Catch Pure Chemistry at Signature Theatre’s “The Bridges of Madison County”

Erin Davie, star of the play, talks her inspiration for her character and why good onstage chemistry matters. 

“The Bridges of Madison County” is a beloved story that started its life as a best-selling novel by Robert James Waller in 1992. It was turned into a hit movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep in 1995, and most recently made into a Broadway musical in 2014.

The musical won Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations thanks to moving music written by Jason Robert Brown. It also has a treasured book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman, which tackles a brief, four-day love affair between a National Geographic photographer on assignment to shoot the historic bridges of Madison County and an Italian-American housewife in 1965 Iowa.

Signature Theatre is currently staging “The Bridges of Madison County” under the direction of Ethan Heard with music direction by Laura Bergquist. It runs through September 17.

Broadway vet Erin Davie, who has starred in “Grey Gardens” and “Sunday in the Park with George,” plays Francesca, the housewife who meets and forms a special bond with rugged photographer Robert, played by Mark Evans.

“Francesca is blindsided when someone comes into her life and completely changes the course of it,” Davie says. “It’s kind of an undeniable love that shows up.”

The show is also an important piece in the contemporary American musical theatre canon because of how rare it is for a musical to center on a woman in her 40s as its romantic protagonist.

“I had seen it on Broadway and of course, I had listened to the score a lot because it’s so good,” Davie says.

But it’s really the movie version that has a special place in her heart.

“I saw it in high school and for some reason, it made me decide to ask this boy out who I liked at the time, and I ended up being with him for nine years,” she says. “There’s something about the story — making decisions about your life and the possibility of love and taking chances, it made me drum up the courage I needed.” 

With romance being of the utmost importance in the story, Davie knew that she wanted to work opposite someone where the audience would see a spark. 

“Early in the process when I was offered this role, I told the director that it was really important to me that I have chemistry with whoever was playing Robert, because it doesn’t always happen when you have chemistry tests,” she says. “No matter how good the people are playing love interests, if they don’t have that chemistry, it’s not believable.” 

Evans and Davie had done a reading together in 2017, and although she didn’t get a chance to know him very well, once he came in, their “love” connection worked.

“There are a lot of complexities in this story, it’s not just about a woman who has an affair,” she says. “It’s a human story. People love being moved and the audience really loves the music as well. We have a wonderful orchestra.” 

Davies’ Broadway debut. “Grey Gardens” in 2006. Where she met her partner. Doing “Carousel” at Olney Theatre. Favorite activity. I’m a thriftaholic. I love thrifting. Favorite D.C. eatery. Oyamel.

“The Bridges of Madison County” plays at Signature Theatre through September 17. You can purchase tickets here. 

Signature Theatre: 4200 Campbell Ave. Arlington, VA; sigtheatre.org // @sigtheatre

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Keith Loria

A theatre buff and huge music fan, Keith Loria is a D.C.-based award-winning journalist who has been writing about the arts for more than 20 years. He started his career with the Associated Press and has written for Soap Opera Digest, Playbill and Music Review. He looks forward to 2021 and the theaters reopening! He’s the proud father of two daughters, who often accompany him on his theater outings. Visit his website at keithloria.contently.com.