The Light in the Piazza (musical)

Infobox Musical
name= The Light in the Piazza


caption=
music=Adam Guettel
lyrics=Adam Guettel
book=Craig Lucas
basis=Novella by Elizabeth Spencer
"The Light in the Piazza"
productions= 2003 Seattle
2005 Broadway
2006 US National Tour
awards= 2005 Tony Award for Best Score
Drama Desk Outstanding Music

"The Light in the Piazza" is a musical with a book by Craig Lucas and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel.

Based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer, it is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953. A young American tourist, Clara Johnson, meets and falls for young Italian Fabrizio Naccarelli. When Clara's mother Margaret learns of the affair, she opposes it for reasons that only gradually become known to the audience.

The score breaks from the traditional Broadway sound of hummable tunes by veering into the territory of Neoromantic classical music and opera, with unexpected harmonic shifts and extended melodic structures, and is lushly scored for piano, harp, guitar, and strings, alongside a handful of wind and percussionists. The lyrics are unique in that many of them are in Italian and broken English, as many of the characters are fluent only in Italian.

Background and production

"The Light in the Piazza" was developed as a musical at the Intiman Playhouse in Seattle and then at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. After 36 previews, the Broadway production opened on April 18, 2005 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center, where it ran for 504 performances and closed on July 2, 2006. Directed by Bartlett Sher and choreographed by Jonathan Butterell, the cast featured Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara, and Matthew Morrison. Chris Sarandon joined the cast as Signor Naccarelli later in the run, Aaron Lazar was a replacement in the role of Fabrizio Naccarelli and Katie Rose Clarke was a replacement in the role of Clara Johnson.

On June 15, 2006, shortly before its closing night, the show was broadcast on the PBS television series "Live from Lincoln Center".

A national tour starring Christine Andreas (Margaret), Elena Shaddow (Clara), and David Burnham (Fabrizio Naccarelli) started in San Francisco, Ca, in August 2006 and ended in Chicago, Il, on July 22, 2007.

A Japanese production of the musical was produced in December of 2007, having a limited engagement of about a month. It starred Kaho Shimada as Margaret Johnson.

Cast

;Original Broadway Cast
*Victoria Clark: Margaret Johnson
*Kelli O'Hara: Clara Johnson
*Matthew Morrison: Fabrizio Naccarelli
*Michael Berresse: Giuseppe Naccarelli
*Sarah Uriarte Berry: Franca Naccarelli
*Patti Cohenour: Signora Naccarelli
*Beau Gravitte: Roy Johnson
*Mark Harelik: Signor Naccarelli;Original National Tour cast
*Christine Andreas: Margaret Johnson
*Elena Shaddow: Clara Johnson
*David Burnham: Fabrizio Naccarelli
*Jonathan Hammond: Giuseppe Naccarelli
*Laura Griffith: Franca Naccarelli
*Diane Sutherland: Signora Naccarelli
*Brian Sutherland: Roy Johnson
*David Ledingham: Signor Naccarelli

ong list

;Act I
*Overture
*Statues and Stories Part 1
*Statues and Stories Part 2
*Margaret/Hat
*Margaret Aside 1
*Transition to Uffizi
*Tour Guide
*The Beauty Is
*Il Mondo Era Vuoto Part 1
*Il Mondo Era Vuoto Part 2
*American Dancing
*Duomo
*Margaret Aside 2
*Piazzale Michelangelo
*Punctuation
*Passeggiata Part 1
*Passeggiata Part 2
*Passeggiata Part 3
*Transition to Tea Scene
*Che Gorgioso
*The Joy You Feel
*Margaret Aside 3
*After Tea
*Dividing Day
*Hysteria
*Hotel Bar
*Fabrizio at the Door
*Say It Somehow;Act II
*Entr'acte
*Aiutami
*The Light in the Piazza
*Back to Florence
*Octet Part 1
*Clara's Tirade
*Church
*Octet Part 2
*Something is Wrong
*The Beauty Is (Reprise)
*Transition to Tie Shop
*Let's Walk
*Post Promenade
*Clara's Interlude
*Love to Me
*Wedding
*Fable
*Bows
*Exit Music

Awards and nominations

;Tony Awards
* Tony Award for Best Original Score (WINNER)
* Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Clark, WINNER)
* Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical (WINNER)
* Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical (WINNER)
* Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical (WINNER)
* Tony Award for Best Orchestrations (WINNER)
* Tony Award for Best Musical (nominee)
* Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (nominee)
* Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Morrison, nominee)
* Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (O'Hara, nominee)
* Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominee)

;Drama Desk Awards
* Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Clark, (WINNER)
* Outstanding Music (WINNER)
* Outstanding Orchestrations (WINNER)
* Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (WINNER)
* Outstanding Lighting Design (WINNER)
* Outstanding Musical (nominee)
* Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Morrison, nominee)
* Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Berry, nominee)
* Outstanding Director of a Musical (nominee)
* Outstanding Costume Design (nominee)
* Outstanding Sound Design (nominee)

;Outer Critics Circle Awards
* Outstanding Lighting Design (WINNER)
* Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Clark, (WINNER)
* Outstanding Musical (nominee)
* Outstanding Director of a Musical (nominee)
* Outstanding Set Design (nominee)
* Outstanding Costume Design (nominee)
* Outstanding Lighting Design (nominee)
* Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Morrison, nominee)
* Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Berresse, nominee)
* Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Harelik, nominee)
* Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Berry, nominee)
* Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (O’Hara, nominee)

External links

*
* [http://www.lct.org/showMain.htm?id=169 Official homepage]
* [http://www.studio360.org/show082705.html Interview from "Studio 360" radio program]