12/31/05 Piazza Reivew (including Katie Clarke!)

[movieinmymind]

Posted: 12/31/05 at 7:26pm

Today I finally saw The Light in the Piazza!

First off, we had front row center seats-and wow, it was AMAZING. When Victoria had her first monologue-she was staring straight at me. And everything was so close. The set is INCREDIBLY BREATH-TAKING.

As you all know, most of the principal original Bdway cast is gone-matt, kelli, and mark. But, i must say, i LOVED this cast. They were PERFECT. and i mean it.

Let's start with Aaron-his voice is so..powerful! haha. His "Il Mondo Era vuoto"-HOLY SHIZ. especially his last note-it just sent chills down my spine. he was amazing. plus, he SEEMED like a 20 year old. (i know he's older than matt-but lemme tell you, i couldn't tell!) and his puppy dog faces were really, really cute, haha. OH! and he's VERY handsome, as well. (his back muscles! )

Michael and Sarah-i must say it-they are BEAUTIFUL people. Makes me wanna be Italian! lol. i could not stop staring at their faces on stage. I am so happy that i got to see them today

Chris-I love this man! (Plus, he's joanna gleanson's husband, haha.) Anyways, no offense, but even though I've never seen Mark as Signor Naccarelli, I think that Chris is PERFECT for that role. And he is just so...dashing! haha. I mean, the kiss between him and Margaret-WOW-ZA!!! It was HOTT. DEFINATELY thee hottest kiss i've ever witnessed outta all of the Bdway shows I've seen. ever ever ever. lol

Victoria-AMAZING WOMAN. but you ALL knew that already, lol. Seriously, she deserved that Tony. I know, i'm preaching to the choir here. but it just has to be said again. :) i love that woman.

now, what most people are wondering about..
KATIE CLARKE!
GO SEE HER. I MEAN IT. she is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. i mean, i stayed away from listening to the recording before i saw the show, so i'm not accustomed to Kelli's voice. But, seriously..she brought the youth that Clara needed. And, her singing didn't sound 'belty' or, pop-y; her voice is BEAUTIFUL. and she hit everything with grace and her acting was WONDERFUL. If you had told me that she had just gotten out of college and that this was her debut, i wouldn't have believed you. she definately brings justice to the role, and when i saw her on stage, i was in awe. especially knowing that she learned the blocking and singing in like..what? 2 weeks? well, i did not spot a single flaw. not at ALL. Don't worry people-those casting directors weren't on crack when they chose her. LOL.

afterwards, i went to the backstage door. it was COOLD, but i got to take pictures and get things signed by katie, aaron, and victoria. Katie is GORGEOUS in person, and Ms. Clark looked espeically beautiful-she looked SO YOUNG in 'regular clothes'! i think that she was on her way to a new year's eve party or something, cuz she was wearing this nice blazer and trousers, and she looked all dressed up. but i could be wrong.

actaully, there were only a couple of us-probably around 10 people out there with me. so, anyways, we see victoria walking up the driveway from where her limo was, and she signed stuff. and after that, she went inside the theater, and just sat on a bench, probably waiting or calling somebody. it was cool, cuz on my way back to the bathroom, i saw her again.

only upsetting thing was that there were TONS of empty seats in the theater. ESPECIALLY in the mezz, and the very right and very left sides of the theater. oh well. i'm glad that i saw the show today.

it was perfect. and now i believe that it's one of THEE BEST shows on Broadway this year. :)

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/31/05 at 7:31pm

can u upoload the pics?

[movieinmymind]

Posted: 12/31/05 at 7:57pm

sure-but i can't do it right now, since i'm not in my house, and my connector is at home. any specific one you want me to upload?

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 12/31/05 at 8:09pm

that was a great review! i feel the same way- it was such a beautiful show! and victoria does look young in regular clothes! :) i saw it with matt and kelli (who were both great, and very nice), but your review encourages me to see it again!
:)

[QMAN03]

Posted: 12/31/05 at 8:16pm

How long is Victoria going to be in it?

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 1/1/06 at 12:59am

Great review.
Totally off topic, but I didn't get to stage door when I went. I tried, and I was the only one there.

[corsairstw]

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

I just saw it on the 28th and loved it. I think I even enjoyed it a little better than Sweeney Todd. Tough choice though.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 1/1/06 at 2:31am

I saw it tonight, too.

The audience enjoyed the show.

Victoria Clark and Sarah Berry were great. Michael Berresse remains so alive in his role that it is different every time you see it...

[movieinmymind]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 8:56pm

Not to mention, Michael is an amazing dancer! haha

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 9:20pm

hmm with reviews this glowing... could katie be in the running for the tony for best replacement?

[movieinmymind]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 9:32pm

i dunno. i mean, if it happens, i wouldn't complain or be surprised. but no matter what, i REALLY hope that aaron lazar and chris sarandon get nominated for that category.

[ihearttheatre]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 10:03pm

I'm seeing Piazza in February and was initially concerned about the absence of Kelli O'Hara. This outstanding review just made me reallllly excited. Thank you!

[movieinmymind]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 10:57pm

ooh! yay! you're very welcome! I too, was VERY upset learning that I wouldn't be able to see Kelli, but I assure you, you won't be disappointed. :)

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 1/3/06 at 11:13pm

The way the new Tony category works, any of the three (or even all of them) could win the award, but none of them will be nominated, because it's not a category that fields nominations and is voted upon. It is most like the regional theater award, where the committee decides upon a winner (or more than one winner, or none at all) based upon recommendations by other committee members. I think I made it more confusing than it is.

Either way, I would love to see this show garner another Tony by way of any of the excellent replacements. I would be even more thrilled if it was a total newcomer like Katie Clarke.

[mikem]

Posted: 1/4/06 at 12:56pm

"Totally off topic, but I didn't get to stage door when I went. I tried, and I was the only one there."

Dancingthrulife, I don't understand what you meant. If you were the only person there, why was that bad? Do you mean that none of the cast came out (like they had a meeting after the show or something)?

And in terms of the replacement Tony, I'm pretty sure that the producers can only suggest 2 names to the nominating committee per show, and that both have to be roles for which the performer would have been nominated in the Lead category (as opposed to featured) in the original cast. So Aaron, Katie, and Chris are all ineligible, because they are all featured roles. (I personally think this rule makes no sense, but no one asked me.)

[bdwybug55]

Posted: 1/4/06 at 1:04pm

mikem...whether I like it or not...the rule makes sense. I'm sure this category has been designed so that "big name stars" that come in to "save" a show with ticket sales can win a Tony. I think the category is a bunch of nonsense. Yes, it would be lovely if a replacement could be honored, but all the guidelines that have to go into designing the category really would leave many wonderful and deserving people out of the running.

[mikem]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 1:03am

The reason why the rule makes no sense to me is that in many cases, being in the lead category at the Tonys has more to do with name recognition and politics than anything else. There are many examples in which the same role has been lead then featured (or vice versa) depending upon the specific revival version. (I agree with you though that the winner is virtually always going to be someone with name recognition who "saved" a faltering show -- I think Harvey Fierstein is winning this year's.)