Laura Griffith walks into "The Light..." — Page 3

Captain Pants-That was very nicely put, I feel your sentiments exactly. As much as you've gushed, it isn't nearly enough. This show is so gorgeous and every part of it astounds me. I'm going for the third time tomorrow and I'm so excited. I've got my kleenex ready!

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As a rule of thumb, I can never trust the opinion of anybody born after 1950 who says they "don't like rock." (Nothing personal Tinny, it's just my rule of thumb!).

But your enthusiasm makes this Piazza sound like a real kick in the head!

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As much as I liked Piazza, I think I liked Mamma Mia just a smidge more.

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Namo - I just never could get into Rock music - and I was born in '61. My brother played in a rock band that mimic'd the Beatles, and my parents were both musicians - my father classical and my mother more of a pop/standard of the day kinda gal - but I just could never find a proper appreciation for Rock music. Don't know why.
Listening to Piazza right now -
"This is wanting something
This is reaching for it
This is wishing that a moment would arrive
This is taking chances
This is almost touching
What the beauty is.

This is wanting something
This is praying for it
This is holding breath and keeping fingers crossed
This is counting blessings
This is wondering when
I'll see that boy again
I've got a feeling
He's just a someone too

And the beauty is
When you realize
When you realize
Someone could be looking for a someone
Like you.

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CPants, that post articulates what I feel, most certainly, upon listening to this recording. It's nonstop in my car, on the computer, everywhere.

"The Beauty Is", IS just breathtaking. I love how it is so simple, no fanciness involved, just pure unadulterated hope for something that we all strive for.

It's just amazing how this show has touched me and everything. I don't think I've ever enjoyed anything more after the theatre. This recording is perhaps the most exquisite recording I've ever experienced.

To say that this show is thin, simple, not really about anything -- oh, but it is!

In fact, it's completely universal. In life, we struggle constantly, especially with love. Wanting to be loved, be in love, loving, not only in a romantic and intimate sense, but by our friends and family. I often wonder if I myself am love by others. Do I have the capacity to love others?

Do I have the capacity to feel these emotions, this outpouring of affection and care for another human being that encompasses me beyond reasonable thought? A surge of happiness, disappointment, fear, care, vulnerability -- all these things that love entails.

When I listen to this show, I see myself as Margaret -- sure, I care for others, but do I need to care for others SO much that I cannot let them go? Will I live my life going through the motions, never experiencing love, and true happiness? That's my biggest fear. Perhaps, in a small way, "The Light In The Piazza" will help me in becoming open to love in all ways of life.

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Thanks red -- It's just the things I think about daily, about my life...you see, I'm turning 20 in a little over a week. And so I guess I think more about these things as I technically embark from the teen years into theoretical adulthood. And I'm sure it is something I will think about, consciously or subconsciously for years to come, if not for life.

I'm in love with this show. I saw it in late March. I'm still in love. Completely. Head over heels, Clara for Fabrizzio, chorus of "Ahs" in love.

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Bump

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Somebody somewhere
wants me and needs me
that's very wonderful to know!
Somebody lonely,
wants me to care
wants me, of all people,
to notice her there!
Well, I want to be wanted,
need to be needed,
and, I'll admit, I'm all aglow!
'Cause somebody somewhere
wants me and needs me.
wants lonely me
to smile and say "hello"
Somebody somewhere
wants me and needs me
and that's very wonderful to know!

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"As a rule of thumb, I can never trust the opinion of anybody born after 1950 who says they "don't like rock.""

LOL, Namo. Funny. If it makes you feel any better, I *do* like rock. And pop. And techno. And Country. And...blah, blah, you get the picture. I like a wide variety of stuff. A musical piece doesn't have to be the illegitimate love child of a musical and a chamber opera before I'll deem it worthy of my attention. Tinny may not connect with the rock vibe, but believe me, when it comes to Piazza...he's NOT WRONG!

Shira, that was a beautiful post. The thing that really leaped out at me was this question:

"I see myself as Margaret -- sure, I care for others, but do I need to care for others SO much that I cannot let them go?"

I think sometimes people lose themselves in relationships, particularly romantic ones. They stop being an individual, becoming part of some "unit" that quickly becomes smothering. Clara, on the other hand, breaks away from an unintentionally smothering relationship with her mother and lays claim to her own individuality by remaining true to herself and finding someone who loves her for exactly that reason.

Oh, and Tinny...thanks for starting this thread. I *love* that you're so open in your adoration about Piazza. It makes me feel all that much less foolish when *I* start gushing, too. :-P

There are a thousand threads on this message board gushing about a variety of shows, so why not this one? We Guettel fans will continue to gush after many others have come and gone. As Adam Guettel himself said, he wrote this piece to be like a painting that will hang in our homes, and each time we walk past it we'll say, hey I didn't notice that detail before....that's neat. I will gush like a lovesick fool, and I don't care who hears me.

In fact, I was at the auto shop yesterday having my car fixed, and the mechanic (this 6'4' guy weighing in around 300 lbs. with a big red beard) came in to talk to me about what he was fixing. "What's that playing on your CD player?" he asked, and I was ready to get all defensive about listening to a musical (Floyd Collins) to this gruff guy who was certain to mock me for listening to something that wasn't country music. "It's really cool. I've never heard anything like it." "Well," I said, "why don't you take it then?"

I've probably bought at least a dozen copies of Floyd Collins over the years to share it with people and support Adam Guettel's music legitimately, so why not this guy? After -- what is it now, like 8 years? -- I haven't stopped gushing about Floyd Collins, and my gushing about The Light in the Piazza is just beginning. So let's gush away!

That mechanic is my lover.

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I don't know about Guettel's intention, and I think it's almost a little unfair to be ALWAYS comparing him, as I think he has his own, amazing, style.

CP - I'm not in any relationship of that sort. But I think, I'm like the mother hen of a large group of friends. We're all changing, and growing apart, and I admit, it's hard for me to let go. So that's why I compare myself to Margaret.

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Ha, no offense or ANYTHING taken. I just wasn't sure, so I thought I'd address it! I just know that I have that potential, to smother with love anything so much that I cannot let it blossom. Sure, it hasn't happened yet, but you can pity my children now.

I'm just glad we all love this show. I swear, I relate everything to this show. Anything.

---> You like hot dogs? Hey, me too. When was the hotdog invented? I wonder if they ate them in the earlier eras of America. Like the 1940s. Hmm...the 1940s. There's a beautiful musical called "The Light In The Piazza"...

Obsessed.

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