Marriott’s Piazza è Magnifica

Breakout performances are one of those magical moments that those who love theatre live for. Such performances are stirring, emotional and exciting for both the actor and the audience to experience in the moment. Such a rare performance is in full breakout mode in Marriott's new production of The Light In The Piazza where Max Quinlan, a relative newcomer, comes into his own and gives a layered, emotional and mature performance that will certainly be talked about for years to come.

The Light in Th Piazza is based on a 1948 novella entitled "Fire In The Morning" by Elizabeth Spencer which was made into a feature film in 1962 with Olivia de Havilland and featured costumes by famed clothing designer Christian Dior. After pre-Broadway tryouts in Seattle and Chicago's Goodman Theatre, the musical hit Broadway like a breath of fresh air with critics hailing Adam Guttel's lush score as one of the best of the last two decades. The touring production passed though Chicago two years ago at the Auditorium Theatre, and though the space was too large for this intimate story, the touring cast was equally as good if not better than the original company.

The Light in the Piazza is the story of Margaret Johnson (Mary Ernster) an upper crust South Carolina matron traveling in Italy in 1953 with her daughter Clara (Summer Smart). As mother and daughter are admiring the naked statues in Florence, Clara's hat is blown off by a fateful gust of wind and retrieved by Fabrizio, a young apprentice in his father's tie shop. Fabrizio and Clara are instantly enamored with each other, but there are obstacles. Clara may be 26, but a childhood accident has left her with the emotional maturity of someone half her age. Trying to protect her daughter,Margaret does her best to keep the lovers apart. When that inevitably fails, Margaret has to come to terms with the flowering of her daughter's identity, the withering of her own marriage, and the future they all must face. The story of Clara and Fabrizio stand in direct contrast to the relationship of Clara's parents. Although Margaret and her husband Roy had a joyful honeymoon in Florence, almost immediately as Margaret notes in the showstopper "Dividing Day," they were never united in love with each other.

For the new Marriott production, director Joe Leonardo's Piazza is much more a character study then its predecessor, focusing on the intricacies of the individuals rather than as a family unit as did the original. Each character is flushed out as more self centered, concerned with how society would view them rather than what the soul demands. Alongside Mr. Quinlan's Fabrizio, Leonardo has assembled a phenomenal cast but in the end, gives mixed results. Mary Ernster is a powerful Margaret, who takes the reigns of the show as soon as she hits the stage but it takes a while to see any type of bond between mother and daughter. Summer Smart, who had her own star turn in Drury Lane's Sweet Charity, makes the audience know right away that Clara is emotionally stunted. In the original,the realization comes when Clara is lost in the city, which works better on a multitude of levels. However, in Ms. Smart shines in the second act., Gene Weygandt is superb as the Italian Patriarch, and is great to see him sink his teeth into a meaty role after years of playing the Wizard in Wicked.



What is missing from this production is lushness of the location and it does effect the story. Italy and its culture are central for Piazza to have its maximum impact. Leonardo's production never transports you to that culture and instead at times feels like it could take place in Little Italy rather than Florence and that sense of a big Italian family is baron on the in the round stage. Though certainly not the quintessential production of Piazza, patrons will get a taste of what true love can bring. Like a fine Italian cabernet, this production needs to breathe a little to get the full effect;

The Light In The Piazza plays through September 20, 2009 at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. For more information including tickets and show times, please visit www.MarriottTheatre.com or call (847) 634.0200.