I think you're right that "Harlequin Romances don't exactly sound like something a theatre savvy crowd would want to see."
For the less sophisticated crowd, the complex, operatic score may be off-putting.
Probably the only hope of success is for the show to do well at the Tonys. Maybe the wonderful "One Second and a Million Miles" duet on the Tony show could sell some tickets.
Unfortunately, it may be another in the unbroken line of JRB flops. The good news is that his next show, Honeymoon in Vegas, will likely be a smash.
Regarding the show's artistic quality, I agree with some of the commenters that the main problem is the character of Robert. I think the creators realized this, which is why JRB wrote a song for Francesca called "What Do You Call a Man?" where she comments on what a "ridiculous" character he is, and why Marsha Norman's book includes Francesca's joke about Robert being sent to her by the "patron saint of Iowa housewives." By having Francesca acknowledge how unreal he seems, it helps us accept the implausible story a bit more, but maybe not enough.
Despite this problem, I thought the show still worked, mainly because of JRB's remarkable score and orchestrations, with its appropriately varied style for each character, sung by great actor/singers.
When I saw the show again on Friday night, it got a good response from the audience (and, yes, I also got the speech from O'Hara about telling other people to come). Making the evening even more enjoyable was that JRB conducted this performance, and, from my front row seat, it was exciting to watch his Bernstein-like conducting, with his whole body in motion and mouthing the words to many of the songs.
For those interested, JRB is scheduled to conduct again on Thursday, according to the "Bridges" twitter feed.
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