Get a ticket fast– these will not last. The Huntington has wrapped up its season by sending us off to Italy with its most elegant production yet— a stunning, full-throated, openhearted, operatic sweep of a musical, visually and vocally sumptuous! I was completely enveloped by THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA.
L to R: Sarah-Anne Martinez and Emily Skinner in The Light in the Piazza; directed by Loretta Greco; photo by Julieta Cervantes
The musical which won 6 TONY AWARDS when it opened on Broadway in 2005 finds itself 20 years later ever more welcome– and desirable. The piazza is the place where love in all its guises finds its way: romantic love, parental love, married love…The premise is deceptively simple. It’s 1953 and a mother and daughter from the American south find themselves–literally, exploring the beauty of Florence on an early morning. Suddenly a gust of wind blows the hat off young Clara’s head and into the path of a Florentine named Fabrizio–and they fall in love. This immediate connection ripples through their lives and the lives of their families in funny, heartbreaking, unpredictable ways, this fresh new love triggering an avalanche of feelings, questions, and insights challenging all their assumptions about what is possible, what is fair, and where it might lead.
This is the cast to take you there, shockingly good singer/actors all who intone Adam Guettel’s Tony Award-winning music & lyrics with virtuosic control. Note, this is no ordinary Broadway Musical score– its intricate and voluptuous melodies possess the lyrical intensity of opera outlining the complex and volatile interior lives of these characters. Solos, duets, and octets supported by a splendid full orchestra led by Andrea Grody– take your breath away. To a person, this cast is remarkably vivid, each registering instantly as a complete personality– quirks and all. The beautiful, buttoned up Margaret Johnson is played by Emily Skinner with a dynamic, superbly controlled voice as clear as a frozen lake about to crack. Her golden-haired daughter Clara played by Sarah-Anne Martinez — not as fragile as she looks–sings with a crystalline yearning that just MIGHT crack ice and more. She is ripe for life in the form of the youthful Fabrizio Naccarelli–
L to R: Joshua Grosso and Sarah-Anne Martinez in The Light in the Piazza; directed by Loretta Greco; photo by Julieta Cervantes.
–and if there is anyone who stands out among this stellar cast, it is Joshua Grosso’s Fabrizio ! He sings like a dream. His passion for Clara lights the fire which threatens to engulf them all. Grosso is magnetic in the part. His Fabrizio is heart-on-his-sleeve, blazingly-genuine, in love as he leaps into the lightning of this fresh romance. But he also conveys more than romance; there’s a sweetly emphatic depth of feeling for Clara whom he instinctively understands. Without a drop of sentimentality, Fabrizio gives his unguarded heart free rein; I doubt there was a soul in the house who did not want to embrace him.
As Fabrizio’s father, William Michals is refined and intense! Rebecca Pitcher as Signora Naccarelli erupts out of nowhere and knocks it out of the park in the ACT II opener. Alexander Ross is perfect as big brother Giuseppe kicking up his heels as he gives his younger brother pointers on how to be more American. Rebekah Rae Robles as Giuseppe’s wife Franca is fierce and funny as a woman fighting through a newly wed’s post-romantic disillusionment. As for the mature, married years, Rob Richardson as Margaret’s distant but decent husband Roy lets us see how their marriage has lost its way.
The cast of The Light in the Piazza; directed by Loretta Greco; photo by Julieta Cervantes
All of this takes place on a gloriously understated, meticulously appointed set (Andrew Boyce/Scenic Design, Christopher Akerlind/Lighting). Envision a wide expanse of light and air, broad stone steps and a single column, softly-lit archways echoing the curves of sculpted marble …Later, there are drapes fluttering in a lonely hotel room framing a late night phone call; empty gilded frames inviting whatever we imagine. Projections (Yuki Izumihara) of trees and stars and dappled light, background people taking the passeggiata of an evening, strolling in and around the piazza, many of the women adorned in Dior’s new look: waists cinched around billowing skirts of chiffon and lace like flowers or love in full bloom. These clothes (Alex Jaeger/Costume Design) are ravishing.
Full confession. Perhaps I am biased. I, like Artistic Director Loretta Greco, am Italian; she conjures it all here. But Greco’s masterful direction and penetrating understanding of what Craig Lucas has baked into this wonderful book is so much more. This musical tells a grand human story, transcending ethnicity and era, to reveal something larger and more affecting –about compassion, love, about how a leap of feeling over the illusory boundaries of differences and abilities can open hearts and minds and lead us forward as we struggle to connect in the world. This is that passeggiata toward The Light In The Piazza where we all meet, a passage fully realized in this magnificent production, which I just may have to see again. I am already lamenting that it will close Sunday, June 15, 2025 at the Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave, Boston
