The "LIGHT" goes out!- Page 5

[kyle.]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 12:42am

Maybe I did a bad job of explaining. They are working for me...

You use the base URL and then add the number and .jpg after it.

So for example the first one would be

http://secondstageplayers.org/piazza/DSCN1087/jpg (i used a / instead of a . before the jpg because I didn't want the picture to show up in the post)

and so on and so forth...
Updated On: 7/3/06 at 12:42 AM

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 12:53am

For this having been the final performance, I don't think I've ever seen the cast as "on" as this one was. Pitch perfect from the opening notes all throughout the end. And clearly with an audience who loved everyone. From the entrance applause that greeted all the principals (to the point of us missing some of their notes and words), to the very last tableaux. Every extra bit of energy was thrown into each and every song. Every scene practically perfect (though Katie's shoe loss was of concern, given that she still had to run. I can't count the number of times I "lost it" and am grateful to a dear friend who held a hand when needed (and boy, was it needed).

Better for Piazza to have gone when it was still 'high' and it was still riding quite 'high' for me. It will be missed a great deal. Updated On: 7/3/06 at 12:53 AM

[Isabella2]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 1:25am

thank you kissmycookie.

and everytime i click on the link it says "error".

[Operagod01]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 1:30am

Yes, very sad to see it close! But.... it left fresh and on top of it's game. Not many shows get to do that. They have a cast that still loves being a part of it (and it shows). I saw the show 10 full times and the second half 3 more times (yes, I second acted it... I was NEVER boring! The actors always gave their fullest to each and every performance. In that sense it leaves at the right time......................people want to move on, get back to their homes, and maybe even relax a bit.

Even with Cast Changes "Piazza" kept it's "spirit" alive and fresh. Vicki was just sensational! Patti had her own special way with Margaret. Her voice was incredible and her manner VERY "proper" and "upper class" Southern. I loved them both. I totally appreciated that Patti brought her own artistic ideas to the fore. I ADORE that woman (always have)! BUT.. it took me a while to warmn to her Margaret. Her Margaret was very firm and cold for the entire first act. Her journey was so different than Vicki's. Vicki's Margaret was so loveable..... THEN you began to undertsand about her pain. More of a "roller coaster" ride. AGAIN; both very valid. What a blessing to have both of thse wonderful women on Broadway. BRAVA(i)!

Aaron certainly has a voice. Her's great on stage and really grew into the part. I liked him better with Kelli, but he's got major goods. Matthew doesn't have that kind of voice, but he sure was exciting as Fabirzio! It was like HE was growing WITH Clara. And because the music was not as easy for him, there was an intensity about it that sure made "il Mondo" exciting. I adored he and Kelli together. One of the best "stage" couples on broadway in teh last 20 years. I bought it 100%. I never bought Aaron and Katie. It was good.. but not the same (for me).

Katie............. well, she got better. I never warmed to her very much. She grew on me. I WANTED her to be good. I kept WANTING each show to be better for her. She did grow, but I did not like her choices veyr much. I DO think she's a good actress. Her choices didn't for for ME. I know that Adam, Craig, and Bart only wanted Clara to become 10 when she was confused or upset. Katie always gave the impression that something was "off". In her defense, Clara (in the book)is a great deal more like that. Maybe she took her lead from that. But I know that the production team did not want that when they opened..... At least she did her own thing. More than anything.. her voice never really got it 100% right. it did get better..... I am sure when some of you say that today was her best (I was not there today).. it probably was.

How lucky we have all been to be a part of theater history. Piazza has been a BLESSING! Ciao!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 1:37am

The pictures work for me, Kyle. Looks like some people just don't get the concept of copy and paste.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 1:38am

and everytime i click on the link it says "error".

You're not SUPPOSED to click on the link.

[actornate777]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 2:05am

I have known about "Piazza" since a few months before it's opening and had always loved the music and story and felt that it was the best thing on Broadway now (and in the last several years) but after seeing the show this past Friday night for the last time I don't know if I'll ever see anything that will match it. This is the most deeply human and emotional story I have ever experienced and it was just incredible to take in on Friday. I can't imagine it without Victoria Clark but I can't wait to see the tour and am excited that David Burnham (gorgeous and the best Fabrizio by far vocally and dramatically) will finally have a chance to play the role regularly. I just teared up reading this thread. This show won't be forgotten and I hope it leads Broadway into the realm that it really can be a little more than it is currently. Adam Guettel better start writing a show a year or something, haha.

PS - Katie Clark may not have the perfect head voice that Kelli O'Hara has but she brings something more real and human to the songs and character than I feel from Kelli. Kelli can sing like a bitch but Katie was nothing less than perfect in the role for me. She was innocent and juvenile but gave an amazing, mature, and developing performance. I can't wait to see where she is down the road. I actually am dissappointed when I listen to Kelli on the CD after seeing Katie three times, I feel Clara more from Katie than I do from the CD now. Granted a live perf is always better but Kelli's voice is almost too perfect for Clara for me at least. Both are extremely talented and amazing, just my two cents I guess.

