I Don't See a Miracle Shining from the Sky: The Light In the Piazza Thread

[esparza 333]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 3:24pm

I never got a chance to see this on broadway but I am obsessed with the stunning and lush music. I also am in awe of Victoria Clark's performance from what I have seen in clips of the PBS airing. It is also what I feel to be the launching Kelli O'Hara's career.

So let us remember this production of beautiful music, stunning performances, a heartbreaking story, and breathtaking sets and costumes.

Updated On: 4/11/09 at 03:24 PM

[Tom's Cat]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 3:33pm

Loved Victoria and Kelli - but I didn't care for the show at all. I know that puts me in the minority - but it wouldn't be for the first time. Sorry.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 3:59pm

AH! Solidarity.

I saw it on tour twice. Loved the cast. Didn't care for the show.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 4:01pm

Loved it. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 4:01pm

What's with this recent surge of love threads?

Updated On: 4/11/09 at 04:01 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 4:03pm

Maybe it has something to do with that "Why So Angry?" thread that was up late last week for like 20 minutes.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 4:07pm

Maybe the surge is because it's Spring, when a young man's thoughts turn to love?

In any case, I'm all for it. There's plenty enough hate and snark parading as cleverness on this board that I'm happy to see the love for a change.

Piazza was a lovely show - an excellent ensemble, soaring music and vocals, beautiful to look at, and the Beaumont was such a great space for it. Given all of the above, it was easy enough for me to overlook the book's failings.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 5:27pm

This is my second favorite show ever. The score just spoke to me on a level I had rarely experienced before. Had the very lucky chance to see the tour and loved it!

[brandontwin2]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 5:33pm

One of my favorites. Everything about the show was great in my opinion. I thought it was funny and made you think about the characters at the same time. The ensembles and the leads all had beautiful voices. It is a great cast album to have in your collection if you don't!

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:06pm

I just got into Piazza two weeks ago... it's definitely my kind of musical in every way. Loved the cast, loved the tunes, the lyrics, and the plot. The only thing I really don't like is "The Joy You Feel," though I definitely understand why it's in the show-- I just don't like the tune much.

I LOVED watching the Lincoln Center performance DVD, and I actually like Katie Rose Clarke and Aaron Lazar more than the OBC actingwise-- although obviously Kelli O'Hara has the far superior voice (one of my favorite voices!)

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:23pm

Actually, I was listening to it before I went food shopping an hour ago.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:24pm

There's plenty enough hate and snark parading as cleverness on this board that I'm happy to see the love for a change.

Hey, that's kind of the theme of Light in the Piazza, too!

*Shuts up*

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:29pm

Clara, stop that it's illegal!

[Taryn]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:33pm

I love this show. LOVE. I got tickets as a present for my high school graduation and ended up front row center. Just...fell in love in every way. It is one of the most lush, romantic scores I've ever heard.

[binau]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:37pm

I've watched the PBS broadcast twice and LOVE the cast recording, but I was a 'little' disappointed with the story. I mean, was the revelation that Clara was mentally disabled meant to be a turning point/twist in the story? I suppose I read the wikipedia page:

"she opposes it for reasons that only gradually become known to the audience."

But, as soon as her mother said "Special child" we kind of knew? I don't know.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:43pm

I felt that way, too, but I already knew that about Clara before I saw the show/listened to the cast recording thanks to BWW, so I guess I didn't think much about whether it was a 'twist.'

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 7:46pm

I had no clue when I saw the show. I was very shocked as I sort of just assumed that Kelli was playing a much younger girl.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 8:08pm

"I've watched the PBS broadcast twice and LOVE the cast recording, but I was a 'little' disappointed with the story. I mean, was the revelation that Clara was mentally disabled meant to be a turning point/twist in the story? I suppose I read the wikipedia page:

"she opposes it for reasons that only gradually become known to the audience."

But, as soon as her mother said "Special child" we kind of knew? I don't know."

You say yourself: "we kind of knew". I'm not sure what you're saying here, qolbinau. Did you know about the twist before you saw it or were you wiki-spoiled? Like Schmerg, it sounds like you were, and of course, with all the foreshadowing and given Clara's child-like behavior, it's obvious once you know it. Rather surprising to those of us like Cats and myself who didn't know. It's easy to believe that Clara has been over-protected, and is a little less mature as a result.

In any case, Margaret doesn't tell us/the Nacarellis that Clara is a "special child" until almost an hour into the play, and doesn't confirm how "special" she is until almost two hours in, with many hints and foreshadowings along the way. I'd call that a gradual reveal.

[binau]

Posted: 4/11/09 at 8:51pm

When I said "we kind of knew" I mean that as soon as she said she was a "special child" we knew she was mentally disabled so the 'hints' and 'foreshadowing' became redundant, for me. I suppose there was the explanation of how it happened, but still - perhaps if I wasn't expecting a 'gradual revelation' it would have been more effective. (The only thing I knew about the story before I saw the PBS broadcast was that line on wikipedia).