The Light in the Piazza
Encyclopedia
The Light in the Piazza is a musical
with a book by Craig Lucas
and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel
. Based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer
, it is set in Florence
and Rome
in the summer of 1953. A young American
tourist, Clara Johnson, meets and falls for young Italian
Fabrizio Naccarelli. When Clara's mother Margaret learns of the affair, she opposes it for reasons that only gradually become clear to the audience.
The score breaks from the more recent tradition of pop music on Broadway by moving into the territory of Neoromantic classical music
and opera
, with unexpected harmonic shifts and extended melodic structures, and is more heavily orchestrated than most Broadway scores. Many of the lyrics are in Italian or broken English, as many of the characters are fluent only in Italian.
in Seattle in June 2003 and then at the Goodman Theatre
in Chicago
in early 2004. After 36 previews, the Broadway production
opened on April 18, 2005 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
in Lincoln Center, where it ran for 504 performances and closed on July 2, 2006. The musical is directed by Bartlett Sher
, choreographed by Jonathan Butterell
, with lighting by Christopher Akerlind
, set by Michael Yeargan and costumes by Catherine Zuber
. The cast featured Victoria Clark
, Kelli O'Hara
, Matthew Morrison
, and Sarah Uriarte Berry
. Chris Sarandon
joined the cast as Signor Naccarelli later in the run, Aaron Lazar
was a replacement in the role of Fabrizio Naccarelli and Katie Rose Clarke
was a replacement in the role of Clara Johnson. In the pre-broadway production in Seattle and Chicago, Kelli O'Hara
played the role of Franca rather than Clara (who was played by Celia Keenan-Bolger), and Steven Pasquale
had played Fabrizio, but could not open on Broadway due to a conflict with the television series Rescue Me
that he had just joined.
On June 15, 2006, shortly before its closing night, the show was broadcast on the PBS television series Live from Lincoln Center
, and drew more than two million viewers.
A United States national tour starring Christine Andreas
as Margaret, Elena Shaddow
as Clara, and David Burnham as Fabrizio Naccarelli started at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, California, in August 2006 and ended in Chicago on July 22, 2007.
A Japanese production of the musical was produced in December 2007, having a limited engagement of about a month. It starred Kaho Shimada as Margaret Johnson.
An Australian concert version had a one-night only presentation at the Lyric Theatre, Star City in Sydney
on August 17, 2008. The cast consisted of members of the Australian company of The Phantom of the Opera, with Jackie Rees as Margaret, Kathleen Moore as Clara and James Pratt as Fabrizio. The production was directed by John O'May.
In the summer of 2008, Guettel reconfigured the musical as a smaller chamber piece for the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Weston
, Vermont, where Sarah Uriarte Berry reprised her role as Franca.
The show had its opera house premiere in October 2008 at Piedmont Opera in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It starred Jill Gardner as Margaret, Sarah Jane McMahon as Clara, directed by Dorothy Danner and conducted by James Allbritten.
The show opened as a regional production in the Covina Center for the Performing Arts (Covina, California) in January 2009.
The Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra in Alberta presented the musical at the Yates Memorial Theatre October 19–21, 2009 which was the Canadian première. Directed by Fran Rude and musical direction by Ken Rogers this production starred Diane Llewelyn-Jones as Margaret, Nicole Higginson as Clara and Steven Morton as Fabrizio.
The Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto
saw the Canadian première by Acting Up Stage open on January 30, 2010.
The Arena Stage
(Washington, DC), production ran from March 5, 2010 through April 11, 2010, with Hollis Resnik
as Margaret.
The European premiere was directed by Paul Kerryson at the Curve Theatre, Leicester, UK in May 2009, starring Lucy Schaufer as Margaret and Caroline Sheen
as Clara, with design by George Souglides, musical direction by Julian Kelly, lighting design by Giuseppe di Iorio, sound design by Paul Groothuis.
In the early morning of their first day in Florence, Margaret reads from her guidebook to Clara as the piazza around them is waking up and coming to life (Statues and Stories). A breeze carries Clara’s hat off her head and across the square where a young Italian man miraculously catches it, mid-air, and returns it to her. The two are instantly smitten. But Margaret steers her daughter away from the encounter, bringing her next to the Uffizi Galleries where the glorious paintings speak to Clara of her own life and her own yearning for love (The Beauty Is). Fabrizio appears, hoping to arrange a time to meet with Clara, but once again Margaret intervenes.
Alone, Fabrizio sings in Italian his declaration of love at first sight for Clara, along with a heartfelt cry of fear that she could never love anyone as lost and without position as he (Il Mondo Era Vuoto). Fabrizio begs his father and his brother Giuseppe to help him dress more presentably for Clara (American Dancing).
