The title song in PIAZZA. HELP!!!

[DramaQueen700]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 4:02am

I'm currently a musical theater major at an amazing conservatory, and Ive been assigned "The Light in the Piazza" as my final performance song for the semester. Its my favorite show, and I know it backwards and forwards, but im interested in how other people interpret the song...

what are the stakes? what is clara REALLY singing about and why? what propels her to sing the song? why does she do what she do? etc....

what is YOUR take on the song?

any opinions are appreciated and WANTED!!!! thanks!

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 4:51am

Oh, i'm so excited for you! Piazza is my favorite show and the title song is just beautiful.

Well, the surface reason is Clara is upset because Maragaret won't let her be with Fabrizio and when Clara tells her this, Maragret slaps her and the shock propels Clara into song.

How i really feel about it, is Clara is telling her mother not only that she's not like her (i'm no good at statues and stories), she's telling her how much "light" Fabrizio has brought to her life.

Margaret is worried she is unable to take care of herself and a family because of her condition. In this song (an one of the main ideas of the show in my opinion) is Clara's belief that this light has someohow changed her, almost healed her. That the love that Fabrizio gives her has let her be able to trust herself and know she can do anything, that she can live life, that she can be normal.

Fabrizio's light has light up her "inner piazza"... haha, i know thats silly... that has been filled with the shadows of her mother's protection, and her attatchment to her mother. Knowing Fabrizio loves her simply for who she is, lets her knoe there isn't really anything wrong with her, and reveals to her all the beauty thats inside her.

So, if looked at that way the stakes are incredibly high because Clara is trying to convince her mother that Fabrizio's love has healed her, showed her the light and the way, and enabled her to be independent (and leave her mother) which is the LAST thing Margaret wants.

I don't know if any of that made sense, i'm really tired and its late, but i love this show/song so i wanted to help.

Good luck!!!

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 6:58am

^ I don't think I could've worded it any better!

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 7:01am

For me, Clara is singing about how her love for Fabrizio has opened her eyes to a whole new world that she has never known before. In a sense, the way he cares about her and the way she feels about him has 'light up' what was previously dark, and all the things she didn't understand before now are clear to her. Adam Guettel always intended for it to seem like Clara's romance with Fabrizio had somehow matured her, and he always wanted the audience to think at the end that she had grown. I think the title song is when that whole concept should really hit home.

Clara spends the majority of the show controlled by what her mother thinks is best for her, but there are persistent hints to show how she wants to break free and be herself while still staying true to Margaret. In this song, she is saying everything she's wanted to say to her mother but previously couldn't, even going as far as to accept that they are not one in the same and that all of the things Margaret cares about (like 'statues and stories') maybe don't mean the same to Clara.

One of the beauties of the show is how wonderfully the concept of symbolism is used. You have to really stand back and look at the big picture, because everything that happens (even something that may seem trivial) has a deeper meaning. Clara finding love in a foreign enviroment with a new person is symbolic of her finding a new part of herself that she maybe didn't know was there before. As she discovers the wonders of Italy and Fabrizio, she finds wonders within too. Poigniancy is also greatly displayed in the show, like how, as a new love is beginning, and old one seems to be dying. While Margaret sees her daughter embarking on love for the first time, she also comes to terms witih her own marriage falling apart. The stakes are very high, because, for Clara, this song is the enthesis of all those things.

I disagree with the pervious poster, however, in saying that Clara is trying to convince her mother about just how profound Fabrizio is for her. I think the whole point of the situation surrounding the song is the complete oppoiste: Clara has discovered a new found independence, and she doesn't need to convince her mother anymore. All of what she is saying is strictly for her, and I wouldn't interpret it as her trying to please another person. That kind of takes away from the independence factor that is so previlent.

I wish you the best of luck! Let us know how it goes (if that's you in your avatar, btw, you look an awful lot like Katie Clarke. haha.)

Updated On: 11/15/06 at 07:01 AM

[gonnapassmealaw]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 12:45pm

This is Clara's moment of defiance. Just like Rose in Gyspsy belting out "Rose's Turn" or Caroline, or Change's Caroline singing about her dismay of change, Clara, in this song, is experiencing her metamorphasis and showing just how receptive and ready for love she is. She knows that she is not like others and can realize life for what it is, a hand that deals what it may. Yet she also realizes that despite how inept she is at other things, the one feeling (besides her mother's hug and grasp) she has felt in her life is that of love.

