The Bridges of Maddison County

I hadn't seen the film or read the book so, in absolute truth, I had no preconceived idea at all about what I was going to see. The orchestra were on the stage at the back, the actors did use the front section of the stage, but most of the performance was done in the round. The set was a John Buckley and Neil Coe collaboration. Most of the pieces were on wheels for ease of movement and they all slotted together in various different ways, there were some fences and frameworks, long rectangular boxes, a couple of telephones, a table, some chairs, a bed, a makeshift kitchen. All the set pieces were moved in and out of position by various cast members. In my opinion this worked brilliantly within this production.

I mentioned the orchestra and where they were positioned on the stage. Simon Mercer Murray as Musical Director delivered a beautiful sound, the score on its own is gorgeous and full of some great melodies but someone has to take charge to coax the notes out of the actors and to bring all the multitude of instruments together, he most certainly did. The orchestra sounded rich and full, there was passion in the playing which was evident to the audience even before any of the actors sang a single note. Musical pace was good, sound overall was a little sketchy on the night that I attended - the levels were a little unbalanced. I could hear the music from the orchestra, I could hear the vocalists notes and see their mouths moving but I couldn't hear all the words they were singing all the time. 

Lighting throughout was good, very pertinent to the scene being performed. I liked the way they lit the two ladies (Francesca and Marge) during their telephone conversations .

Katherine Farrow as choreographer really stretched herself. We saw some excellently executed line dancing, full of energy and sass and we also saw a beautiful emotional contemporary piece of dance, two very different genres and pace of dance  and both were performed to a good standard. It is so nice to see someone's imagination really fly. Neil Coe as Director was assisted by Samantha Griffiths and their combined vision for this production was really brought to life by the actors they cast in the parts.

Laura Meredith Hoyle as Francesca really brought Italy to this production. Her gentle accent and hand gestures really helped to convey her character's Italian identity, she had a lovely easy way of delivering her dialogue and her vocals were spot on. The comfortable way she interacted with all the other actors on the stage was so natural and beautiful to see. The passion portrayed between herself and Robert (Gary Jones) was stunning and completely believable. When they sang together their voices combined like a waterfall and took us on a journey, they both gave it their all, they showed us light and shade, their deepest darkest selves - they really gave themselves to their characters. Gary was charming, guarded, gentle and unassuming, the way he let the realisation of his not looked for love appear within his character was sublime. His vocals were powerful, diction was good, connection with the audience was great. Ben Drane as the teenager son Michael gave us a very strong and solid performance from the off, he never left his energy or intensity drop. His vocals were excellent and his stroppiness perfectly done - it would be very easy to go over the top, but he kept it carefully and beautifully controlled. He was equally matched by Mary Barrett-Doyle as his younger sister Carolyn. Mary showed us the difficulties of growing up and finding her place in the world, she cleverly allowed us to watch her character evolving throughout the production, she also had some strong and solid vocals.

Jon Crebbin played the father (Bud Johnson), Francesca's blinkered, cuckholded husband, a simple man, happy with his lot. His rendition of "Something From a Dream" was stunning, he emoted beautifully. I was thrilled to hear him sing the way he did as I do know he was very poorly with Covid for a long time at the start of the pandemic. His tone, power and breath control were excellent, dialogue pace was good and clear, the confusion on his face when he returned from the fair was great. I loved the characters Marge (Samantha Griffiths) and Charlie (David Noble), they were so real, we all know a couple just like them, they really helped to make this musical timeless. Samantha could very easily have played Marge as quite brusque but she didn't, she cleverly showed us her fun side, her loving side, her empathetic and nurturing side - it was a true masterclass in characterisation. Charlie (David) was a perfect foil, he was the "Richard" to her "Hyacinth", his characterisation was quiet and unassuming yet solid and dependable - I was sad when watching as he died, he had made himself matter to me.

The ensemble worked very hard throughout the whole show, vocals and harmonies were strong and could be clearly heard. The dancer numbers were full of energy when needed, props were handled competently. I already mentioned that the set was moved by cast members, the moving of the set was also incorporated into some of the musical numbers - a very clever and bold move by Neil Coe and Katherine Farrow, it certainly helped to keep pace moving well.

Well done, Mossley AODS, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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