by Ashley Taylor

Thanks to Ashley Taylor, one of the former stars of our local stage who now lives in New York, we have a couple reviews of Tony nominated shows!

This show is beautiful.

It should be noted: I don’t cry in public. I do not like crying at the theater, and since I seldom do, I’m never prepared for it. There is a moment in Bridges where I started crying early on in a song, and by the middle, I realized I just needed to let myself weep. There are rare moments when art and music combine in ways that fill your soul to the brim and the only release is through tears. That’s what this show does.

I could talk about the design and the lights, which are beautiful and minimal and really heighten and highlight the performances, but at the end of the day, all you can talk about is Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale– connecting in a way as actors that is beyond words, and singing music in a way that makes your emotions explode.

The genius of the music hits on so many levels– it touches so many genres, and is able to just act as a tapestry to this beautiful piece of theater, especially in the first act, which ends on a whisper. What you don’t realize the first time you see the show is that the music is simmering under it all in Act 1– much like the relationship between the two characters. In Act 2, everything explodes– the relationship, the music, the orchestrations, the emotional connection to the audience.

The biggest tragedy on Broadway right now is how soon this show closed. So here is my advice, and my challenge to you. Download the music. And listen to it all at once– take it in as a full piece. And once you hear a cello solo in Act 2, sit down, and do nothing else but listen to the music until the album is finished. Let it fill you up, let it take you somewhere.

One of my favorite things to do in this crazy, bustling city is put this soundtrack on as I ride the subway or walk through some of the busiest, crowded places. Because when I do, I’m able to get lost in the music, and the emotion of the piece. I see the chaos of the world, but feel none of the stress or the frantic energy that comes with it.

As the song says, it all fades away. And I’m left seeing and hearing only the beauty, and the blessings. And it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Ashley Taylor is a TV news producer who lives in New York with her husband Anthony, and dog Dixie. They are currently seeing as many shows as possible and loving every minute.