So when you sing it, think of that. Think of Clara's rebellion. Think--and sing-- with Clara's love.

[broadwayboy1939]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:52pm

what conservatory do you go to?! just wondering.

and break a leg with THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. it is also my favorite show!! :)

[DramaQueen700]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 2:32am

THANKS EVERYONE!

i dont perform offically for a grade until a week from today so any other opinions are welcomes and asked for!

i performed it for the class today, and everyone cried (even piazza freaks who i was worried i wouldnt be able to please)! even my teacher, broadway actor Danny Gurwin (Little Women, The Full Monty, The Scarlet Pimpernel, FOrbidden Broadway 2001, etc), was even very teary! It felt SO good! i was told "do it like that for performance and youre gold!" danny even said "i really hope youll get to play clara, because that was spot on". FROM HIS MOUTH TO GODS EARS, RIGHT?! hehe....THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND HELP, YALL!

keep it comin' please!

and somethingwicked, that IS me in my avatar! everyone who has seen the pbs taping tells me i look like katie! but ive been told i sound like a combo of katie and kelli (ive been told i have kelli's technique and katie's youthful light sound).

again, thanks yall!XOXO

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 3:21am

Your teacher is Danny Gurwin...???


I sort of hate you.




LOL. I mean that in a jealous way...not really! :)

_Steph

[IssaMe]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 7:51am

Do we have a future "Clara" here???

[DramaQueen700]

Posted: 11/17/06 at 2:28am

Stephanie- I know. hes even more amazing in person, one of the most genuine, kind, funny amazing people you could ever meet in your life. beautiful person. and hes not bad to look at for 2 and a half hours every day, ya know what i mean? hehe

issame- I HOPE SO! man its my dream role. Danny is friends with daivde burnham (whos playing fabrizio on the tour right now), so maybe if they talk and something falls through with elena shaddow or her understudy, danny might put in a good word? haha. DREAM ON right? hahaha...


once again. thanks for all the support guys!

[broadwayboy1939]

Posted: 11/17/06 at 9:32am

DramaQueen700- What conservatory do you go to?

[sondhead]

Posted: 11/17/06 at 9:46am

I always have looked at it as if there are no stakes. I don't even think she completely knows why she is singing. But she has an overwhelming feeling of love inside and she's trying her hardest to express it to her mother but is having problems putting into words. All she can think of is the way the light flooded the piazza when she first met Fabrizio and nothing else matters.

And the best part is, it's Guettel. Surrender yourself to that score and you won't be able to help emoting the **** out of it. But don't overthink it. Overacting.. and "thinking actors" stink.

[DramaQueen700]

Posted: 11/17/06 at 12:03pm

I go to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, broadwayboy. Thanks for asking! I heard some negative thigns about it on these boards, but out of all the conservatories i applied to, i chose this one, and im SO glad I did. BEst thing I couldve ever done for myself! Plus i got to make good friends with danny gurwin! haha....

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 11/18/06 at 9:06am

"Clara has discovered a new found independence, and she doesn't need to convince her mother anymore. All of what she is saying is strictly for her"

somethingwicked, you're so right. it really is a a revelatory moment for herself where she's realizing this about herslef, and you're right she doesn't need to convince her mother anymore.

Uh, i love hearing all this. And i'm so glad you're performance went well, dramaqueen700!

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/18/06 at 10:01am

Quick question.

What "condition" does she have?

[DramaQueen700]

Posted: 11/18/06 at 5:17pm

thanks sing_dance_love! but that was only my "work day" as we call it, when we first perform them without any help from Danny. I actually Perform for the grade on Wednesday, so there is still time for peoples opinions and suggestions!

I love all the insights! its intersting to see how people differ and see what people agree on...

xoxo to yall!

Updated On: 11/18/06 at 05:17 PM

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 11/18/06 at 6:22pm

spiderdj82, Clara was kicked in the head by a pony at age 10 and it slowed down her mental and emotional development.