Light in the Piazza on PBS Tonight! — Page 14

Despite what everyone else says, I happen to love Katie. While she may not be the best singer, she brings such an innocence to the role. I absolutely adore her. At moments she can be pitchy, but she has a beautiful tone. I just love her and think she is perfect in this role.

Sorry to ask, but does anyone know when it will be airing again?

Please, for the sake of not having to skim through 14(!) pages of 331 posts, those wishing to talk bout the current cast, or reviews of the show, or how it compares to the theatre, could please consider seperate threads. I'm sure some would appreciate specific subjects broken down (I know I would). Sorry to interrupt...

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lovley summation, best12bars!

I found Katie to be....'eh'. Her voice sounds so very character to me - like Mae in Lippa Wild Party - not to that degree, but along those lines.

I'm also not seeing any chemistry between her and Aaron Lazar, who is giving her so muchj to work with...he's so absolutely smitten and in love with her character...

I don't think she's BAD, I just think....there's a very clear difference, and this is a great example, of those with more professional experience taking on a broadway role, and those who just graduated college studying theatre. It's like (not to offend, just my opinion) the difference between Cheno and/or JLT as Glinda and Megan Hilty - she wasn't bad, but there was a big difference in the skill level, and what they brought ot the role I thought.

Just my two cents.

Victoria Clarke is great, but it's not working for me via film. Live would be amazing, but as someone told me when I was trying to pinpoint the prob for me - she's just too much for the screen. Live I'm sure she's fantastic...

incredibly grateful this was taped/aired (even more that I taped it and it came out alright - yay!) but finding myuself wishing it was the OBC...

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The entire thing was bitchin'. Everything from the acting to the jawdropping set to the whole direction of it (At times I forgot I was watching a filmed play) was absolutely incredible.

It's rare to see an ensemble where there is no weak link at all. Katie Clarke's singing has been criticized and, while I agree that O'Hara was better, her singing was completely in character and she used her limited experience to foster a vision of someone young and naive, which, to me, is more in character than O'Hara.

And how cool was it to see Chris Sarandon do something again?

I don't quite understand when people say that O' Hara wasn't "in character".

I think she created a heartbreakingly complex, though subtle, but completely realized role, that I more than willingly went along with for the entire show.

I could say the same for Clarke (minus the subtlety), it's just I didn't agree with her choices, and I think that O' Hara's interpretation was more in sync with the entire piece.

In closing, I love Kelli O' Hara.

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So it was finally on tonight in my area and I wanted to say that I now have a new musical to add to my "favorites of all time" list.

The Light in the Piazza is the most beautiful and honest love story to ever grace the stage.

I cried through the last twenty minutes, despite my parents repeatedly saying, "But no one can sing these songs! A musical has to have at least a few hummable tunes!" I'm sorry, but any musical with such a brilliant song as "Fable" has no need for hummable tunes. Even if you hate the rest of the show, that closing number -- one of the most perfect musical theatre songs ever written -- HAS to win you over and cancels out the need for hummable tunes.

Hummable tunes are overrated anyway. What matters is the ability of the songs to further the story, and that's what Adam Guettel does with Piazza. From emotional arias, to Latin chants in counterpoint to choral numbers, to recitative, to lyricism in the style of the Golden Age greats, EVERY SONG moves the story along naturally, with the music complimenting both the emotions of the character(s) and the lyrics themselves. If that's not brilliant writing, then I don't know what is and should be shot for being a fraud of a musical theatre lover.

And I'm gonna stop gushing now and just say that I like Kelli O'Hara in the role better than Katie Clarke, but Katie by no means ruined the show for me.

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so i had to go out today & get the PIAZZA cd because i couldnt get the title song out of my brain from the PBS special.

also, i was so eager to hear the contrast between o'hara & clarke!

i think that o'hara's versions are beautiful but i actually prefer clarke's manic enthusiasm, even though it may not be "technically perfect".

in a way, o'hara's Clara sounds like a lovely princess waiting to be rescued, while clarke's Clara sounds like she's gonna to take a big bite out of the world!

Updated On: 6/19/06 at 07:53 PM

I still can't get "The Beauty Is" and "Il Mondo" out of my head...

oman, i sing litp songs all the time. the music is so haunting! (in a GOOD way, :) )

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My listings say "Will not be airing within the next two weeks"