At the Duomo, Fabrizio once again catches up with Margaret and Clara, and this time Fabrizio’s father, Signor Naccarelli, is able to help penetrate Margaret’s resistance to any further involvement. They all agree to meet at sunset to take a walk and admire the view of the city from above at the Piazzale Michelangelo (Passeggiata).
Margaret and Clara are invited to have tea at the Naccarelli home. Giuseppe’s wife, Franca, takes Clara on a tour of the apartment, and alone in a separate room, she warns Clara about ever trusting a husband (The Joy You Feel). Though the Naccarellis are universally impressed with Clara, Margaret tries without success to share her deep reservations. When she looks in Fabrizio’s eyes and sees the love there, she can’t bring herself to disappoint him, as much as she feels she must; for there is something about Clara that none of these people knows. Clara secretly makes plans to meet Fabrizio at midnight near the hotel.
Margaret calls her husband Roy who is back in the states. She tries to tell him what is happening with Clara and Fabrizio, but he is brusque and not very understanding, cutting short the conversation. Margaret, alone in her hotel room, sings of her disappointment in the marriage (Dividing Day). She checks in Clara’s room, and she finds the girl is gone.
Clara becomes lost in the maze-like streets of Florence, losing all poise and control, becoming hysterical, screaming like a child (Hysteria). Her mother takes her back to the hotel and, as Clara sleeps, reveals the source of her disquiet. When Clara was a young girl, she was kicked in the head by a Shetland pony, and the accident has caused her mental and emotional abilities to develop abnormally. Margaret feels that she must take Clara away from Florence at once, and she steps down into the lobby to have a drink. While she is away, Fabrizio comes to the room, distraught; he cannot find the right words to express his feelings, and Clara urges him to use any other means (Say It Somehow); Clara accepts Fabrizio’s proposal of marriage, and the two are embracing, half undressed, as Margaret walks in on them.
ACT 2
Margaret takes Clara to Rome to distract her and put an end to the affair. Back in Florence, Fabrizio rails and weeps, once again singing entirely in Italian (Aiutami).
No matter what Margaret tries, her daughter refuses to give her an inch, culminating into a painful confrontation wherein Margaret slaps Clara across the face. Clara erupts with a torrent of feeling, centered on Fabrizio and the nature of love (The Light in the Piazza). This causes Margaret to relent, to set aside her doubts and considerations, and to no longer stand in the way of the wedding. The two return to Florence.
Clara is instructed in the Latin catechism in preparation for converting to Catholicism while around her everyone in the extended family sings of their feelings, stirred up by the immediate presence of such intense, young love (Octet). Franca, in an attempt to arouse her husband’s jealousy, kisses Fabrizio right on the mouth, and Clara witnesses it, breaking into a furious rant (Tirade).
At the wedding rehearsal, Clara and Fabrizio are filling out the necessary forms when Signor Naccarelli sees something on Clara’s form that causes him to call off the wedding and take his family away at once. Clara wants to know what is wrong with her, but her mother says there is nothing at all wrong. With Clara sobbing and broken, alone in one of the pews of the church, Margaret reveals her worst fears and her shame at having been the source of her daughter’s lifelong suffering (The Beauty Is [Reprise]). She resolves to do whatever it takes to give to Clara a chance for happiness.
Margaret tries to reason with Signor Naccarelli. He admits that he saw Clara write her age on the forms – 26 – and that this makes her an unsuitable bride for his son who is only 20. Relieved that he has not discovered their secret, Margaret begs him to change his mind, but he will not. She invites him to take a walk with her, and the two wander from one end of Florence to the other as the sun slowly sets and the night comes on (Let’s Walk). By giving him time to mull things over and by not pressuring him, Margaret succeeds in putting the wedding back on track; Signor Naccarelli says he will meet them at the church the following morning.
From the hotel room, Margaret calls Roy to tell him about the wedding. As might be predicted, he insists that Clara cannot handle the responsibilities of marriage. Clara, in her wedding dress, stands in the shadows, overhearing her mother’s side of the conversation. Margaret says, “Just because she isn’t normal, Roy, doesn't mean she's consigned to a life of loneliness. She mustn't be made to accept less from life just because she isn't like you or me.” Shattered, Clara slips out of the hotel room and runs once more through Florence (Interlude), meeting Fabrizio at the church in order to tell him that she cannot marry him; she won’t allow herself to cause him any pain. Fabrizio assuages all of her fears (Love to Me).
Moments before the wedding, Clara tells Margaret she can’t leave her; Margaret assures her she can. Left alone, Margaret breaks open all the pent-up doubts and yearnings that she has carried for years on end about love (Fable), realizing at last that the chance of love somehow outweighs the terrible risks. She joins the wedding ceremony.
