THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

Sponsored by Pamela and Louis Bansbach

A Holiday. A Secret. Amore.

MUSIC & LYRICS ADAM GUETTEL BASED ON THE BOOK BY CRAIG LUCAS

CONDUCTOR ADAM TURNER

DIRECTOR KEN CAZAN

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ADAM DA ROS

SET DESIGNER ARNULFO MALDONADO

ASSOCIATE SET DESIGNER COREY UMLAUF

LIGHTING DESIGNER DAVID MARTIN JACQUES

COSTUME DESIGNER EDINA HISER ASSISTANT

COSTUME DESIGNER SONIA NINETTE MENDEZ

WIG/MAKEUP DESIGNER JAMES P. McGOUGH

ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR BRANDON ELDREDGE

MUSICAL PREPARATION MICHAEL BAITZER, JEREMY REGER, MICHAEL SHERMAN

STAGE MANAGER ANGELA TURNER

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER HANNAH NATHAN

Produced by arrangement with Turner Entertainment Co., owner of the original motion picture “Light In The Piazza” based on the novel by Elisabeth Spencer. The Light in the Piazza is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. concordtheatricals.com

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Cast

IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE

MARGARET JOHNSON REBECCA CAINE

CLARA JOHNSON DIANA NEWMAN

FABRIZIO NACCARELLI RICARDO GARCIA

SIGNOR NACCARELLI JONATHAN HAYS

GIUSEPPE NACCARELLI ISAIAH FEKEN

FRANCA NACCARELLI JENNIFER DeDOMINICI

SIGNORA NACCARELLI JUDETH SHAY COMSTOCK

ROY JOHNSON CURT OLDS

TOUR GUIDE ANDREW PAYNE

PRIEST JUSTIN KROLL

TWO MAIDS REGINA CERAGIOLI, JENNA CLARK

The conductor’s podium is endowed in perpetuity by the Eleanore Mullen Weckbaugh Foundation. Scenery built by You Want What? Production, Inc, Englewood, CO. Clara costumes built by Utah Opera Costume Shop. Margaret and Franca costumes built by Tasco Couture. Additional rental costumes provided by Western Costume Co., North Hollywood, CA; Costume Rentals Corporation, North Hollywood, CA; and Space City Vintage, Los Angeles, CA.

This production is presented by Pamela and Louis Bansbach.

CENTRAL CITY OPERA FESTIVAL SPONSORS Avenir Foundation, Inc. • Pamela and Louis Bansbach • Central City Opera House Association Endowment Fund Colorado Creative Industries • Lanny and Sharon Martin • Heather and Mike Miller Citizens of the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District • U.S. Small Business Administration PRESENTING SPONSORS Bonfils-Stanton Foundation • The Denver Foundation • Tyson Dines III • Mr. Newell M. Grant • John W. Kure and Cheryl L. Solich Lizabeth A. Lynner and James L. Palenchar • The Virginia W. Hill Foundation PRODUCTION SPONSORS Margaret and Stan Baker • City of Central • Ginny and Bob Fuller • Mabel Y. Hughes Charitable Trust • Nancy S. Parker PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Anschutz Foundation • Kristin and Jim Bender • Melinda and John Couzens • Mrs. Charles L. Ferguson • Jeanne Land Foundation Diana W. and F. Michael Kinsey • Lloyd J. King and Eleanor R. King Foundation • The Priester Foundation Karen and Andrew Ritz • Phoebe Smedley • Pam and Sonny Wiegand • Carole J. Yaley

Synopsis

IN THE SUMMER OF 1953, Margaret Johnson, the wife of an American businessman, is touring Italy with her daughter, Clara. While sightseeing, Clara – a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman – loses her hat in a sudden gust. As if guided by an unseen hand, the hat lands at the feet of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, who returns it to Clara. This brief episode, charged with coincidence and fate, sparks an immediate and intense romance between Clara and Fabrizio. Margaret, extremely protective of her daughter, attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart.

As events unfold, a secret is revealed: in addition to the cultural differences between the young lovers, Clara is not quite all that she appears. Unable to suppress the truth about her daughter, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara's future, but her own hopes as well.

Scenes and Musical Numbers

ACT ONE

Overture “Statues and Stories”.................. Margaret, Clara and Ensemble “The Beauty Is” ............................ Clara “Il Mondo Era Vuoto” ................... Fabrizio “American Dancing” .................... Instrumental “Passeggiata” .............................. Fabrizio “The Joy You Feel” ...................... Franca “Dividing Day” .............................. Margaret “Hysteria” / “Lullaby”................... Clara and Margaret “Say It Somehow”........................ Clara and Fabrizio

ACT TWO

“Aiutami” ...................................... Fabrizio, Signor Naccarelli, Signora Naccarelli, Franca and Giuseppe “The Light in the Piazza” .............. Clara “Octet (Part 1)” ............................ Clara, Priest, Franca, Signor Naccarelli, Signora Naccarelli, Fabrizio, Margaret and Giuseppe “Clara’s Tirade” ............................ Clara “Octet (Part 2)” ............................ Full Company “The Beauty Is (Reprise)”............ Margaret “Let’s Walk”.................................. Margaret and Signor Naccarelli “Clara’s Interlude”........................ Clara “Love to Me” ................................ Fabrizio “Fable”.......................................... Margaret

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

While it is easy to get swept away in the romance of Clara and Fabrizio’s love-at-first-sight romance, it’s Margaret Johnson’s character that gives us the conflict of the piece – a struggle between the head and the heart.

IN 2005, The Light in the Piazza emerged on the Broadway scene with a score that broke away from the more traditional “Tin Pan Alley” popular musical sound which had dominated Broadway musicals for decades. Shows like Hair and Rent were the exception, not the rule, until the early 2000s were flooded with lyricists and composers who brought new, modern, heartfelt works into the mix. Composer Adam Guettel is the grandson of Broadway legend Richard Rodgers and the son of Mary Rodgers, who composed the popular musical Once Upon A Mattress. Guettel originally didn’t want to become a musical theater composer because it was the “family business.” However, his desire to tell stories through music was hard to avoid and he felt it was the best way for him to express love. While Guettel’s work nods to musicals from the golden age of Broadway, his work is also heavily influenced by opera, jazz, rock and classical music – all blending together to create a unique, multifaceted sound for the modern era of American musical theater. With a mix of English and Italian lyrics and music that is more operatic and classically influenced, The Light in the Piazza is filled with the sound of romance as well

It was no surprise to anyone when the musical won the Tony Award for Best Original Score (along with five other Tony Awards) in 2005. as some unexpected harmonies and instrumentation – perfectly matching the story. It was no surprise to anyone when the musical won the Tony Award for Best Original Score (along with five other Tony Awards) in 2005. The story is based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer (adapted for the stage by Craig Lucas). Spencer’s early novels focused on life in a rural Southern town, but after a Guggenheim Fellowship gave her the opportunity to go to Italy for a year, she created a story centered on a character, Margaret Johnson, who reflected Spencer’s southern roots and the American romanticization of Post-War Italy in the 1950s. While it is easy to get swept away in the romance of Clara and Fabrizio’s love-at-first-sight romance, it’s Margaret Johnson’s character that gives us the conflict of the piece – a struggle between the head and the heart. This characterization is the most reflective of the complexity of Guettel’s score. We follow Margaret through a touching, heart-wrenching, and life-changing experience and in the end, we all start to see a glimmer of light.