Show Synopsis:
Francesca, an Italian war bride, loves her family but feels unfulfilled. Her family leaves for the national 4H fair and she looks forward to a little relaxation and solitude. A National Geographic photographer, Robert Kincaid, comes to her house to ask directions to Roseman Bridge so he can finish photographing the county?s covered bridges. Francesca goes with him and later invites him for dinner, though she realizes she is quickly developing feelings for him. The next day, Francesca buys a new dress and follows Robert to the bridge, where they connect over his photographs of Naples. Francesca invites him to dinner again, and her husband Bud calls to tell her they will be staying an extra day at the fair. They separately reflect over their love and marriage. Robert and Francesca kiss, dance, and sleep together while Francesca?s daughter Carolyn worries about her competing steer and her son Michael fights with Bud over his adulthood responsibilities. Francesca and Robert take a day trip to Des Moines and Francesca ponders leaving her family for a life on the road with Bud. The day afterwards, she promises him that she will meet him in town by six o?clock. Francesca?s neighbor Marge shows up and implies that though she knows about Francesca?s affair, she will not tell anybody. Francesca finds she cannot tell Bud about her affair and the entire family heads into town, where Francesca says goodbye to Robert from afar and chooses to stay with her family. Years later, Carolyn is a wife and mother, Michael is a doctor, and Bud dies of illness. Francesca is alone and wonders if the silent phone calls she occasionally receives are Robert. Robert, who is ill himself, packs his belongings, having given up hope that he will ever speak with Francesca again. After he dies, Francesca returns to the bridge with a letter delivered from him posthumously and the picture he took of her at the bridge at the beginning of their romance.	

Character:
Robert Kincaid, a middle-aged man who loves seeing and experiencing beauty; lightly scarred from his last serious relationship with a musician.

Song Context:
As the years pass and Robert never hears from Francesca after their bombastic three-day love affair, he begins packing up his things and retiring from photography. He is ill and knows that he may not live for much longer.	

Fun Facts:
1) This musical was based on Robert James Waller's novel The Bridges of Madison County, which was based on a true story. 
2) The novel shows the saga of Francesca and Robert from a more definitive perspective of Francesca, and this song shows what Waller researched but did not have a full account of, which is Robert's life after his encounter with Francesca and his realization that his terminal diagnosis means he will probably never see her again. 
3) Steven Pasquale originated the role of Robert on Broadway, and in an interview with Broadway.com, he described Robert and Francesca's relationship as "[t]hey see something in each other?the artist, maybe?and connect on a level that is very forward-thinking. To be able to play a guy who is closed and then cracks open is remarkable."