Act II
Critic John Simon
, in NY Magazine, wrote: "...anyone who cares about the rather uncertain future of this truly American genre should—must—see the show, think and worry about it, and reach his or her own conclusions.... Lincoln Center Theater’s production is breathtaking. Craig Lucas’s book seems perfectly adequate to me, but the emphasis must be on Adam Guettel’s music and lyrics. Those lyrics, I’m afraid, are a bit self-consciously poeticizing, a trifle arcanely oblique."
Ben Brantley
, in The New York Times
, deemed the show "encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled... the production comes into its own only in the sweetly bitter maternal regrets and dreams of Margaret Johnson." He further made special mention of the "gorgeous autumn-leaf-strewn set", the "lush golden lighting" and "the delectable period costumes".
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.-Biography:...
and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel
Adam Guettel
Adam Guettel is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera . He is best known for the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and two Drama Desk Awards, for Best Music and Best Orchestrations.-Early years:Guettel...
. Based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer
Elizabeth Spencer (writer)
Elizabeth Spencer is a writer. Spencer's first novel, Fire in the Morning, was published in 1948. She has written a total of nine novels, seven collections of short stories, a memoir , and a play...
, it is set in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in the summer of 1953. A young American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tourist, Clara Johnson, meets and falls for young Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Fabrizio Naccarelli. When Clara's mother Margaret learns of the affair, she opposes it for reasons that only gradually become clear to the audience.
The score breaks from the more recent tradition of pop music on Broadway by moving into the territory of Neoromantic classical music
Neoromanticism (music)
Neoromanticism in music is a return to the emotional expression associated with nineteenth-century Romanticism. Since the mid-1970s the term has come to be identified with neoconservative postmodernism, especially in Germany, Austria, and the United States, with composers such as Wolfgang Rihm and...
and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, with unexpected harmonic shifts and extended melodic structures, and is more heavily orchestrated than most Broadway scores. Many of the lyrics are in Italian or broken English, as many of the characters are fluent only in Italian.
Background and productions
The Light in the Piazza was developed as a musical at the Intiman PlayhouseIntiman Playhouse
Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington, was founded in 1972 by Margaret "Megs" Booker, who named it for August Strindberg's Stockholm theater. With a self-declared focus on "a resident acting ensemble, fidelity to the playwright's intentions and a close relationship between actor and audience", the...
in Seattle in June 2003 and then at the Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in early 2004. After 36 previews, the Broadway production
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
opened on April 18, 2005 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a theatre located in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The structure was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, and Jo Mielziner was responsible for the design of the stage and interior.The Vivian...
in Lincoln Center, where it ran for 504 performances and closed on July 2, 2006. The musical is directed by Bartlett Sher
Bartlett Sher
Bartlett Sher , is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but...
, choreographed by Jonathan Butterell
Jonathan Butterell
Jonathan Butterell is a choreographer and director, primarily for the stage. He has worked in the West End, on Broadway, and Off-Broadway.-Biography:...
, with lighting by Christopher Akerlind
Christopher Akerlind
Christopher Akerlind is an American lighting designer for theatre, opera, and dance. He won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for Light in the Piazza and an Obie Award for sustained excellence for his work Off-Broadway.He attended...
, set by Michael Yeargan and costumes by Catherine Zuber
Catherine Zuber
- Broadway :Zuber's Broadway credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , Born Yesterday , Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, South Pacific , The Coast of Utopia , The Light in the Piazza , Edward Albee's Seascape , Awake and Sing! ,...
. The cast featured Victoria Clark
Victoria Clark
Victoria Clark is an American musical theatre singer and actress. Clark has performed in many Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television work, and her soprano voice can be heard on numerous cast albums and several animated films...
, Kelli O'Hara
Kelli O'Hara
Kelli O'Hara is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.O'Hara has been nominated for three Tony Awards: for her performance as Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza; for her performance as Babe Williams in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Pajama Game, where she starred...
, Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
, and Sarah Uriarte Berry
Sarah Uriarte Berry
Sarah Uriarte Berry is an American actress and singer.A native of California and a graduate of UCLA, Berry made her Broadway debut as Eponine in Les Misérables in 1993. She then went on to star as Belle in Beauty and the Beast in 1995. She replaced former college room-mate Susan Egan and left the...
