Light in the Piazza on PBS Tonight!- Page 14

[o.0]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 6:36pm

Oooooooh, I'm mad. I tried to tape it because I was gone that night, and I put the tape in early, but I didn't realize it hadn't been rewound, and there was only an hour left before it ran out of tape. So it stopped THREE MINUTES before Light in the Piazza started.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 7:47pm

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.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 7:55pm

yea i liked Katie's voice, I did notice her possible strains here and there

[wickedobsessed]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 8:05pm

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

[mijofly19]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 8:09pm

It's re-airing tonight at 1AM.

[rufussars]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 10:37pm

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...

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:00pm

I'm watching it now.

Love Aaron Lazar. Katie is... good, but she keeps sounding strained whereas Kelli just soared straight through.

This show is so, so beautiful.

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:09pm

lovley summation, best12bars!

[theaterFrEaK07]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:59pm

Katie did strain, but i found her totally engaging. Her acting was perfect in my opinion. Thank goodness i taped this.

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:49am

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...

[soulman83]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 2:49am

Two add into this thread my thoughts on the show seeing that i have seen it live 3 times with the original cast and once with david burnham as fabrizio. the first time i saw it i had david as fabrizio and hands down he remains all around the best to me. he is sooooooooooo well rounded and appreciates the piece. Matthew has to be the worst ive seen in the role. he was good but compared to aaron and david he cant come close. ugh. KElli has how many years of training and age years under her belt compared to Katie?!? naturally she is going to sit better vocally in the role. Katie was very well rounded and a joy to watch i felt. i am impressed. i still get nerves whe i hit the stage and i am about to turn 21 and i study musical theatre. naturally she was freaked out at first being on national tv. you could hear it in her breathing. still i was super impressed. aaron has the best vocals out of all of them though! His voice was dead on as was his acting. he was perfect but i still kinda prefer david because of the age thing. Victoria is always incredible as is the rest of the cast. Still my favorite show.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 3:53pm

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?

[xM3L24x]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 4:08pm

Ugh, I taped it last night and for some reason it didn't go.

[LostLeander]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 7:23pm

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.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 6/18/06 at 6:58pm

I just finished watching it, and it reaffirmed my love for Victoria Clark. Her scene with Clara after Signor Naccarelli stormed out after seeing her age was heart breaking.

[freeadmission]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 12:35am

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.

[LostLeander]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 1:35am

Not HUMMABLE?
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I can't get Piazza melodies out of my head for at least a week after listening to the score.

Posted: 6/19/06 at 7:53pm

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

[C is for Company]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 8:00pm

I'd seen the show last July and had been anxiously awaiting the broadcast.
Since it was aired, I haven't been able to stop replaying the final phone conversation between Roy and Margaret. I saw an understudy for him so I was happy to see the original actor portraying him. Well that scene is one of the most emotionally charged I have ever seen in any show. Victoria's line "Just because she isn't normal Roy doesn't mean she is consigned to a life of loneliness. She musn't be made to accept less from life just because she isn't like you or me." is just so affecting! And Katie's reaction in the background just adds to it and oh, what a great show.

[Johnnytoc]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 8:01pm

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

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 9:08pm

I always randomly start to sing "Statues and Stories."

[movieinmymind]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 10:02pm

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

[freeadmission]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 10:10pm

See, but we're theatre people and we do that. Our "hummable tune" is not so hummable to your average Joe on the street. But then, that average Joe just doesn't care anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 10:15pm

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

[ThePinballWizard]

Posted: 6/19/06 at 10:40pm

I'm a musical theater performer and this is my first time hearing the score and watching the show and I have to say I don't know why everyone has such a huge problem with Katie Clarke. She was stunning as was Victoria Clark who was absolutely breathtaking. The entire show was unbelievable. Compared to the other offerings we've had in Jukebox musicals etc., this was the piece that reminded me of the old 1950's classic musicals, but then again what should be expect from Adam Guettel the grandson of Richard Rodgers?

Absolutely beautiful, I think I've seen it 4 times already on my DVR. I've been crying over and over again.

Those who wish to bash Katie Clarke, need I remind you that she's on Broadway and she's receiving more recognition than some of you hope to achieve.