is a
Musical drama by
Adam Guettel (music and lyrics) and
Craig Lucas (book). It was developed at the
Intiman Playhouse in
Seattle and the
Goodman Theatre in
Chicago with a slightly different cast, and opened on
Broadway on
April 18 2005 , after a month of previews. The Broadway production is produced by
Lincoln Center Theater in their
Vivian Beaumont Theater .
The show is based on
Elizabeth Spencer 's 1960
Novella of the same name. It is a love story of a young American woman, Clara Johnson (
Kelli O'Hara ), who, while on holiday, falls for a young Italian man. When Clara's mother Margaret (
Victoria Clark ) learns of the affair, she opposes it for unknown reasons. The musical is set in
Florence and
Rome in the
Summer of
1953 .
The music of the show, while owing much to the traditional Broadway sound, often veers into the territory of Neoromantic classical music and opera, with unexpected harmonic shifts and extended melodic structures, and 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 only fluent in Italian.
Though it opened to mixed reviews, ''The Light in the Piazza'' has since become a favorite of New York's awards organizations. Along with the Tonys showing, it led the
Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations with 11 nods, while the Drama Desk organization also nominated it in 11 categories.
Originally scheduled to close on
June 12 2005 , the show's run has been extended four times; at present its last performance is planned for
July 2 2006 .
A 50-week U.S. national tour will commence in
August 2006. The all-
Equity cast is yet to be announced.
On
April 11 , 2006 it was officially announced that the show will be broadcast live from
New York as part of the
Live From Lincoln Center series on
PBS . The air date will be on
June 15 at 8:00 PM EST.
- Overture
- Statues and Stories
- The Beauty Is
- Il Mondo Era Vuoto
- American Dancing
- Passeggiata
- The Joy You Feel
- Dividing Day
- Hysteria
- Say It Somehow
- Aiutami
- The Light in the Piazza
- Octet
- The Beauty Is (Reprise)
- Let's Walk
- Clara's Interlude
- Love to Me
- Fable
Official Lincoln Center Theater homepage
Official website for Victoria Clark
Official website of Piazza's current Fabrizio, Aaron Lazar
Kelli O'Hara's official website
