Theatre Review: The Light in the Piazza

By Peter Mavrik in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 13, 2007 6:00PM

As the recipient of six Tony awards in 2006 (it was nominated for eleven) The Light in the Piazza had some impressive credentials when it set out on its national tour. Oddly enough, its last engagement is here in Chicago at The Auditorium Theatre in the south loop.

The musical unfolds during a vacationing mother and daughter's trip to Florence and Rome in 1953. Clara, the daughter brilliantly played by Katie Rose Clark, is slightly "special" as her mother Margaret (Christine Andreas) describes her.

One fateful day, Clara's hat blows off during a strong gust of wind in the piazza, and a young man named Fabrizio (David Burnham) catches it, only to return it to Clara. In an instant he falls for her, much to her mother's dismay. Eventually Fabrizio proposes, and act one ends with Fabrizio and Clara in bed as her mother walks in on them.

Remember to gasp — it's 1953....

Yes, it's a syrupy sweet love story in two acts, shaped by plot twists, turns, a lot of Italian accents, and a healthy dose of comedy. But the story isn't the winner of this musical. It's the rich score by Adam Guettel that guides the show along, combined with some of the best costume and lighting designs currently on a big stage in Chicago. The golden voice of Burnham, whose Fabrizio steals nearly every scene he's in, was the clear favorite of everyone in the house the night we were there.

Musical theatre is best, at least in our view, when it's pleasing to the eye and ear. The Light in the Piazza manages to do both so well that we are once again happy that a company like Broadway in Chicago exists. The Light in the Piazza may not be a Wicked or a Color Purple, but it's definitely a night of theatre that we won't soon forget.