The show was simply.... beautiful.
Victoria Clark is, in a word, flawless in her Margaret. There isn't much I can say because she was (and is) utterly perfect in this role.
Katie Clarke was... terrific. I admit, she did crack quite a few times (and I shuttered in my seat when it happened,) but I don't think her vocals were nearly as bad as people on this board made them out to be prior to tonight. If she was anything vocally it was inconsistent. There were moments in both "The Beauty Is" and "The Light in the Piazza" where I was amazed at how beautifully she sounded, but unfortunately she would follow up most of those moments with a crack or an inflection in her voice. I still don't think it was bad enough to the point where it took anything away from her performance. We have to remember that Kelli O'Hara was cast as Franca first, and if you look at that role, it requires a much stronger operatic tone, so of course she would sing the hell out of Clara. If you look at before Kelli, Celia Keenan-Bolger wasn't a particularly strong soprano either, so that leads me to believe Guettel invisioned the character as less of a powerhouse and more of a quaint sound, something I think, all together, Clarke achieved. In my opinion, having a singer who is visibly less talented than Margaret helps in a way.. it makes Margaret appear much stronger, and since she is the heart of the show, that isn't nessecarily a bad thing. With Kelli, her and Victoria were equals, but obviously that is different here. Acting wise, I felt Katie hit the nail on the head, and that is what really impressed me about her portrayal. For someone straight out of college making her Broadway debut, I was continually impressed with how perfect she seemed to be able to really "become" Clara. I bought every facial expression, every hand gester, every movement... she seemed to just be perfectly in the moment, and it worked beautifully.
Aaron Lazar dissapointed me in a way. His acting was leagues better than Morrison, and I thought he handled the accent much better, but vocally... I don't know. He seemed a little TOO polished if that makes any sense, and I didn't like how he spoke alot of Fabrizio's material that was previously sung. But he had good chemistry with Katie, and overall, proved a fitting replacement.
The rest of the cast was particularly good, although I saw a little of Margaret creeping through when Patti had her english section of "Aiutami."
Overall, tonight proved to be a terrific evening of theater and a terrific conclusion for a wonderful run for "The Light in the Piazza."
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Updated On: 6/15/06 at 11:43 PM
I wanted to see more of his chest. 
