{"id":42155,"date":"2019-02-13T08:14:28","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T13:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42155"},"modified":"2019-02-13T08:14:33","modified_gmt":"2019-02-13T13:14:33","slug":"on-stage-bridges-of-madison-county-comes-to-ptc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=42155","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Bridges of Madison County comes to PTC"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThe Bridges of Madison County\u201d has a great track record and its latest chapter is about to be written as the Philadelphia Theatre Company continues its 44th season with a top-flight production of the hit musical.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now through March 3, \u201cThe Bridges at Madison County\u201d will be performed at Philadelphia Theatre Company\u2019s stage at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, philadelphiatheatrecompany.org<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The show is based on the 1992 best-selling novel by Robert James Waller. In 1995, the book was adapted into an Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated movie directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, the team of multiple TONY Award winner Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World) and Pulitzer Prize and TONY Award winner Marsha Norman (\u2018Night Mother, The Color Purple) brought the story to the stage. \u00a0The show went on to win two Drama Desk Awards for Music and Orchestration and two TONY Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show in Philadelphia is directed by Mark Martino with Amanda Morton as the Musical Director Amanda Morton. It also features scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III, costume design by\u00a0Mark Mariani, lighting design by Elizabeth Mak and sound design by David Thomas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got involved because Paige Price, the Philadelphia Theater Company\u2019s <\/span>Producing Artistic\u00a0Director, asked me to do it,\u201d said Martino, during a phone interview Tuesday evening after rehearsal at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe did shows together at Theatre Aspen in Colorado. She decided she wanted to do this show and asked me if I would direct it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI loved the movie. I watched pieces of the movie again when I was getting ready to do this production. I also saw the show in Broadway. The score, which won the Tony Award, is really remarkable. It\u2019s romantic, lush and almost operatic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about two people whose lives change in a few days. The story has resonated deeply with anyone who has seen it. For those three days, these two people find something that is almost perfect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bridges of Madison County\u201d is a lush musical that captures the lyrical expanse of America\u2019s heartland along with the yearning entangled in the eternal question \u201cWhat if\u2026?\u201d It is the touching story of Francesca Johnson, a beautiful Italian woman who married an American soldier to flee war-ravaged Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson is looking forward to a rare weekend alone on her Iowa farm while her family heads to the 1965 State Fair. Soon after they depart, ruggedly handsome National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid pulls into her driveway seeking directions. What happens in those four days between the two may well alter the course of Francesca\u2019s life forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is set over a three-day period in Iowa,\u201d said Martino. \u201cFrancesca is a war bride from Italy \u2013 from Naples \u2013 who has spent 18 years as an Iowa housewife. Ironically, my grandparents came from Italy and settled in Indiana and I grew up in Indianapolis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Price, \u201cI thought that the central story was so huge, so epic, that the original singing ensemble intruded on it. \u00a0I have since learned that the show was initially written for a smaller principal cast and I\u2019m so excited to have PTC realize that version.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe score, and the heartbreaking choice at the center of the piece for our heroine have always held my interest in this work. Her life is not what she expected, and she has the chance to run away from it, perhaps to find unimaginable joy and happiness. It explores the road not taken, which I think every person on the planet can relate to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

People might be familiar with \u201cThe Bridges of Madison County\u201d via the book, the movie, the musical \u2013 or all three. The musical features book by\u00a0Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by\u00a0Jason Robert Brown and is based on the novel by\u00a0Robert James Waller.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think people are familiar with the movie,\u201d said Martino. \u201cThe book was a gigantic bestseller. It was on the New York Times Bestseller list for three years \u2013 164 consecutive weeks. The film was a big hit too. The musical is the last of the three iterations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre features a cast of eight along with a seven-piece orchestra.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll but one member of the cast are Philadelphia actors,\u201d said Martino. \u201cWe began rehearsals about three weeks ago and it opens tomorrow night.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful piece. It washes over you. All our actors are fantastic singers. And, it\u2019s up-close and personal because the Suzanne Roberts Theatre is a small intimate theater. It\u2019s a shared experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bridges of Madison County\u201d is running now through March 3 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Ticket prices range from $20-$75.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mipso<\/p><\/div>\n

In the spring of 2018, Mipso released its fourth full-length, \u201cEdges Run,\u201d and immediately went on an album support tour \u2013 a tour that visited Philadelphia for a show at Boot & Saddle.<\/span><\/p>\n

