done before rehearsals is very important to keep you on track once they start.
GARCHOW: Do you have anything in common with Francesca?
STANLEY: We are quite different. She is from Italy and it takes place quite awhile ago. I grew up in a very small rural area and then moved away to a more metropolitan area – for her it's the opposite. She grew up in Naples and then was brought to a very small town in America. The difference between the two is large. So I understand what it's like to not always feel like you can find your tribe of people that always get you and understand you. For me one of the reasons I wanted to expand my horizons was to meet more like minded people and when you're in a smaller area the chance of meeting someone who really gets you or multiple people, is harder.
GARCHOW: What's your favorite part of the role?
STANLEY: What I love is that it really continues to be a challenge. We've been doing the show now for about 6 months, a little over, and I'm not bored. There's always something new I find in acting and the score continues to be a really fun challenge. It's complex enough that it keeps being fun.
GARCHOW: How would you compare this role to your previous roles on and off Broadway?
STANLEY: It's very different, in a great way. The last show I did on Broadway was 'On The Town,' where I played a very comedic character. I like comedy, I like doing comedy, and I feel like I bring some comedy to this role. It's very different in style. It was a very over-the-top kind of comedy and this is definitely a drama. It's also contemporary – Jason Robert Brown's score is really fabulous. It's really sweeping, it's almost operatic for my character in terms of it's range. I guess I sang a sort of similar range in 'On The Town,' but the Broadway show I did before that was Million Dollar Quartet, which was rock and roll music, so it's been quite different than some of my other Broadway shows.
GARCHOW: Bridges of Madison County is described as one of the most romantic love stories, why do you think the romance between Francesca and Robert is so great?
STANELY: I think it's so great because it's relatable. It's human experience that everyone wants to find someone they connect with. It's also very human to recognize that, that's not always the person you spend your life with. For many people, I think it's maybe not. Whether people want to admit it or not, I think everyone can relate to it. Anyone who has been in a marriage for a long time, can say they wonder. No matter how much you love your spouse, you wonder what it would have been like if you'd taken a different path. This definitely opens up that question of the different paths people can take. I think it's human nature to ask and be curious.
GARCHOW: What's your favorite song from the musical?
STANLEY: There are so many and it keeps changing. Right now, there's a song called 'Look At Me.' I just love singing it. I love the musical line of it and the way it feels. So right now that's my favorite.
You can watch Elizabeth Stanley perform as Francesca Johnson in The Bridges of Madison County at Wharton Center for Performing Arts May 19 – 22. For more information on how you can see the show, visit www.whartoncenter.com.
