Piazza tour review 1/13/06

I just got back from seeing the matinee in Des Moines. The Light in the Piazza has been my all-time favorite show ever since I saw the PBS broadcast last June. I fell deeply in love with the Broadway cast and was almost dreading the tour cast. For the most part, they exceeded my expectations.

Christine Andreas as Margaret- She has a lot of charisma and it lovely to look at. Her singing was weak and her acting varied. Sometimes she was very real, and sometimes she was trying too hard. Her heart was definitely in the right place. She was crying real tears. I really missed Vicki during Fable.

Elena Shaddow as Clara- She has a beautiful voice. Stronger than Katie's, not as rich and full as Kelli's, but still beautiful. Her acting also varied. She played Clara more like a sullen teenager of today, rather than a wide-eyed girl of 1953. It didn't always work. She was sometimes screechy, but her acting improved as the show progressed.

David Burnham as Fabrizio: He was pretty good. His singing was good, but I don't think he's such a good actor. His accent was horrible, but again, his heart was in the right place. I missed the falsetto in Passeggiata and I hated how he tried to reach up Clara's skirt in Say It Somehow. It cheapened the whole thing.

David Ledingham as Sognor- He was good. Didn't leave much of an impression on me either way. His singing was weak.

Evangelia Kingsley as Signora- She was horrible. Aside from the fact that she looked like a drag queen who was about to eat you alive, her acting and singing were just atrocious. Different from Patti in every way.

Wendi Bergamini as Franca- She was very good. Her singing wasn't as strong as Sarah's and she didn't have as much sex appeal, but overall I liked her a lot. She also didn't have much of an accent. Still, I thought she was the strongest cast member.

Jonathan Hammond as Giuseppe- He looked way to old. He's going bald. His acting and dancing weren't nearly as good as Michael's. The only time he showed any depth was in Tirade.

John Procaccino as Roy- He looked like a complete doofus and his acting was weak. The line "Dashing as the day we met" made no sense with him.

Despite my compaints, I feel so fulfilled. I truly had a wonderful time.

Updated On: 1/13/07 at 09:46 PM

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. Your experience with the tour seems quite a contrast in comparison to the wonderful time I had last weekend in DC.

I really enjoyed the show last weekend and was looking forward to what you had to say about the new Signor Naccarelli and Franca. I already have my tickets to the show in Hershey, PA in March so I'm really curious to see the new cast members.

How was the audience response? Was the house pretty full?

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Typical Iowa audience. Not so vocal during the show, but very appreciative at curtain call.

Compared to the Lincoln Center cast, I was diappointed. But compared to my original expectations, I was quite impressed. Everything I said is my opinion only, so take it with a grain of salt.

yeah, kyle. let's just remember how gorgeous it was on Broadway.

Dottie why must you now complicate things?!

The tour stop in Chicago is about a block from my apartment. I can see the theatre from my window. If it ends up on HotTixs (Chicago's TKTS) I'll go see it. Or if they have student tickets of some kind.

AFL, now that the show will not be going to Philly, are you still going to get to see it?

AFL, I totally agree about Elena.

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Actually, interestingly enough - Adam Guettel thinks the show plays better on tour than it did in N.Y. as reported in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer (see link below)... as he stated in a seminar which he gave for students in Cleveland in November (which just aired on TV there).

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1168682356185130.xml&coll=2

Note : Christine Andreas will not be appearing during the two week Cleveland engagement starting this coming week...she is doing a pre-booked club date in Florida.

It is just personal opinion (and yes, even Adam Guettel has those)..but, unlike some here, I am not underwhelmed but OVERwhelmed by the tour cast...different in many ways from the way the New York cast played the roles, but still exciting and valid.

For example, when it comes to Evangelia Kingsley's new "Signora Naccarelli", I loved her aristocratic, stern, feisty take on the role - a real tough, forceful Italian mother...and with that beautiful operatic voice. But then I loved Diane Sutherland and Patti in the role too. With Evangelia, you can understand Signor Naccarelli's attraction to the gentler, more genteel Margaret Johnson. It works for me.

But again - just personal opinion.

The other new cast members have been wonderful in Des Moines as well.

Updated On: 1/14/07 at 07:20 AM