. Chris Sarandon
Chris Sarandon
Chris Sarandon is an American actor who was married to actress Susan Sarandon between 1968 and 1979. He is best known for playing Prince Humperdinck in the film The Princess Bride, the vampire Jerry Dandridge in Fright Night and Detective Mike Norris in the first entry of the Child's Play series,...
joined the cast as Signor Naccarelli later in the run, Aaron Lazar
Aaron Lazar
-Early life and education:Lazar was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to a Jewish family. He graduated from Cherry Hill High School West in 1994. Lazar attended Duke University where he earned a BA in music in 1998, while completing the prerequisite classes for medical school and taking the MCAT...
was a replacement in the role of Fabrizio Naccarelli and Katie Rose Clarke
Katie Rose Clarke
Katherine "Katie" Rose Clarke is an American musical theater actress. Originally from Friendswood, Texas, she first came to national attention for her portrayal of Clara Johnson in the Broadway production, the live PBS broadcast, and the national tour of The Light in the Piazza...
was a replacement in the role of Clara Johnson. In the pre-broadway production in Seattle and Chicago, Kelli O'Hara
Kelli O'Hara
Kelli O'Hara is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.O'Hara has been nominated for three Tony Awards: for her performance as Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza; for her performance as Babe Williams in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Pajama Game, where she starred...
played the role of Franca rather than Clara (who was played by Celia Keenan-Bolger), and Steven Pasquale
Steven Pasquale
Steven Pasquale is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Sean Garrity in the critically acclaimed series Rescue Me. He made his debut on the HBO series Six Feet Under, playing a love interest for David. He also starred in the film Aliens vs...
had played Fabrizio, but could not open on Broadway due to a conflict with the television series Rescue Me
Rescue Me (TV series)
Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...
that he had just joined.
On June 15, 2006, shortly before its closing night, the show was broadcast on the PBS television series Live from Lincoln Center
Live from Lincoln Center
Live From Lincoln Center is an ongoing series of musical performances produced by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in conjunction with Thirteen/WNET in New York City....
, and drew more than two million viewers.
A United States national tour starring Christine Andreas
Christine Andreas
-Biography:BroadwayAndreas was born in Camden, New Jersey. She made her Broadway debut in a 1975 revival of Angel Street. The following year she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady, for which she received the Theatre World Award...
as Margaret, Elena Shaddow
Elena Shaddow
Elena Shaddow is an American singer and actress. She is originally from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, in national tours, and in London. Her Broadway credits include Les Misérables, Sweet Smell of Success, Nine, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Woman in...
as Clara, and David Burnham as Fabrizio Naccarelli started at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, California, in August 2006 and ended in Chicago on July 22, 2007.
A Japanese production of the musical was produced in December 2007, having a limited engagement of about a month. It starred Kaho Shimada as Margaret Johnson.
An Australian concert version had a one-night only presentation at the Lyric Theatre, Star City in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on August 17, 2008. The cast consisted of members of the Australian company of The Phantom of the Opera, with Jackie Rees as Margaret, Kathleen Moore as Clara and James Pratt as Fabrizio. The production was directed by John O'May.
In the summer of 2008, Guettel reconfigured the musical as a smaller chamber piece for the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, Weston
Weston
There are many places called Weston:-Australia:* Weston, Australian Capital Territory* Weston Creek, Canberra* Weston Park, Canberra* Weston, New South Wales, a suburb of the City of Cessnock-Canada:* Weston, Nova Scotia* Weston, Ontario...
, Vermont, where Sarah Uriarte Berry reprised her role as Franca.
The show had its opera house premiere in October 2008 at Piedmont Opera in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It starred Jill Gardner as Margaret, Sarah Jane McMahon as Clara, directed by Dorothy Danner and conducted by James Allbritten.
The show opened as a regional production in the Covina Center for the Performing Arts (Covina, California) in January 2009.
The Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra in Alberta presented the musical at the Yates Memorial Theatre October 19–21, 2009 which was the Canadian première. Directed by Fran Rude and musical direction by Ken Rogers this production starred Diane Llewelyn-Jones as Margaret, Nicole Higginson as Clara and Steven Morton as Fabrizio.
The Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
saw the Canadian première by Acting Up Stage open on January 30, 2010.
The Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
(Washington, DC), production ran from March 5, 2010 through April 11, 2010, with Hollis Resnik
Hollis Resnik
Hollis Resnik is an American singer and actress, especially in stage musicals.-Biography:Born in 1955 and raised in Euclid, Ohio , as a young girl she studied piano and took voice lessons and performed with the Cleveland Symphony Children's Choir. Attending Russell H...
as Margaret.
The European premiere was directed by Paul Kerryson at the Curve Theatre, Leicester, UK in May 2009, starring Lucy Schaufer as Margaret and Caroline Sheen
Caroline Sheen
Caroline Sheen is a Welsh actress who has played various roles on stage in the West End and at other venues across London and the UK. She recently played the role of Mary Poppins on the First National Tour of America...
as Clara, with design by George Souglides, musical direction by Julian Kelly, lighting design by Giuseppe di Iorio, sound design by Paul Groothuis.
Original Broadway cast
- Victoria ClarkVictoria ClarkVictoria Clark is an American musical theatre singer and actress. Clark has performed in many Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television work, and her soprano voice can be heard on numerous cast albums and several animated films...
