The Light in the Piazza
Print This Post
Comment
Hey everyone,
So last night my mother and I went up to Brunswick to see the opening night of the Maine State Music Theater season with The Light in the Piazza. This is a show which NY Times called “the most romantic score of any Broadway Musical since West Side Story”. MSMT’s production certainly lives up to that statement with a beautiful orchestra directed by Edward Reichert, professor at the University of Southern Maine. He brings Adam Guettel’s beautiful score to life just through the harp-driven melodies. (Coincidentally, Ed was my vocal coach all through high school, and currently is the vocal coach for the Musical Theatre students at USM.) Also in the pit is my friend Shannon Allen who played Cello 1 for my production of The Last Five Years in May 2008. I have to say, that this is one of the most complete casts I’ve ever seen at MSMT. Usually MSMT never has a weak link in the cast, but in this production especially, no one is overly outshined by another actor.
The musical takes place in the summer of 1953 in the Italian city of Florence (there is one scene in Rome, and a few phone calls to America). There, Margaret Johnson (stunningly, and let me repeat that word STUNNINGLY performed by Lynne Wintersteller) is on vacation with her daughter Clara (played beautifully by Jennifer Blood). While on a history tour with her mother, her hat blows off and is caught by Fabrizio Naccarelli (one of the best performances in the show by Ben Jacoby.) As musicals tend to do, sparks fly between the young pair, and while Margaret is convinced that Fabrizio is a street walker who preys on tourists, he seems to be following them around. This is much to the delight of Clara. Fabrizio’s father and mother (played by Mark Jacoby and Debra Cardona) invite the Johnson’s over, and offer the idea of marriage between Clara and Fabrizio. This idea of young love is often found in musical theatre, however in this particular piece there is one major obstacle. When she was younger, Clara’s parents rented her a pony for her birthday, and the pony kicked her in the back of the head. This left Clara an emotionally unstable girl, whose mind developed slowly, while her body developed at a normal rate. Maragaret has tried desperately hard to keep Clara safe from harm for her whole life, and now her love affair with Fabrizio threatens to undo everything. Or does it?
What is beautiful about this show, is the humanity found in Margaret Johnson. Now whether or not this is the product of the book by Craig Lucas, or the product of Ms. Wintersteller’s engaging performance is hard to say; but my guess is it is a mix of the two. What is found in this musical, is that the character of Margaret is visibly torn between wanting to protect her daughter and follow the directions of her husband back home (played by MSMT favorite John-Charles Kelly) or to allow her daughter to experience life for herself, and find the love in Florence that Margaret once did when she met her husband here. The supporting cast also includes Jared Zirilli (an Ithaca College Musical Theatre graduate…YAY!) as Giuseppe Naccarelli, Fabrizio’s brother; and Betsy DiLellio, as Franca Naccarelli, Giuseppe’s wife. There is much familial drama within the story involving Guiseppe and Franca, as well as the parents, and the show has its fair share of ups and downs.
The only flaws I found within the show come from the show itself, I could not find a section of the performance I did not like. One comment I heard from a fellow audience member was that the show, while gorgeous, was ultimately creepy. Something about the 20 year old being in love with the 26 year old with the mind of a 12 year old through this woman off. I don’t share this belief, I think the point of the show was the Clara was held back by her parents, and that her brain, while troubled, was much farther developed that she was given credit for. The other problem is the attempt to have the italian family speak italian. This works beautifully for a long time, as the performances allow the audience to understand what is being said even without english. Everything runs afoul in act two during the number “Aiutami” where Signora Naccarelli has to actually step out of character and say “I don’t speak english, but I have to tell you what’s going on.” She proceeds to act as a narrator for that number alone and explain the torment which Fabrizio is feeling. This seems like a cut and dry case of Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel throwing their hands in the air and taking the easy way out. It pulls the entire audience out of the show, and ruins the whole feel of the language barrier which separates the Naccarellis from the Johnsons.
All in all this show deserves to be seen, so I say if you have a chance, buy your ticket to see the show at MSMT, you won’t be sorry. The show runs through June 20th, with performances 6 days a week, no show on mondays. Tickets can be purchased here or by calling the box office at (207) 725-8769. To read more about the production you can go to MSMT’s website at www.msmt.org
Fan of LITP said:
Wonderful review.