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June 15, 2006
The Light in the Piazza
Did anyone else watch it on PBS this evening...harkening back to the days when PBS actually did something valuable via Live from Lincoln Center...where many of us got our most sustained initial exposure to opera?
My father had seen it in New York a month ago (along with Awake and Sing! which features Six Feet Under's Lauren Ambrose - he said she was very good, amid all the talkiness of 1930's agitprop!) - and raved. I'd read about when the show first opened in Chicago several years ago and had thought - well, if I ever go to the theater again, this is one I'd like to see.
What a moving, heartbreaking piece. Catholic me can't help hearing spiritual echoes - of course, set a play in Italy, it's hard to avoid. But all the stories about love found and lost that wove through the piece seemed to find their answer, such as it is, in all of its ambiguity, in the setting of a church, a church where the light that illuminates the piazza, the light that Clara sees and hopes for, penetrates all the pain, tragedy and loss and simply...shines. Accepted, accepting, hopeful.
I was glad to see that a national tour of the show begins in August - hmmm...Cleveland and Cincinnati are close enough, but Indy would be better...we'll see!
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
Amy:
You *must* see it in NY. You won't be disappointed. You can get discount tickets fairly easily both in Times Square or online. Let your fingers do the walking!
Posted by: Ian at Jun 15, 2006 11:28:54 PM
Well..it closes in early July, and ...I'm not going to NY before then!
Posted by: amy at Jun 15, 2006 11:36:09 PM
Does anyone know if there are plans to re-air this? I caught it halfway through and would love to see the whole thing.
Posted by: Tracie at Jun 16, 2006 1:54:07 AM
Never mind...PBS is showing it again on Monday the 19th at 2:30 in the morning.
Posted by: Tracie at Jun 16, 2006 2:02:27 AM
I have been a major fan of Guettel for years, and he is definitely proof that talent runs in families. With the Tonys, and listening to some clips, I was sure it was good. Providentially, I saw it was on the schedule just a few minutes before it started, and told my wife that we were going to watch this . . .
It was far, far better than I expected. The tour better get closer than Costa Mesa.
Posted by: Claude Muncey at Jun 16, 2006 3:03:56 AM
And if you want a song with "spiritual echoes" try Guettel's "How Glory Goes" from Floyd Collins.
Posted by: Claude Muncey at Jun 16, 2006 3:07:22 AM
I wish I had known this was on PBS. I would love to see it. When I searched our station it didn't list any repeat performances. Anyone know how I can see this? Has anyone read the book?
Posted by: Charlotte at Jun 16, 2006 8:45:54 AM
For anyone living in North Carolina, the show will be broadcast this coming Sunday, Fathers Day, June 18, at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
http://www.unctv.org/whatson/index.php?channel=&calenderYear=2006&calenderMonth=6&calenderDOM=18
Posted by: Larry at Jun 16, 2006 8:52:08 AM
I'm so excited people are talking about The Light in the Piazza! About Guettel... The recording of "Myths and Hymns" is quite good, in my opinion. The cd is a mix of traditional hymns and songs inspired by old Greek myths. I much prefer the latter, ironically, over the hymns. Achingly beautiful melodies... I believe the myths show the longing for transcendence, for going-beyond, that has always inspired the human heart.
I saw Light in the Piazza when it first opened in Chicago - it was alright, but still had kinks and anyways Kelli O'hara was playing the third female lead - not the lead where she should have been. In NYC, the show had been reworked and was AMAZING.
If you want another reason to support Light in the Piazza, during high school I worked backstage at a summer theater in Kansas about nine years ago, where Ms. O'hara was working at the time. For one show, I was assigned to take care of Kelli's hair. I remember chatting with her while I put rollers in her hair, and how sweet and good-natured she was - definitely not always the case for the lead actress to treat backstage help with courtesy!
Posted by: Erin at Jun 16, 2006 11:54:36 AM
Did anybody see the 1962 movie version with Yvette Mimieux as Clara, Olivia de Havilland as her mother, George Hamilton as Fabrizio & Rossano Brazzi as his father? I saw it in the late 60's on "The Late Late Movie", or some such. One line sticks in my mind: "Fortunatissimo, Fabrizio!" Young, naive & romantic as I was, I was still a bit sceptical about the plot.
Posted by: Jacqueline Y. at Jun 16, 2006 2:17:33 PM
I saw the 1962 version years ago and thought it was well done. The characters, especially Clara, were believable, as was the gradual realization that she was not as she seemed. Unfortunately, I can't remember the ending.
I thought it was a faithful adaptation of the book, which I later read.
Posted by: Lynn at Jun 16, 2006 10:45:53 PM
hi. does anyone know of any further rebroadcasts? or did anyone record it?
thanks!
Posted by: julie at Jul 21, 2006 1:21:57 PM
