‘LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA’ IS STUNNING, BOTH MUSICALLY, VISUALLY
One of my favorite places to visit is Florence, Italy, where the architecture, artwork, food, Tuscan scenery and famous golden sunsets are breathtaking and unique.
That’s how I felt watching CCAE Theatricals’ “The Light in the Piazza,” a Florence-set musical that opened Friday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The Tony-winning musical hasn’t been produced in San Diego County in 14 years, but this visually and musically stunning staging was worth the wait.
Everything about the production is excellent, from the outstanding cast, to Kari Hayter’s poetic, touching and funny direction, Joe Holbrook’s airy and evocative Florentine scenic design, Nick Van Houten’s frozen snapshot lighting, Janet Pitcher’s period-perfect costumes and the rich string-filled, 15-piece orchestra, conducted by music director Lisa LeMay.
“Piazza” is rarely performed because it takes a top-notch cast to perform the quicksilver melodies of the lush score, a good chunk of which is performed in Italian with no supertitles (don’t worry, you’ll understand what they’re singing). Fortunately CCAE has fielded a cast of singing actors who are up to the challenge.
“Piazza,” with a book by Craig Lucas and Tony-winning score by Adam Guettel, is based on the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer about a mother and her adult daughter from the American South who are spending a summer together in Florence in 1953. When the daughter, Clara, falls in love with a Florentine boy, Fabrizio, her mother, Margaret, tries to end their love affair. Clara suffered a childhood brain injury that has stunted her emotional maturity and Margaret secretly believes Clara will never be suitable for marriage or child-bearing. But Fabrizio and his family find Clara’s childlike directness charmingly American and her emotional outbursts authentically Italian.
Nancy Snow Carr is a great fit for the lead role of Margaret. She has the classically trained voice for the part, but even more impressive, she perfectly embodies the lonely, socially reserved character of an affluent 1950s corporate wife who visibly aches to give her only child a normal and happy life. As Clara, Madison Claire Parks has a gorgeous soprano singing voice and she imbues her character with youthful curiosity and optimism. And Nigel Huckle’s performance as the besotted Fabrizio is both powerful and heartbreaking. His performance of the second-act song “Love to Me” brought tears to my eyes. In fact, I got choked up several times in the show’s second act.
“Piazza” isn’t all romance and heartbreak. It’s quite funny, too, thanks to Fabrizio’s histrionic family. John LaLonde brings dignity, charm and a little bit of the salesman to the character of Fabrizio’s philandering father, Signor Naccarelli. Debra Wanger, as his disapproving wife, Signora, has a sharp and funny edge, particularly in the second act ensembles “Aiutami” and “Octet.” And Colden Lamb and Melissa Musial bring amusing authenticity to Fabrizio’s ne’er-do-well brother, Giuseppe, and his ultra-jealous, high-strung wife, Franca.
“The Light in the Piazza” isn’t the traditional musical fare you’ll see at other theaters, but it’s a beautiful and an unfairly overlooked musical gem, and this production does it right.