Musical makes strong case for true love at first sight

“The Bridges of Madison County” doesn’t seem like a natural fit for a full-scale musical of nearly three hours.

But the production — based on the popular if not critically acclaimed 1992 novel by Robert James Waller, which focuses largely on an adulterous romantic relationship between a traveling National Geographic photographer and an unfulfilled Iowa housewife — works.

It does have some ethical and credibility issues, but it works because of an intelligent, sensitive book by Marsha Norman (“The Secret Garden”) and complex, varied musical numbers by Jason Robert Brown (“The Last Five Years”).

SRO Theatre Company’s affecting production of the

musical — set in the 1960s — keeps its eye on the core relationship between Robert (David Hammond) and Francesca (Taryn Hammond).

The pair’s natural chemistry (they’re married in real life) makes their bond believable.

In a scenario requiring suspension of disbelief, the two meet and fall deeply in love over four days while Francesca’s pleasant husband, Bud (Michael Ruerhmund), takes their teenagers (Johnny Robison and Anneke Keesing) to show a steer at the state fair.

To its credit, the musical veers from the novel in making Francesca’s relatives, as well as a neighbor couple, as real and human as the central pair.

Likewise, the main characters’ achingly romantic songs are balanced by numbers given to others that call up less-intense feelings; and constant telephone calls are used to remind the audience just how connected Francesca, if not the brooding Robert, is to a world beyond her bed.

Director Kristofer Green emphasizes the troubled longing in the relationship instead of giving it a glossy sheen.

As singers, the two Hammonds harmonize particularly well, with Taryn’s soulful voice and David’s strong baritone meshing or standing individually. A seven-piece, string-heavy orchestra provides a lush sound, but it sometimes overpowered the singers’ words during the Friday opening performance.

The musical just might make (temporary) believers out of skeptics who scoff at the notion of love at first sight.