Celia Keenan-Bolger was in light in the piazza

[YankeesFan175]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 10:41pm

ok, so i was looking for google pictures of light in the piazza, and i came across this article and picture from piazza a few years ago in seattle. i sent the picture to a friend, and she said "that looks a lot like the girl in spelling bee." then i look at the caption and see celias name. i thought "wow, imagine seeing her in spelling bee after seeing her as clara in piazza." (i havent seen or heard her in spelling bee, except on the tonys) totally different roles. did anyone see her as clara? was she good?



heres the link and picture

Updated On: 9/10/05 at 10:41 PM

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 10:47pm

I remember watching a 4 min promotion vid for Piazza awhile back with her in it... she sounded great! I would have loved to see her Clara.

Posted: 9/10/05 at 11:01pm

Here's the link of Celia as Clara... but just thought I'd mention that I prefer the entire OBC in NYC to the Seattle cast.
Scroll down a tad Updated On: 9/10/05 at 11:01 PM

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 11:38pm

I saw her in the show. SHe was great. SHe isn't a natural soprano like O'Hara though, so she didn't fly through the music like Kelli. But she brought a different arc to the character that was interesting. I guess the show was going in a different direction. O'hara was also in the production, playing Franca.

[Madame X2]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 11:57pm

I really like Celia Keenan-Bolger. I wish I could see more of her in this role.

[Craig]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 12:31am

You had the opportunity to work opposite Victoria Clark in the out-of-town tryout of Light In The Piazza which is now on Broadway. What was that experience like?

That's an experience that's still a bit tender in my heart because I love it so much. I think it is one of the most beautiful musicals that has ever been written. What I feel most is that I want New York love it and respond to it as positively as what we experienced out of town with it because it's so special. I mean to work with both Alan and Craig - they were heroes of mine way before I got to do that show - so there was a certain amount of prestige that I felt even being in the same room as them, let alone work with them. And Victoria Clark is one of the great human beings to walk this earth. I felt like I grew so much not only as an artist, but also a lot of healing that went on because of the mother-daughter relationship in the show. My mother passed away three years ago and Victoria had gone through some difficulties personally so for the both of us, it was a very healing process. I'm very grateful for that show to have provided me with that. I feel so lucky to have been a part of that show.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=3072

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 1:23am

I saw her and she was luminous. I was surprised she left the show. I said at the time that she and Victoria would win the Tony. Who knows if she would have, but she was just beautiful as Clara. Interestingly, I wasn't' that enthralled with Kelli as Franca.

[LA2NYC]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 1:44am

Now I love Celia. But she wasnt right for Piazza. Being that the girl is "touched" in the show, Celia came off too "touched", she is MUCH better suited in her comedic Tony-Nominated role as Olive in Spelling Bee. You needed a stunning beauty like Kelli o'hare to really belive her. And thats what we got. Great change in casting.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 5:31am

I quite enjoyed her in Piazza (as well as Emily in Our Town at the same theatre), but just thought she was miscast. Clara has the mind of a child, but Celia simply looks too child-like, and she's not the crazy soprano that Kelli O'Hara is. But she was fantastic in the show.

[show2n2]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 11:22am

Thnx Craig for your touching reply. Sounds like you had memorable experience with this beautiful piece. I have yet to see it but it's one of my favorite CDs.

Glad to hear it extended again.

[Craig]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 11:28am

Actually, I'm not the Craig in the reply. Celia was talking about working with the cast/creative during her out of town run...

[show2n2]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 11:30am

oh... :) thnx for the clarification. :)

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 12:10pm

You needed a stunning beauty like Kelli o'hare to really belive her. And thats what we got.

Well, I for one think that Celia IS a stunning beauty. She is the only Clara I have seen and she was lovely. As for her singing of the role, I can't really comment. It was the first time I had heard the score and she certainly didn't ruin it! Far from it... It only made me want to hear it again. Perhaps now that I am more familiar with the music and if I heard her sing it again I might be able to see your point about a true lyric soprano being more suited to the role vocally, but to me she was nearly perfect.

[Conor]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 12:17pm

They sorta have similar noses I just realized... Celia's is a bit more extreme than Kelli's tho. just thought I'd share, lol.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 12:36pm

Judging from the (very short) clip of her on the Seattle website, she sings well, but I guess from what Celia has said about herself in interviews, not well enough. I gather she's more of a comedic actress, and isn't really the soprano ingenue type, although she can occassionally pull it off (like when she played Johanna in the Kennedy Center "Sweeney Todd").

In any case, talk about a stroke of luck! You get "let go" from one Broadway show, and immediately cast in another one. I find it especially ironic that she ended up getting nominated along side her replacement (Kelli O'Hara) for the Tony. What a great showbiz story!

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 12:42pm

I find it so much more interesting when an "non-traditional" ingénue is cast in such roles. I didn't have any preconceived notions of what Clara should be when I went in to see PIAZZA. S

Posted: 9/11/05 at 5:21pm

I actually prefer Kelli's voice... though I do agree that Kelli is beautiful! I thought that Celia wasn't as a natural soprano like Kelli was. Obviously we don't know the reasons for the major cast changes before coming to NYC, but I approve.

[YankeesFan175]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 5:22pm

ditto with korenglish!

[kyle.]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 5:36pm

celia gave the role so much more than kelli ever well. i enjoy kellis performance but its NOTHING compared to what celia did every night on that stage in chicago. i walked away from piazza the first time i saw it in chicago thinking clara was the main character. how many people can say that after seeing it for their first time in new york?

while celia isnt AS strong of a singer as kelli is, her voice fit the role. she was flawless and beautiful.

yes she played the role younger, an approach which i very much enjoyed. this is a women who obviously has serious problems. a very dramatic experience as a young child. a mental condition her parents have never told her about, leaving her confused most of the time. an over protective mother who just wont let go.

her portrayal touched on all of these things. to me, kelli only scratches the surface.

its my dream to see her play the role again one day. perhaps in another regional house like the goodman. i would without a doubt travel anywhere in the country to see it, and pay any price.
Updated On: 9/11/05 at 05:36 PM

[Composer9]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 5:51pm

When did you see it with Kelli? She, herself, said that she has really grown into the role since the beginning. I saw it in August, and thought she was just luminous. I felt she really transformed the character, and expressed the innocence and beauty of Clara. I saw Celia in Seattle right in the beginning, and loved her, but I prefered Kelli's interpretation...

Of course I saw Celia in the beginning before she had time to sit with the role, and I saw Kelli after she had been with the role a while.