By Mary Ann Bourbeau
DEAL PARK – “The Bridges of Madison County” won Tony Awards for best original score and best orchestrations when it was on Broadway in 2014. That fact is not lost on Kate Baldwin, who will star in the Axelrod Performing Arts Center’s production of the musical, which runs from March 11-27.
“The score is one of the most beautiful ever written for Broadway,” she said.
The musical is based on the 1992 best-selling novella by Robert James Waller. It boasts a score by Jason Robert Brown (“The Last Five Years”) and a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman (“The Secret Garden”). Baldwin said she signed on to star in the Axelrod’s production not only because of the music, but also because of the people involved. Hunter Foster, who has a long list of credits of his own, including a role in the Broadway run of “The Bridges of Madison County,” is directing the show.
“Hunter is a fabulous choice as director,” said Baldwin, who received a Tony nomination when she starred alongside Bette Midler in 2017’s “Hello, Dolly!” “He knows the show so well and has a lot of great insights.”
Starring alongside Baldwin is Cherry Hill native Aaron Lazar, who plays National Geographic photographer Robert Kinkaid, the man who sweeps the married Francesca Johnson off her feet during a four-day love affair in 1960s Iowa. Francesca, who came to America as an Italian war bride after World War II, is then forced to choose between the family she created and the soul mate she found too late.
“I think the musical speaks to the love that a mother has, the love that a wife has and a woman who is rediscovering herself,” said Baldwin. “She is yearning for parts of her life that were closed off, and Robert brings them back to life.”
Baldwin has worked with Lazar in the past and knew right away that he was the perfect choice to play her love interest.
“Aaron has been a wonderful friend for so long,” said Baldwin. “The people you work with make the experience worth doing.”
Lazar made his stage debut as a child, portraying Grumpy in a regional production of “Snow White.”
“My uncle was an aspiring actor and he was cast as Prince Charming,” said Lazar. “They needed an extra dwarf so I volunteered. I felt like a star at the age of 9.”
Lazar put his acting on hold as he excelled in athletics, specifically track and field, but an injury put him out of commission and forced him to look for another extracurricular activity. The Cherry Hill High School West freshman took up drama and was cast in the school’s production of “A Chorus Line.” For the next three years of high school, he won the lead roles in “42nd Street,” “West Side Story” and “The Music Man.” Lazar still keeps in touch with many of the high school and college theater professors who set him on his path.
“It was clear from early on in high school that Aaron was a special talent,” said Drew Molotsky, one of the theater directors during Lazar’s time at Cherry Hill West. “It has been a gift to watch him grow and his career explode. I’m very proud to have played any small part in his success.”
Lazar graduated magna cum laude from Duke University, where he studied both pre-med and music. He set his sights on becoming a doctor, took the medical college admission test (MCAT) and was set to enter medical school when a drama professor saw his voice recital and cast him as Billy in “Carousel.” That professor suggested to Lazar that he had the talent to pursue a career on the stage.
“It was a little surreal,” said Lazar. “It was not my plan.”
Lazar received a full scholarship to Cincinnati College – Conservatory of Music, where he earned an MFA. He moved to New York City and six months later, he became understudy to the lead in “The Scarlet Pimpernel” tour.
“By the time the tour was over, my MCATs had expired, so I was officially an actor,” he said. “I was supposed to be the first Jewish doctor in my family, but my brother is a dentist, so he took care of that.”
Lazar has starred on Broadway in “A Little Night Music,” “The Light in the Piazza” and “The Last Ship.” He said playing a great role in a musical is as good as it gets.
“Doing ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ is very exciting,” he said. “It’s probably my favorite score of a musical written in the last 10 years. Music like this does not come along very often. The audience will be swept away in one of the most beautiful romances ever told.”
The Axelrod Performing Arts Center is located at 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park. Tickets are $32-$65. For more information, call 732-531-9106 or visit axelrodartscenter.com.
This article originally appeared in the March 3 – 9, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
