Light in the Piazza Reviews — Page 7

It didn't get much better in Act 2, unfortunately. It definately was one of the most dissapointing productions I've seen in years.

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Plum - this whole season has been like that for me By the way, if youre talking about Dessa Rose, we had problems with the extreme exposition of the first act, as well.

The major reviews have been mixed with Guettel's score coming under proper scrutiny. I haven't seen Spelling Bee yet, but assuming it gets the third slot for Best Score (after Spamalot and Scoundrels), my support goes to The Frogs picking up the other score nod.

Clive Barnes in the Post was basically correct in his notice, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm shocked nobody has blasted Howard Kissel for the first paragraph in his review. He thinks THIS was the best Broadway score since Passion? But what can be expected from someone who pondered in his Scoundrels notice what might have been written for Joanna Gleason had the show been done in 1937. I find Kissel tends to make the most bizarre statements.

Heh. I think many other things discredit Clive Barnes as a critic.
But, again, I'll need to do some digging around myself, but there is a very interesting book I read in grad school that spends some amount of time comparing the term critic to reviewer.
And that is really what these people are. They rarely come at the show with an actual critical eye (maybe a hyper bitchy one, but not a true critical eye) but rather review a show with as much emotion as actual support in an effort to sway readers to see or not see a show.

"I just find it easy the way everyone gets angry at each other for doing the same thing that are doing themselves... "


What are you talking about?

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I expected mixed reviews about the score. Guettel's music is not for everyone. It is very unique and different. I personally find it beautiful and refreshing. I have yet to see TLITP but I am definitely planning on it.

This is very strange, I (MUSICMAN) just wrote the comment above and it posted with Feodor Sverdlov's handle. HOw could this happen?

Sorry, Feodor!!

Kissel was also drawing parallels between the plot and the fact that both shows are about a love triangle in Italy. But I found the score of Passion beautiful. True, it wasn't tradtionally "exciting" but it served the show so well by keeping it flowing.

PASSION is one of Sondheim's best scores...

It's absolutely stunning.

Well, if Howard Kissel was going to be comparing Piazza to anything simply because it takes place in Italy, he could have been a lot more accurate.

He should have brought up Do I Hear A Waltz?, since the time frame is almost exact and Waltz also concerns a confused American in love. It also has the Rodgers/Sondheim connection. The score had humor (This Week Americans, Bargaining), joy (The title song), a fine number for the secondary plot (You're Gonna Love Tomorrow) and strong ballads (Someone Like You, Take The Moment).

Waltz may have been written in acrimony, but at least its authors weren't so pretentious as to have songs done in Italian.

Unfortunately, I think some of the best, most knowledgeable reviewers are people that do it for smaller publications or on the side (Peter Filichia, Ken Mandelbaum, etc.).

In regard to Kissel's comments: I really didn't care for Passion's score when I heard it in the theatre. After the CD came out I gave it a few listens, and then a few more listens, and then I listened to it a lot. Now I love it. I had a similar experience with Piazza's score after seeing it a year or two ago in Seattle, except that the time between seeing it and getting to listen to pieces repeatedly was longer, but the more I listen to anything by Adam Guettel the more I am struck by the exquisite loveliness of his music. No, it won't sell tickets, and it won't go down smoothly on the first listen. But mark my words, the appreciation will come.

For just a little more Guettel love, I offer the following anecdote. I'm a psychologist (still in training) and a lot of my colleagues talk about the Mozart effect, the idea that exposing children to complex music aids in their cognitive development. When my wife was pregnant with our first son a few years ago we were really into Floyd Collins. He always responded to The Riddle Song, even in the womb, and would kick and jump excitedly. We even joked that it was already his favorite song. He's now two and a half, and while we certainly haven't made any attempt to raise a musical snob, he really hates most of the children's stuff out there (Barney, etc.). He says, "this song is too boring." I don't mind!

My 11-month-old daughter is more of a Jason Robert Brown kind of girl, and The Next Ten Minutes, which I sang to her the first time I held her, is our song. OK, now I'm just getting sentimental...sorry to threadjack.