: Margaret Johnson - Kelli O'HaraKelli O'HaraKelli O'Hara is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.O'Hara has been nominated for three Tony Awards: for her performance as Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza; for her performance as Babe Williams in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Pajama Game, where she starred...
: Clara Johnson - Matthew MorrisonMatthew MorrisonMatthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
: Fabrizio Naccarelli - Michael BerresseMichael BerresseMichael Berresse is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director. The son of artist and author Cynthia Berresse Ploski, he has appeared on Broadway in many shows including: Kiss Me, Kate, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel and Damn Yankees, and The Light in the Piazza as Giuseppe...
: Giuseppe Naccarelli - Sarah Uriarte BerrySarah Uriarte BerrySarah Uriarte Berry is an American actress and singer.A native of California and a graduate of UCLA, Berry made her Broadway debut as Eponine in Les Misérables in 1993. She then went on to star as Belle in Beauty and the Beast in 1995. She replaced former college room-mate Susan Egan and left the...
: Franca Naccarelli - Patti CohenourPatti CohenourPatti Cohenour is an American actress and singer. She was most recently seen in the Broadway production of The Light in the Piazza as Signora Naccarelli...
: Signora Naccarelli/Understudy Margaret Johnson - Beau Gravitte: Roy Johnson
- Mark HarelikMark HarelikMark Harelik is an American television, film, and stage actor, as well as a playwright.-Career:Harelik has appeared in the films Election, Jurassic Park III and For Your Consideration; He was the voice of Rogers in The Swan Princess, and he has played parts on the television sitcoms Seinfeld,...
: Signor Naccarelli - Joseph SiravoJoseph SiravoJoseph Siravo is an Italian american actor and graduate of both Stanford and NYU. Among his most notable roles is that of "Johnny Boy" Soprano, father of Tony Soprano, on The Sopranos. He is credited as the voice of Carmine in the Disney film The Wild...
: Priest, Ensemble/Understudy Roy Johnson, Signor Naccarelli
Broadway Replacements
- Aaron LazarAaron Lazar-Early life and education:Lazar was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to a Jewish family. He graduated from Cherry Hill High School West in 1994. Lazar attended Duke University where he earned a BA in music in 1998, while completing the prerequisite classes for medical school and taking the MCAT...
replaced Matthew Morrison as Fabrizio Naccarelli on September 2, 2005 - Chris SarandonChris SarandonChris Sarandon is an American actor who was married to actress Susan Sarandon between 1968 and 1979. He is best known for playing Prince Humperdinck in the film The Princess Bride, the vampire Jerry Dandridge in Fright Night and Detective Mike Norris in the first entry of the Child's Play series,...
replaced Mark Harelik as Signor Naccarelli on September 13, 2005 - Jennifer Hughes replaced Kelli O'Hara as Clara Johnson on December 6, 2005
- Katie Rose ClarkeKatie Rose ClarkeKatherine "Katie" Rose Clarke is an American musical theater actress. Originally from Friendswood, Texas, she first came to national attention for her portrayal of Clara Johnson in the Broadway production, the live PBS broadcast, and the national tour of The Light in the Piazza...
replaced Jennifer Hughes as Clara Johnson on December 15, 2005
Synopsis
ACT 1In the early morning of their first day in Florence, Margaret reads from her guidebook to Clara as the piazza around them is waking up and coming to life (Statues and Stories). A breeze carries Clara’s hat off her head and across the square where a young Italian man miraculously catches it, mid-air, and returns it to her. The two are instantly smitten. But Margaret steers her daughter away from the encounter, bringing her next to the Uffizi Galleries where the glorious paintings speak to Clara of her own life and her own yearning for love (The Beauty Is). Fabrizio appears, hoping to arrange a time to meet with Clara, but once again Margaret intervenes.
Alone, Fabrizio sings in Italian his declaration of love at first sight for Clara, along with a heartfelt cry of fear that she could never love anyone as lost and without position as he (Il Mondo Era Vuoto). Fabrizio begs his father and his brother Giuseppe to help him dress more presentably for Clara (American Dancing).
At the Duomo, Fabrizio once again catches up with Margaret and Clara, and this time Fabrizio’s father, Signor Naccarelli, is able to help penetrate Margaret’s resistance to any further involvement. They all agree to meet at sunset to take a walk and admire the view of the city from above at the Piazzale Michelangelo (Passeggiata).
Margaret and Clara are invited to have tea at the Naccarelli home. Giuseppe’s wife, Franca, takes Clara on a tour of the apartment, and alone in a separate room, she warns Clara about ever trusting a husband (The Joy You Feel). Though the Naccarellis are universally impressed with Clara, Margaret tries without success to share her deep reservations. When she looks in Fabrizio’s eyes and sees the love there, she can’t bring herself to disappoint him, as much as she feels she must; for there is something about Clara that none of these people knows. Clara secretly makes plans to meet Fabrizio at midnight near the hotel.