[Isabella2]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 2:20am

what do you get from constantly insulting people lizziecurry?

[donna_darko_23]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 2:34am

Thanks so much for everyone that is sharing stories from the show. It means a lot to those of us that really wished we could have seen one of these last performances.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 2:36am

Is anyone else suffering from severe post Piazza partum depression?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 2:46am

what do you get from constantly insulting people lizziecurry?

Comments like yours!

[gumbo2]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 5:59am

I loved this show and am grateful I got a chance to see it. Best of luck to all the performers, they were incredibe.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 8:44am

I am going to miss this show. It remains the best thing I have seen on Broadway. I saw it with the original cast and thought it was perfection. I still cry during "Love to Me" when listening to the OBCR.

Updated On: 7/4/06 at 08:44 AM

[IssaMe]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 8:45am

And very touching were Vicki's comments in the curtain speech about (to paraphrase) when the cast would have a difficult performance to face because the piece is so difficult to do, it would be the response of the audiences coming back to them like "a bridge of love" which would sustain them and propel them onward in their performances to give their very best.

This had to be one of the greatest final curtain calls since "Sunday in the Park" - a final performance which was equally amazing.

A lot of the emotion of cast members was also evident at the two Saturday performances...many tears at those two performances too (at the final performance, while all the cast members were deeply touched and visably moved... none seemed to be as moved as Michael Berresse at curtain who was just so emotional that this special experience was ending).

However, "The LIGHT" does NOT go out...the tour will be spectacular...agree the comment above about Burnham as a perfect Fabrizio in every way...and the entire tour cast is quite spectacular - wait til you hear Elena Shaddow's voice!!!!! (already rehearsing at Lincoln Center) with lots of interesting changes in staging for the tour being put in place.

Guettel as been busy in Seattle working for the past several months, but he was mobbed by fans in the lobby and gave autograph after autograph. Mama, Mary Rodgers Guettel, always supportive, also attended and chatted with fans in the lobby too.

Terrific afternoon and terrific party.

On to San Francisco via Boise!!!! The LIGHT shines on!

[NYadgal]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 10:28am

I don't know if anyone already mentioned this, but during the company bows at the end the most wonderful, colorful streamers cascaded down over the players.

It was a little bit of extra magic on an already magical afternoon!

[WholeLottaShakin]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 10:49am

IssaMe, can you tell us of some of the changes they're making for the tour? Are they mainly to adjust for proscenium stages?

Roninjoey, I'm with you on the post-Piazza depression. I'm glad the show will love on in the tour, but I think the life & light the Bway company and crew gave to the Beaumont can never really be duplicated. What a truly amazing closing performance.

[IssaMe]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 10:54am

Somebody has to say it (so let it be me)...the closing of Piazza in New York is a real kick in the head!

[WholeLottaShakin]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 11:11am

Nice one, Issa, but you didn't answer my question... Your comment reminds me of Kelli's last show when Vicki gave her a stuffed pony, and it took me a split second to realize why that was funny.

I just realized I typed "love on" when I meant "live on" in the post above. I'm gonna leave it 'cause that works, too!

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 11:16am

LOL, IssaMe.

This show will be truly missed. I've never seen a more beautiful production with such an intense and engaging love story. "Love to Me" brought me to tears both times I saw the show, it still does when I watch the PBS broadcast, and whenever I listen to the cast recording. Heck, I'm getting choked up just reading all of the wonderful reviews on this thread. I only wish I could've been there. Thank you to those who have recounted their experiences at the final performance.

At this point, I'm at a loss for words to describe how much this show has touched me and how much I will miss it. I just want to say thank you to everyone who's been a part of bringing this show to life. Your dedication and talent is immeasurable.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 11:36am

I also had the great fortune of attending the last perfomance, actually picked up one of the last student rush tickets a litte after 1 pm. The show itself was electrifying and from the first note of the overture to the last bit of dialogue, I was sobbing. I was so glad to just be there for the last performance and I can't imagine Lincoln Center without it.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 12:36pm

Ah, well.

My particular "light" left Piazza last August.

This is like a post-post-mortem for me...

[DG]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 12:45pm

"from the first note of the overture"

Did they actually play the overture again for the final show? That would be wonderful, if they did. I really missed it after it had been cut.

[Isabella2]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 12:52pm

it must be traumatizing to have to strike that gorgeous set.

[kasim]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 1:17pm

wow what a shame ... i really wanted to go see it again ... guess i am gonna have to dub it off of my DVR now :)

[freeadmission]

Posted: 7/3/06 at 4:08pm

it must be traumatizing to have to strike that gorgeous set.

Oh God! I don't envy those people. *bursts into tears*