Light in the Piazza: Ciao Bella

 "The Light in the Piazza"

Book by Craig Lucas; music and lyrics by Adam Guettel; based on the novel by Elizabeth Spencer; sets by Michael Yeargan; costumes by Catherine Zuber; lighting by Christopher Akerlind; sound by Acme Sound Partners; orchestrations by Ted Sperling and Adam Guettel; music conductor, James Love; music coordinator, Seymour Red Press; additional orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin; music direction by Kimberly Grigsby; musical staging by Jonathan Butterell; direction by Bartlett Sher

Cast in order of appearance:

Margaret Johnson, Christine Andreas
Clara Johnson, Katie Rose Clarke
Fabrizio Naccarelli, David Burnham
Signor Naccarelli, David Ledingham
Giuseppe Naccarelli, Jonathan Hammond
Franca Naccarelli, Wendi Bergamini
Tour Guide, Jane Brockman
Signora Naccarelli, Diana DiMarzio
Roy Johnson, John Procaccino
Priest, Timothy Shew
Ensemble, Jane Brockman, Betsy DiLellio, Laurent Giroux, Leslie Henstock, Prudence Wright Holmes, Adam Overett, Andrew Ragone, Timothy Shew

Performances: Now through June 9, Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
Box Office: Ticketmaster at 617-931-2787 or www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com

The warm glow of 1953 Florence, Italy that permeated the Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York for more than a year in 2005 and 2006 is now filling the Colonial Theatre in Boston, the current stop on the Broadway Across America tour of the Tony Award-winning musical, "The Light in the Piazza." Lush in its design, score, and performances, this throwback to a more innocent time embraces the senses and tugs at the heart with a richness reminiscent of movies such as "Roman Holiday" and "American in Paris."

A lot about "The Light in the Piazza" is movie-like, in fact. Adam Guettel's at times operatic, at times dissonant, at times soaring score often feels and sounds like a sweepingly romantic soundtrack. The haute couture costumes by Catherine Zuber are evocative of the sleek and sophisticated designs of Chrisian Dior. The richly artistic and vaulting sets by Michael Yeargan more than amply suggest real-life locations such as the piazzas, cathedrals, museums, and ancient winding streets of Florence and Rome.

The '50s film feel may be due in part to the fact that Elizabeth Spencer's original 1953 novella upon which this stage musical is based was adapted for the screen in 1962. Director Bartlett Sher has remained faithful to that era, guiding his design team to be authentic in every detail and his cast to be guileless in their performances.

The story centers on an American mother from the South (Margaret Johnson) who must decide whether or not to let her child-like adult daughter (Clara) wed a passionate and charming young Florentine (Fabrizzio Naccarelli) whom they meet while vacationing in Italy. Because of the language and cultural differences between the two families, the Naccarellis see Clara's innocence as charming and old-fashioned. They don't understand that she might have limitations emotionally and mentally. Margaret, on the other hand, worries that eventually Clara's "special" nature will become apparent and that her marriage would ultimately be doomed. At the same time, she yearns for Clara's happiness and knows that one day she won't be there to care for her. While Margaret's particularly agonizing ambivalence is bred from the unusual circumstances that define her relationship with Clara, it is at once symbolic of the maturing relationship between every parent and child.

As Margaret, Christine Andreas gives a deeply felt performance, full of love and anguish and the determination of a lioness. At first controlling with Clara in a way that suggests she has made a habit out of being overprotective, she later allows Clara and Fabrizzio's obvious love for each other to melt her convictions and win her over to their cause. In her climactic finale song, "Fable," Andreas reveals conflicting emotions that underscore the bittersweet nature of the entire show. There is joy at seeing Clara's happiness, hope that her daughter's future will be secure, concern that the fairy tale won't last, and profound sadness over her own business-like marriage that she has suddenly realized is more perfunctory than passionate. It's a tremendously touching moment in which Andreas succeeds in baring Margaret's aching soul in a way that the role's originator, Victoria Clark, did not. Andreas' performance is slightly sharp-edged and raw and all the more penetrating for it.

Katie Rose Clarke reprises the role of Clara that she assumed on Broadway following Kelli O'Hara's departure. Singing sweetly and surely, Clarke has developed an assured stage presence over the past year, and her chemistry with Andreas is sublime. Her Clara is a bit too mannered to suggest anything other than mental retardation, however. A subtler approach would leave one wondering if her innocence were indeed caused by her developmentally stunting childhood injury or if it were perhaps instead a result of her family's suffocating overprotection of her since the accident. When expressing herself through song, however, she is more convincing. Her Act I ending duet with Fabrizzio, "Say It Somehow," and her impassioned Act II "The Light in the Piazza," in which she pleads her love for Fabrizzio to her mother, are both very strong.

The audience favorite in this touring production of "The Light in the Piazza" is the charming and powerfully voiced David Burnham as Fabrizzio. A delightfully overly dramatic lovesick pup, Burnham infuses Fabrizzio with such passion and sincerity that you can see why Margaret would be willing to entrust Clara to him, despite her general skepticism of the amorous ways of Italian men. Whereas Fabrizzio's older brother, Giuseppe (given a nice balance of machismo and boyishness by Jonathan Hammond), and father (a slightly world weary but warm and wise David Ledingham) have had histories of ill concealed extra-marital affairs, Burnham's Naccarelli seems above such dalliances. His true blue interpretation leaves us feeling optimistic for his and Clara's future. It's a sweet contrast to the slightly jaded perspectives drawn for the senior characters in the show.

And his songs are stratospheric. In "Il Mondo Era Vuoto" and "Aiutami," both sung in Italian, Burnham manages to convey through grandiose but heartfelt flourishes his youthful sense of urgency in loving Clara. We understand what he's saying without the benefit of an Italian dictionary: "If I can't have her I'll die." As a totally embraceable Fabrizzio, Burnham is totally winning.

In support, Wendi Bergamini as Franca, Giuseppe's embittered but still loyal wife, delivers a biting yet longing "The Joy You Feel" in which she tries to teach Clara the cold hard facts of love and life. Diana DiMarzio as Signora Naccarelli is duly deadpan, maternal and stoic, and John Procaccino as Margaret's husband Roy brings a surprisingly soft and even sympathetic side to his pragmatic tobacco company businessman. His trans-Atlantic telephone conversations with his wife are tinged with layers of stern authoritarianism as well as compassion. He reveals his own longing for a love that may not be, just as Andreas does for Margaret. Though brief, their exchanges are quite poignant and effective.

Librettist Craig Lucas has infused his book for "The Light in the Piazza" with darkness and light, pathos and humor. While some plot twists come rather abruptly, this touring company's skillful delivery of both the words and music smoothes out any rough spots in the show's structure.

This multiple Tony Award-winning musical is not Broadway's typical song and dance extravaganza. It is, however, an enveloping ray of warm light for those who enjoy a little crusty bread with their glass of full-bodied red wine. 

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