Framing The Bridges of Madison County

The novel The Bridges of Madison County (1992) by Robert James Waller sold over 50 million copies and was made into a film that garnered an Academy Award nomination for Meryl Streep. Composer Jason Robert Brown and writer Marsha Norman, the creators of the musical The Bridges of Madison County, reframed the original love story for the Broadway stage using traditional musical theatre conventions such as the addition of a secondary comedic couple, the use of an ensemble and a linear plot structure. This article explores the function of these conventions and the critical reception of this adaptation, questioning the adherence to the traditional musical theatre forms in the telling of a non-traditional love story.