Piazza Tour 09/30/06 Miami

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:08am

Saw the national tour of "The Light in the Piazza" in Miami tonight. Overall, it was utterly spectacular... not a weak link amongst the cast.

Christine Andreas (Margaret Johnson) has vastly improved from what I'd heard of her in previews from San Francisco. Where as she used to just reach for the notes and not really hit them with any power, she is now knocking this score out of the ball park. Her heavy vibrato takes some getting used to for sure, but she does a splendid job. Her Margaret is very different than Victoria Clark's. She is much more aggressive and expressive, and her husky voice is a large cry from Clark's melodious speaking tone, but different can still be just as great, and Andreas's performance is a living testament to that.

Elena Shaddow (Clara Johnson) was wonderful. She manages to accomplish what Kelli O'Hara and Katie Clarke could not: she presents a well balanced and nuanced Clara that is youthful yet understated. Her soprano soars through the rafters, and her acting is just as strong as her singing. She is truly perfect for this role.

David Burnham (Fabrizio Naccarelli) was good, but not as great as I thought he'd be. He had a very strong voice, and although lovely, I wish he would have held back a bit because his tone could be quite overbearing. His acting was nice, and he had great chemistry with Elena. Their voices harmonized beautifully, and overall he did a nice job.

Laura Griffith (Franca Naccarelli) delivered quite nicely. Although not as strong as Sarah Uriarte Berry, she still added alot of nice touches to the role that were original and fresh, and her high notes in "Aiutami" sounded awesome.

Jonathan Hammond (Giuseppe Naccarelli) was a dead ringer for Michael Berresse. Not much else to say. He was good.

David Ledingham (Signor Naccarelli) had a nice rapport with Christine Andreas. He also had a pleasent singing voice, and delivered well in his comedic moments.

Diane Sutherland (Signora Naccarelli) was very very funny and original. She always had little manuerisms that made the audience laugh, and made the most of a smaller smart.

I stage doored afterward and was the only one there. I met the entire cast, and all were very gracious and willing to chat.

Overall, the night was a very enjoyable theatrical event. Having such deep love for this show, I was worried this cast would never live up to the OBC and replacements in NY, but I am happy to report they are doing a stellar job. I advise any fan of Piazza (or anyone considering seeing it in general) to deffinetly check this out when it comes near you!

Updated On: 10/1/06 at 12:08 AM

[sarbear2]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:11am

I saw the matinee today, and I agree with everything that Nick said. (By the way, David Burnham was awesome, so shut up, Nick.)

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:17am

I'm so glad to hear that Elena is so great :) I know her from my high school days, we did some shows and things together and honestly, success could not have come to a better person. One of the sweetest, most humble and hardworking people I've ever encountered in theatre.

I can't wait to see her on tour and in this role!

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:23am

The tour arrives in Denver on March 27th. I do plan to see it since I didn't see it while in NYC.

[sarbear2]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:25am

Your writing is beautiful, CAPPIE-AWARD-WINNER Nick.

[John3]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:46am

I am seeing it Nov. 22 in LA. I can't wait to see it.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 1:20am

I thought David Burnham was better then both Matthew and Aaron

[leon1489]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:02pm

I'm going in a few minutes.... I'm so excited. Do they come out from the stage door during mattinees?

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:31pm

Not sure, Leon. A friend of mine was the matinee and didn't stage door. I'd imagine alot of them will leave to get something to eat or maybe go back to the hotel to rest (since they are staying within walking distance of the performing arts center,) but I don't really know for sure.

Updated On: 10/1/06 at 12:31 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:40pm

Thank you for your well written review. I, for one, have a problem with Ms. Andreas' vibrato, so I'm not sure how much I will like her performance.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 12:44pm

DottieD'Luscia, I too had a big problem with Andreas's vibrato prior to seeing the show, and I can happily say that, for the most part, it isn't a problem at all. It actually works very well for "Dividing Day" especially. The only part of the score where I felt it hindered the song was the big belting section of "Fable." Other than that, it was fine.

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 1:03pm

Yay Elena! Cannot wait to see it in March!