Margaret calls her husband Roy who is back in the states. She tries to tell him what is happening with Clara and Fabrizio, but he is brusque and not very understanding, cutting short the conversation. Margaret, alone in her hotel room, sings of her disappointment in the marriage (Dividing Day). She checks in Clara’s room, and she finds the girl is gone.
Clara becomes lost in the maze-like streets of Florence, losing all poise and control, becoming hysterical, screaming like a child (Hysteria). Her mother takes her back to the hotel and, as Clara sleeps, reveals the source of her disquiet. When Clara was a young girl, she was kicked in the head by a Shetland pony, and the accident has caused her mental and emotional abilities to develop abnormally. Margaret feels that she must take Clara away from Florence at once, and she steps down into the lobby to have a drink. While she is away, Fabrizio comes to the room, distraught; he cannot find the right words to express his feelings, and Clara urges him to use any other means (Say It Somehow); Clara accepts Fabrizio’s proposal of marriage, and the two are embracing, half undressed, as Margaret walks in on them.
ACT 2
Margaret takes Clara to Rome to distract her and put an end to the affair. Back in Florence, Fabrizio rails and weeps, once again singing entirely in Italian (Aiutami).
No matter what Margaret tries, her daughter refuses to give her an inch, culminating into a painful confrontation wherein Margaret slaps Clara across the face. Clara erupts with a torrent of feeling, centered on Fabrizio and the nature of love (The Light in the Piazza). This causes Margaret to relent, to set aside her doubts and considerations, and to no longer stand in the way of the wedding. The two return to Florence.
Clara is instructed in the Latin catechism in preparation for converting to Catholicism while around her everyone in the extended family sings of their feelings, stirred up by the immediate presence of such intense, young love (Octet). Franca, in an attempt to arouse her husband’s jealousy, kisses Fabrizio right on the mouth, and Clara witnesses it, breaking into a furious rant (Tirade).
At the wedding rehearsal, Clara and Fabrizio are filling out the necessary forms when Signor Naccarelli sees something on Clara’s form that causes him to call off the wedding and take his family away at once. Clara wants to know what is wrong with her, but her mother says there is nothing at all wrong. With Clara sobbing and broken, alone in one of the pews of the church, Margaret reveals her worst fears and her shame at having been the source of her daughter’s lifelong suffering (The Beauty Is [Reprise]). She resolves to do whatever it takes to give to Clara a chance for happiness.
Margaret tries to reason with Signor Naccarelli. He admits that he saw Clara write her age on the forms – 26 – and that this makes her an unsuitable bride for his son who is only 20. Relieved that he has not discovered their secret, Margaret begs him to change his mind, but he will not. She invites him to take a walk with her, and the two wander from one end of Florence to the other as the sun slowly sets and the night comes on (Let’s Walk). By giving him time to mull things over and by not pressuring him, Margaret succeeds in putting the wedding back on track; Signor Naccarelli says he will meet them at the church the following morning.
From the hotel room, Margaret calls Roy to tell him about the wedding. As might be predicted, he insists that Clara cannot handle the responsibilities of marriage. Clara, in her wedding dress, stands in the shadows, overhearing her mother’s side of the conversation. Margaret says, “Just because she isn’t normal, Roy, doesn't mean she's consigned to a life of loneliness. She mustn't be made to accept less from life just because she isn't like you or me.” Shattered, Clara slips out of the hotel room and runs once more through Florence (Interlude), meeting Fabrizio at the church in order to tell him that she cannot marry him; she won’t allow herself to cause him any pain. Fabrizio assuages all of her fears (Love to Me).
Moments before the wedding, Clara tells Margaret she can’t leave her; Margaret assures her she can. Left alone, Margaret breaks open all the pent-up doubts and yearnings that she has carried for years on end about love (Fable), realizing at last that the chance of love somehow outweighs the terrible risks. She joins the wedding ceremony.
