WILLIAMSTOWN -- Although the lineup for the 59th season of the Williamstown Theatre Festival won't be announced for several more weeks, one thing is for sure: Tony Award-nominated actress Kelli O'Hara will return to the Main Stage in August to perform in a musical adaptation of "The Bridges of Madison County."
O'Hara, who starred in the festival's Main Stage musical adaptation of "Far From Heaven" last summer, is currently appearing in Broadway's "Nice If You Can Get It." She has been attached to the production of "The Bridges of Madison County" since 2011, when she played the lead role of Francesca Johnson at a developmental workshop reading in New York City. According to Playbill, another New York City-based reading is set for the week of Jan. 17-25.
News of the production, which is based on the 1992 best-selling novel by James Waller, was first confirmed in a New York Time's article Monday.
"As reported in The New York Times this morning, we will be presenting a world premiere musical of ‘The Bridges of Madison County' on the Main Stage as part of the 2013 Williamstown Theatre Festival season," Artistic Director Jenny Gersten said in an email Monday. "The season announcement is forthcoming in a few weeks and full details will be available then."
In addition, she stated that O'Hara would be directed by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher.
"The show features a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha
"The Bridges of Madison County" chronicles the story of a lonely married Italian woman who has an affair with a photographer visiting Madison County for a photographic essay on covered bridges. In 1995, the book was adapted into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Streep portrayed Francesca Johnson, the role which earned her an Oscar nomination in 1996.
To reach Jennifer Huberdeau, email
jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.
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