[chernjam]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 4:30pm

does anyone know if they've added tour dates? I'm hoping they come to Newark NJ so I can see it (since I stupidly missed it while it was in NY)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 4:32pm

I don't think they have.

http://lesliehenstock.com/calendar.shtml

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 10/1/06 at 5:10pm

I think im gonna check it out tonight.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 1:16am

Ok, I saw the show tonight, some little things I wanted to share: The gigantic theatre was less than a 50% full. The intimacy that Piazza had in NYC was gone. But the production was still very good I think.
My biggest issue was David Burnham, his voice was painful to my ears, he was truly awful and amateur-ish.
Elena Shaddow was good, I'd put her in the same category as Jennifer Hughes as a singer, yet none of these girls can even be compared to Kelli O'Hara, but of course all of them are a lot better than O'Hara's Broadway's replacement.
Christine Andreas doesn't sound anything like Victoria Clark or Patti Cohenour but I feel like she did a good job and didn't try to copy Clark, which would have been pointless anyways, since her voice doesn't sound like hers at all. My favorite Margaret is still Cohenour, hands down.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:23am

I like Andreas' voice on the Maury Yeston Songbook CD. The song she sings is just flat-out beautiful.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:11am

So sad to hear that the theatre was only about 50% full... :'(

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:15am

When I saw it in previews it was about 45% full

[leon1489]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 8:35am

It was less than fifty percent full because it was a night performance in Downtown Miami. The mattinee was at capacity. You also have to keep in mind that this theatre is ENORMOUS. Even at less than half of its capacity, it's still a large number.

[leon1489]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 9:59am

My review:

First of all, let me say this is a spectacular production. The production quality has not dropped in the least from its transfer from Broadway to the tour. Visually, the show is as astounding as it was at Lincoln Center.

Christine Andreas did a phenomenal job in a role that was already done exceptionally well by Victoria Clark. Her strength was definitely in her acting-she was able to take the role and make it her own. At first, I was a little bit scared because I know some people had said she was a weak link in San Francisco, but that is gone. She is clearly the star of the show. The fact that she has a special needs child elevates her believability completely. I loved Victoria Clark in the role, but I think Christine did a tremendous job as well. Her voice was a little tired during Dividing Day, but was still fairly strong throughout. Also, in the first scene her voice was a little too "grande dame" for my liking. As soon as she turned on the comedy, though, she became Southern and it worked for her.

Elena Shaddow is not only beautiful, but a great, great performer. She is by far my favorite Clara. Her singing is a little bit softer than Kelli's, but not weaker. She doesn't have an overbearing soprano, and it never becomes shrill. Her strength, too, is in her acting. She NAILS the role.

David Burnham is good but not as good as Aaron Lazar or Matthew Morrison. He's got a powerful voice, but his pronounciation of the words has too much of an American tone. Mainly, his vowels were too open. I know that's nit-picky, but it took away a little bit from the singing. His higher notes do sound nice, though. He's a little over-the-top at the beginning, which I think is okay for the character. He makes his Fabrizio a little bit more immature than the others I have seen, but it's an interesting take on the role. "Love to Me" is by far his best song.

Other standouts in the cast were Laura Griffith, who has a spectacular voice. Her acting was also very good. David Ledingham was also great. He and Laura were probably the closest representations of Italians (being one myself).

Again, this was a spectacular production that I recommend anyone who can see the show.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 1:56pm

"The gigantic theatre was less than a 50% full" was my quote, so leon, you're stating something I already said, the show didn't sell out or got even close, but anyways, it is not really an expensive production, so probably they made what they needed to make, and as you said, even if you sold a 30% of the seats of that theatre it is a large number. Some shows ARE sold out in Downtown Miami on a Sunday evening, trust me, if Wicked, The Lion King, etc. were in town, they'd probably sell out.

[Doogie]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:35pm

Elena Shaddow easily equals O'Hara vocally. She is amazing.

[leon1489]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 4:13pm

Muscle, you misunderstood me. I was giving a reason as to why the theatre was less than fifty percent full. When I went, it was at maximum capacity.

[DG]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 4:24pm

"The production quality has not dropped in the least from its transfer from Broadway to the tour. Visually, the show is as astounding as it was at Lincoln Center."

This is good to hear.