THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA vs. OLYMPIC PLAZA
Theatre Calgary turns on the light at Arts Commons, while Calgary’s piazza prepares for a costumed invasion
Firsts The Light in the Piazza is based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer, and first appeared on Broadway in 2005. The book is by Craig Lucas, and the music and lyrics are by Adam Guettel. Hearts In the musical, Margaret and her daughter Clara are on vacation in Italy when a wayward breeze carries the hat off of Clara’s head right into the hands of a young Italian man, Fabrizio, during a visit to a piazza. The Light in the Piazza is the story of the ups and downs of their love.
Wild Horses Clara was kicked in the head by a Shetland pony when she was a young girl, which made her develop abnormally.
Stars and Stripes Fabrizio is worried that he’ll never be worth Clara’s love, so he asks his family to help him dress better. His brother, Giuseppe, also tries to teach him a few dance moves to the tune of a song called “American Dancing.”
Costumed Crusaders The story is set in the 1950s and calls for period costumes. Theatre Calgary costume designer and Shaw Festival regular Christina Poddubiuk will have to clear the bar set by Catherine Zuber, who won a Tony Award in 2005 for Best Costume Design for the original Broadway production.
Firsts It was built in 1988 to host medal ceremonies during the Olympics. The idea came from the previous Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, which also had a public plaza for medal ceremonies.
Hearts For $19.88 a piece, people could buy bricks with their, or someone else’s, name on it to help fund the construction of the plaza. One man bought 100 of them as a love letter to Susan South because “he was really interested in a woman who would study astronomy.” He had only met her twice. She did not go out with him.
Wild Horses East of Olympic Plaza, at the Municipal Plaza in front of City Hall, there is a bunch of horses standing around. That’s the “Family of Horses” sculpture by Harry O’Hanlon. The bulk of the installation’s $120,000 cost was funded by the late Spruce Meadows founder, Marg Southern. They are no threat to kick anyone in the head.
Stars and Stripes A Calgary businessman set fire to a flag outside the American consulate during the Olympics, in full view of about 30,000 people who were gathered to see a medal ceremony. He was protesting free trade. Costumed Crusaders The annual Pow! Parade of Wonders celebrating the opening of the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo starts at Eau Claire on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and finishes at Olympic Plaza at 11:30 a.m.
“This is what I see, this is love to me.”