The North Carolina-based band is on the road again \u2013 still touring the album. On February 13, Mipso will return to Philly for a show at the Locks at Sona (4417 Main Street, Manayunk, 484- 273-0481, sonapub.com<\/a>) with the Brother Brothers as the opening act.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show was originally scheduled to be held at MilkBoy Philadelphia but because of an unforeseen city work project disrupting businesses at 11th and Chestnut streets, this show has been moved from MilkBoy to Locks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mipso features Jacob Sharp (mandolin, vocals), Wood Robinson (bass, vocals), Joseph Terrell (guitar, vocals), and Libby Rodenbough (fiddle, vocals).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe band formed at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill,\u201d said Sharp, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Brooklyn.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all native Carolinians. None of us were studying music. In our sophomore year, we played a show by accident. Friends liked it so we started playing together more and put out an album when we were in school. We were playing all kinds of string band music. We graduated in 2013 and went on the road full-time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not living in Carolina now. We\u2019re spread out. We\u2019re meeting up tonight in Brooklyn and our first show of the tour will be tomorrow night in Philly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Edge<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s Run<\/span>\u201d was released 10 months ago <\/span>via a freshly-inked deal with AntiFragile Music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Edge\u2019s Run\u2019 came out in April last year,\u201d said Sharp. \u201cWe did more than 70 shows around the U.S. and Canada. Then, it was festival season, and, after that, we toured Europe. This will be our first big tour of 2019. The second chapter in the life of the album is fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mipso<\/span>, influenced by the contradiction of its progressive home and the surrounding rural southern landscapes, is hailed as \u201chewing surprisingly close to gospel and folk while still sounding modern and secular\u201d and was recently recognized by Rolling Stone as an \u201cArtist You Need to Know Now<\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mipso released its debut album \u201cDark Holler Pop\u201d in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe released \u2018Dark Holler Pop\u2019 and it debuted at Number 8 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart,\u201d said Sharp. \u201cEverything took off from there. Our band learned a lot in the studio. We entirely looked to bluegrass as a foundation. Now, there also is a lot of pop and country in our sound.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mipso is a band with a variety of influences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all came from different musical backgrounds,\u201d said Sharp. \u201cLibby was a classical violinist. Joseph had bluegrass in his family, but he loved Jimi Hendrix and Phish. Woody was a jazz nut and I was more in the pop realm.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we released \u2018Old Time Reverie\u2019 in 2015, it did well on the bluegrass chart. It did well on the folk chart. And, it did well on the Heetseeker chart. A lot of people think our music is more folk or Americana. We just like to think that we write good songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mipso\u2019s third studio album was \u201cComing Down the Mountain\u201d in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded \u2018Edge\u2019s Run\u2019 in Eugene, Oregon with Todd Sickafoose,\u201d said Sharp. \u201cWe went there because he was a producer we wanted to work with. He brought a lot of inspired musicality to the songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sickafoose is a highly-regarded producer and a much sought-after bassist who has performed and recorded with such artists as Ani DiFranco, Trey Anastasio, Erin McKeown and Noe Venable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent two weeks in Oregon in January two years ago,\u201d said Sharp. \u201cIt was dark and cold and rainy. We knew going into the session that we had heavier material. Then Oregon took the songs to a moodier place. It was also during the time Trump had his inauguration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe songs still have the same energy from which they were born but the heaviness has lifted a little. The evolution of the sounds you har has felt very natural.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this tour coming up and then a second tour. Then, we\u2019ll be eyeing studio time in May, June and July. We\u2019ve already started writing for our next album. We have a number of writing retreats coming up. Then, the next step is deciding the producer and the studio.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Mipso — https:\/\/youtu.be\/RcfrzJdEM7M<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Brother Brothers<\/p><\/div>\n

The Brother Brothers just released \u201cMaryanne,\u201d the second single from its debut album. That album — \u201cSome People I Know\u201d — came out\u00a0October 19\u00a0on\u00a0Compass Records. Their first single,\u00a0“Frankie,”\u00a0 also appeared on Spotify\u2019s\u00a0Fresh Folk<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0New Music\u00a0Friday<\/a>\u00a0playlists.<\/span><\/p>\n

The twins are twins but have never been the type of twins who are always together, dress alike and finish each other\u2019s sentences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been singing together since we were children,\u201d said Adam Moss, during a recent phone interview. \u201cWe started the band in March 2016.\u00a0 A lot of it had to do with timing. We had been pursuing our own interests our whole life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

David Moss, who plays cello and guitar, said, \u201cI was pursuing a solo career as a singer\/songwriter. I was playing support gigs for other acts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Adam, who plays fiddle, guitar and banjo, said, \u201cI was shooting for freelance gigs. I was playing fiddle for whoever wanted to use me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The brothers, who now call Brooklyn home, are originally from Illinois. Growing up in Peoria (Illinois), they sang along as children to their father\u2019s record collection of the Kingston Trio, the Everly Brothers, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Adam, \u201cThat’s where we learned to sing harmony and then one thing leads to another. All of a sudden, we could harmonize to anything we wanted to. It was a very natural progression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

David said, \u201cWe were always interested in classical music, so it seemed like the positive route. The idea of playing modern music was presented to us. It seemed like something interesting to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur last year in college at the University of Illinois, we started a gypsy jazz band called Hot Club of Urbana. It was really fun. Those are cherished memories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Adam said, \u201cAfter we played in Hot Club of Urbana, there was also a bluegrass band in town. They needed a fiddle player for the band. So, I joined and moved to Austin, Texas with the band.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Two years ago, the Moss brothers joined forces again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Often leaning towards the darker, moody elements of Appalachian folk and bluegrass traditions, their songs are laden with near-perfect sibling harmonies, compelling writing, and imaginative arrangements.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them are songs that are written and then we add instruments to them,\u201d said Adam. \u201cWe do the songwriting process separately. David writes the bulk of the songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Brother Brothers tour as an acoustic duo — David on cello and guitar, and Adam on the 5-string fiddle. With individual storied music careers under their belts, the brothers have finally teamed up to bring their experiences together.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for BrotherBrothers \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/0bLTBP9VMnY<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mipso show at the Locks at Sona, which has the Brother Brothers as the opening act, will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,\u00a0Entertainment Editor, The Times \u201cThe Bridges of Madison County\u201d has a great track record and its latest chapter is about to be written as the Philadelphia Theatre Company continues its 44th season with a top-flight production of the hit musical. Now through March 3, \u201cThe Bridges at Madison County\u201d will be performed at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[11932,7426,7494,11721],"class_list":["post-42155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-bridges-of-madison-county","tag-featured","tag-mipso","tag-the-brother-brothers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42156,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42155\/revisions\/42156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}