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The Light in the Piazza - SpeakEasy Stage

    Reviewed by David Hurst

    Clara and Fabrizio.jpgThough ferociously difficult to cast and even trickier to stage, more and more regional theatres are programming Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel's glorious musical, The Light in the Piazza, which won six Tony awards in 2006 in its run at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre. If the new, bravura production at SpeakEasy Stage is any indication of whether or not they should be doing so, the answer is a resounding 'yes.' Directed with understated simplicity by Scott Edmiston, and boasting luminous performances from Amelia Broome and Erica Spyres as a mother and daughter on holiday in Italy in 1953, SpeakEasy's scaled-down version of Piazza is a revelation.

    To start with, Edmiston returns the show to its origins as an intimate chamber musical, using 12 actors and 6 musicians as opposed to the Broadway production that utilized 18 actors and 15 musicians. For those only familiar with the lavish recording of the original cast (which starred Victoria Clark as Margaret Johnson, Kelli O'Hara as Clara and Matthew Morrison as Fabrizio, and which was augmented with additional instrumentation specifically for the recording) a reduced orchestra of 6 might sound too terrifying to contemplate. Fortunately, musical director Jose Delgado balances the piano, reeds, harp, violin, cello and bass with sumptuous results that seem perfectly attuned to SpeakEasy's intimate, 210-seat space at the Boston Center for the Arts Calderwood Pavilion.

    Next, Edmiston has enlisted designers Susan Zeeman Rogers (scenic), Charles Schoonmaker (costumes), Jason Allen (wigs) and Karen Perlow (lighting) to bring his vision to fruition. Unable to make the sets move and fly as they did at the Beaumont, Rogers utilizes an elegant, scrim-covered colonnade along the upstage wall, in front of which is a large unfurling canvas which runs up the wall stage-left and, on which, are painted Florentine scenes; it's a lovely touch. Additionally, the cast moves several L-shaped, rolling flats around and about the stage to create different rooms and spaces. That element is a bit distracting at times but it's a small price to pay for varying the scene and the cast handles it with aplomb. The sumptuous period costumes by Schoonmaker are, with few exceptions, stunning and add immeasurably to the overall tone and feel of the production, as do the excellent wigs courtesy of Allen. Perlow's lighting, though limited in scope, is warm and befitting the Italianate atmosphere for which Edmiston is striving.

    Across the board, the performances are superb. If you thought no one could rival Clark and O'Hara's performances in Piazza, Amelia Broome and Erica Spyres immediately dispel that notion. The roles of Margaret and Clara Johnson are vocally taxing, dramatically difficult and (now that the show is available for professional productions) highly coveted by every actress with the talent to pull them off. Broome, who's on the faculty at Emerson College, is amazing in the role of Margaret, a mother struggling to decide whether to reveal the secret of her daughter's mental capacity or remain silent and allow her to marry. With her perfect Carolinian drawl and a lustrous soprano, Broome beautifully navigates Margaret's internal struggle while singing Guettel's sumptuous music; she is tailor-made for this role. Her performances of the two showstoppers, "Dividing Day" and "Fable" are master classes in how to underplay a song. Spyres, too, is ideal for Clara. Possessed with radiant beauty and a shimmering soprano, she astutely navigates that fine line in playing a young woman who is emotionally stunted with grace and innocence. Spyres sings "The Beauty Is" and "The Light in the Piazza" with impressive finesse and never seems to have an inauthentic moment on-stage.

    In the matinee-idol role of Fabrizio, SpeakEasy has found Boston Conservatory theatre major John Bambery, who makes an auspicious debut with the company. A handsome youth with a flexile and fluid tenor voice, Bambery handles the Italian component of Fabrizio's role with ease and is entirely believable as a European struggling with the English language. His performance of "Il Mondo Era Vuoto" is particularly impressive, as is his sensitive and touching reading of "Love To Me" near the end of the show. For their part, the actors who play Fabrizio's family are all wonderful and totally convincing playing Italians. Joel Colodner is wonderful as Signor Naccarelli, bringing gravitas and a ringing baritone to the role of Fabrizio's father. As his mother, Carolynne Warren is the quintessential Italian mother as she wrings laughs (and crazy high notes) out of "Aiutami" at the top of act two. Fabrizio's lothario brother, Giuseppe, is in the capable hands of Christian Figueroa, while the spitfire Alison Eckert plays his wife Franca with a voluptuous, Sophia Loren quality that's as impressive as her voice. She sings the revealing "The Joy You Feel" to Clara with dexterity and just the right amount of resentment. The ensemble members are all equally strong with a notable turn from Craig Mathers as Roy Johnson, Margaret's husband and Clara's father. Mathers is only seen in phone calls from home, but he impresses with his strong presence and subtle acting.

    In short, SpeakEasy's elegant and artful production of The Light in the Piazza is a joy in which Boston audiences should revel. I'm only disappointed I couldn't see it twice.

    "The Light in the Piazza" continues at SpeakEasy Stage Company @ The Boston Center for the Arts - Calderwood Pavilion (527 Tremont Street; 617-933-8600) thru Oct 18.

    For the past six years, David Hurst has been the resident Theatre Critic for NEXT Magazine. Prior to that he was the Cabaret and CD Critic for Show Business Weekly. He has written for Opera News, is a regular contributor to Cabaret Scenes and is a member of the New York Drama Desk and Drama League.

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