Song list
Act I- Overture
- Statues and Stories – Margaret Johnson and Clara Johnson
- Margaret/Hat
- Margaret Aside 1
- Transition to Uffizi
- Tour Guide
- The Beauty Is – Clara
- Il Mondo Era Vuoto – Fabrizio Naccarelli
- American Dancing
- Duomo
- Margaret Aside 2
- Piazzale Michelangelo
- Punctuation
- Passeggiata – Fabrizio and Clara
- Transition to Tea Scene
- Che Gorgioso
- The Joy You Feel – Franca Naccarelli
- Margaret Aside 3
- After Tea
- Dividing Day – Margaret
- Hysteria – Clara and Margaret
- Hotel Bar
- Fabrizio at the Door
- Say It Somehow – Clara and Fabrizio
Act II
- Entr'acte
- Aiutami – The Naccarelli Family
- The Light in the Piazza – Clara
- Back to Florence
- Octet Part 1 – Company
- Clara's Tirade – Clara
- Church
- Octet Part 2 – Company
- Something is Wrong
- The Beauty Is (Reprise) – Margaret
- Transition to Tie Shop
- Let's Walk – Signor Naccarelli and Margaret
- Post Promenade
- Clara's Interlude
- Love to Me – Fabrizio
- Wedding
- Fable – Margaret
- Bows
- Exit Music
Critical response
CurtainUp called the musical a "gorgeously staged and musically sophisticated adaptation... the Guettel sound is nevertheless plush and enjoyable with a genuine musical theater sensibility.... Lucas has made room for the young lovers' voices and retained enough of the psychological complexities to prevent this from being the dated soap opera it could easily have been." The Village Voice, commented: "It has some considerable shortcomings...but its main distinction is that its humanity separates it from the bulk of current musical theater."Critic John Simon
John Simon (critic)
John Ivan Simon is an American author and literary, theater, and film critic.-Personal life:Simon was born in Subotica, Bačka, County of Bačka, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later, known as Yugoslavia . He is of Hungarian descent...
, in NY Magazine, wrote: "...anyone who cares about the rather uncertain future of this truly American genre should—must—see the show, think and worry about it, and reach his or her own conclusions.... Lincoln Center Theater’s production is breathtaking. Craig Lucas’s book seems perfectly adequate to me, but the emphasis must be on Adam Guettel’s music and lyrics. Those lyrics, I’m afraid, are a bit self-consciously poeticizing, a trifle arcanely oblique."
Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
, in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, deemed the show "encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled... the production comes into its own only in the sweetly bitter maternal regrets and dreams of Margaret Johnson." He further made special mention of the "gorgeous autumn-leaf-strewn set", the "lush golden lighting" and "the delectable period costumes".
Original Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
Outstanding Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since. Before the 21st Drama Desk Awards, acting awards were given without making distinctions between roles in straight dramas as opposed to musicals, nor were there... |
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| Outstanding Actor in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Matthew Morrison Matthew Morrison Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated... |
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| Outstanding Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Victoria Clark Victoria Clark Victoria Clark is an American musical theatre singer and actress. Clark has performed in many Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television work, and her soprano voice can be heard on numerous cast albums and several animated films... |
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| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical was first awarded in the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has subsequently been awarded every year. In the 1993-1994 Drama Desk Awards the award was given under the name of Outstanding Supporting Actress - Musical... |
Sarah Uriarte Berry Sarah Uriarte Berry Sarah Uriarte Berry is an American actress and singer.A native of California and a graduate of UCLA, Berry made her Broadway debut as Eponine in Les Misérables in 1993. She then went on to star as Belle in Beauty and the Beast in 1995. She replaced former college room-mate Susan Egan and left the... |
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| Outstanding Director of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Bartlett Sher Bartlett Sher Bartlett Sher , is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but... |
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| Outstanding Orchestrations Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Ted Sperling Ted Sperling Ted Sperling is a Musical Director, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, stage director and musician, primarily for the stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, for his work in The Light in the Piazza in... and Adam Guettel Adam Guettel Adam Guettel is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera . He is best known for the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and two Drama Desk Awards, for Best Music and Best Orchestrations.-Early years:Guettel... |
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| Outstanding Music Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Adam Guettel Adam Guettel Adam Guettel is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera . He is best known for the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and two Drama Desk Awards, for Best Music and Best Orchestrations.-Early years:Guettel... |
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| Outstanding Set Design Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee composed of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Michael Yeargan Michael Yeargan Michael H. Yeargan is an American set designer for theatre and opera.Yeargan is a professor of Stage Design at the Yale School of Drama and has designed for opera companies all over the world, including the Washington Opera and the Dallas Opera... |
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| Outstanding Costume Design Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Catherine Zuber Catherine Zuber - Broadway :Zuber's Broadway credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , Born Yesterday , Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, South Pacific , The Coast of Utopia , The Light in the Piazza , Edward Albee's Seascape , Awake and Sing! ,... |
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| Outstanding Lighting Design Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Christopher Akerlind Christopher Akerlind Christopher Akerlind is an American lighting designer for theatre, opera, and dance. He won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for Light in the Piazza and an Obie Award for sustained excellence for his work Off-Broadway.He attended... |
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| Outstanding Sound Design Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the sound designers of productions staged on Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters, all... |
Acme Sound Partners | |||
| Outer Critics Circle Award Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets... |
Outstanding Musical | |||
| Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Victoria Clark Victoria Clark Victoria Clark is an American musical theatre singer and actress. Clark has performed in many Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television work, and her soprano voice can be heard on numerous cast albums and several animated films... |
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| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Matthew Morrison Matthew Morrison Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated... |
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| Michael Berresse Michael Berresse Michael Berresse is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director. The son of artist and author Cynthia Berresse Ploski, he has appeared on Broadway in many shows including: Kiss Me, Kate, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel and Damn Yankees, and The Light in the Piazza as Giuseppe... |
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| Mark Harelik Mark Harelik Mark Harelik is an American television, film, and stage actor, as well as a playwright.-Career:Harelik has appeared in the films Election, Jurassic Park III and For Your Consideration; He was the voice of Rogers in The Swan Princess, and he has played parts on the television sitcoms Seinfeld,... |
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| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Sarah Uriarte Berry Sarah Uriarte Berry Sarah Uriarte Berry is an American actress and singer.A native of California and a graduate of UCLA, Berry made her Broadway debut as Eponine in Les Misérables in 1993. She then went on to star as Belle in Beauty and the Beast in 1995. She replaced former college room-mate Susan Egan and left the... |
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| Kelli O'Hara Kelli O'Hara Kelli O'Hara is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.O'Hara has been nominated for three Tony Awards: for her performance as Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza; for her performance as Babe Williams in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Pajama Game, where she starred... |
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| Outstanding Director of a Musical | Bartlett Sher Bartlett Sher Bartlett Sher , is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but... |
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| Outstanding Set Design | Michael Yeargan Michael Yeargan Michael H. Yeargan is an American set designer for theatre and opera.Yeargan is a professor of Stage Design at the Yale School of Drama and has designed for opera companies all over the world, including the Washington Opera and the Dallas Opera... |
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| Outstanding Costume Design | Catherine Zuber Catherine Zuber - Broadway :Zuber's Broadway credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , Born Yesterday , Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, South Pacific , The Coast of Utopia , The Light in the Piazza , Edward Albee's Seascape , Awake and Sing! ,... |
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| Outstanding Lighting Design | Christopher Akerlind Christopher Akerlind Christopher Akerlind is an American lighting designer for theatre, opera, and dance. He won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for Light in the Piazza and an Obie Award for sustained excellence for his work Off-Broadway.He attended... |
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| Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Musical Tony Award for Best Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack... |
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| Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible... |
Craig Lucas Craig Lucas Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.-Biography:... |
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| Best Original Score Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics... |
Adam Guettel Adam Guettel Adam Guettel is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera . He is best known for the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and two Drama Desk Awards, for Best Music and Best Orchestrations.-Early years:Guettel... |
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| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Victoria Clark Victoria Clark Victoria Clark is an American musical theatre singer and actress. Clark has performed in many Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television work, and her soprano voice can be heard on numerous cast albums and several animated films... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947... |
Matthew Morrison Matthew Morrison Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976.... |
Kelli O'Hara Kelli O'Hara Kelli O'Hara is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.O'Hara has been nominated for three Tony Awards: for her performance as Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza; for her performance as Babe Williams in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Pajama Game, where she starred... |
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| Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions... |
Bartlett Sher Bartlett Sher Bartlett Sher , is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but... |
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| Best Orchestrations Tony Award for Best Orchestrations -1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King... |
Adam Guettel Adam Guettel Adam Guettel is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera . He is best known for the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and two Drama Desk Awards, for Best Music and Best Orchestrations.-Early years:Guettel... and Ted Sperling Ted Sperling Ted Sperling is a Musical Director, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, stage director and musician, primarily for the stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, for his work in The Light in the Piazza in... |
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| Best Scenic Design | Michael Yeargan Michael Yeargan Michael H. Yeargan is an American set designer for theatre and opera.Yeargan is a professor of Stage Design at the Yale School of Drama and has designed for opera companies all over the world, including the Washington Opera and the Dallas Opera... |
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| Best Costume Design Tony Award for Best Costume Design These are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals... |
Catherine Zuber Catherine Zuber - Broadway :Zuber's Broadway credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , Born Yesterday , Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, South Pacific , The Coast of Utopia , The Light in the Piazza , Edward Albee's Seascape , Awake and Sing! ,... |
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| Best Lighting Design Tony Award for Best Lighting Design This is a list of the winners of the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a play or musical, first presented in 1970. In 2005 the category was divided with each genre represented separately.-1970s:* 1970: Jo Mielziner – Child's Play... |
Christopher Akerlind Christopher Akerlind Christopher Akerlind is an American lighting designer for theatre, opera, and dance. He won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for Light in the Piazza and an Obie Award for sustained excellence for his work Off-Broadway.He attended... |
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