A Theatre-Goer's Thoughts

  Mark Evans (Robert Kincaid) and Erin Davie (Francesca Johnson) in The Bridges of Madison County . Photo credit: Daniel Rader. Amazing, when you think about it, how much of our lives can be traced back to chance meetings, to finding ourselves in a place or with people unexpectedly. We may think we plan, but much of life is happenstance.  As Francesca sings in “Always Better,” the final number:      You could have driven into someone else’s driveway.      You could have tried to find the bridge another day.      I could have gone off to the Fair,      Or locked the door, or washed my hair…. A chance encounter incites the action of The Bridges of Madison County , the 2014 musical version of the best-selling 1992 novel by Robert James Waller, which also served as the basis for the acclaimed 1995 film starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Marsha Norman is responsible for the book and Jason Robert Brown for the music and lyrics. As with the last show I reviewed, Moulin Rouge! , I was u

  The cast of the national company of Moulin Rouge! , now playing at the Kennedy Center. Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade. Moulin Rouge! , the Broadway musical adaptation of Baz Luhrman’s 2001 film, is a big, splashy, glitzy, jukebox musical that is a dazzling display of theatrical panache. When it debuted in the summer of 2019, it was the “next big thing.” Over a thousand performances later, it continues to draw large audiences and will no doubt do so during its Kennedy Center run, which continues until September 24. Personal disclosure: I managed to avoid seeing the Luhrman film, so I didn’t know as much about the show as I often do before seeing a production. Reflecting on the current production, I am reminded of a comment once shared with me by a fast-talking salesman: “You’ve got to sell the sizzle with the steak!” To which I replied, “Yes, but the sizzle hardly matters when there is no steak.” The story at the heart of Moulin Rouge! is simple and familiar. At the