Light in the Piazza

I must admit, this musical was a bit of a let down after all of the press I had been hearing from my professors. Though they did admit they had low expectations heading into the show and were pleasantly surprised. Me, on the other hand, was expecting to see a stunning show, only to be let down. I went in with expectations too high (and freshly off the emotional rollercoaster of Brokeback Mountian). I also attribute part of the problem to the seating. Lincoln Center Theater is much more thrust that it is proscenium, and while the scenic designer did a fabulous job making a beautiful set from every angle, I don't think the choreographer or director where prepared to deal with more than one side of the audience. The singing was pretty, but that's about all. I had trouble listening to them when they sang. They were perfectly audible; and the mix with the orchestra, well not the best, didn't hinder my ability to hear. I simply didn't care enough to listen to what they had to say and instead focused on the sound. The scenes in Italian were by far much more interesting, in staging, in music, in intensity. Had it been all foreign, perhaps I would have been more engaged.

The lighting was atrocious, yet it won a Tony. The lights seemed unmotivated, or at the very least, motivated by the need to hide a scene change which I noticed anyway. Again, this may have been a seating and staging issue. I bet it looks fabulous from the center front.

The scenic design and costume designs were superb. They created a beautiful world around the characters (and occasionally the lights did contribute something). I was thoroughly impressed with each character's wardrobe. It looked as though the designer truly managed to get into each of the characters heads and came up with a believable set of clothing for each of them. You buy that every single garment would have been in their respective closets and that they would have chosen to wear that garment on that given day. This is the first time I've been able to sense that. They were much more than just pretty 50's clothes. And I never noticed a quick change (there were a lot of them). Wonderful planning.

Victoria Clark deserved her Tony. She played her character with a dignity and grace similar to that of Judy Kaye in Souvenir. Unfortunately she is the only character with much depth or conflict.

It is a sweet little love story. Not much more. The score wasn't anything special. While it was pretty, I wouldn't be able to recall a single note of it if my life depended on it (and I have a good memory for music)It is a shame student tickets are $30 (don't worry about them being sold out, but I would be concerned about where you sit), otherwise I would recommend seeing it.