After reflecting on the last performance, I decided to write a semi-review semi-personal reflection. Be warned, its lengthy.
I had the great fortune of attending the closing performance of The Light in the Piazza on Sunday July 2nd by a stroke of luck for the 5th time. At around 11am, I decided that I couldn't resist passing up an opportunity to try and grab a student rush ticket. I hopped on the PATH and was in NYC by 12:35pm. After getting to Lincoln Center, I discovered that they were making the student tixs avilable at 1pm and was 10th in line. When I got my ticket, I discovered that I was in the last row of the loge. Eh I was there, right?! On a side note, during intermission I moved to a front row seat that was empty during act 1!!! After going to midtown to grab lunch and help my sister get a ticket to Bridge and Tunnel, I caught a subway uptown to LITP and arrived 15 minutes before curtain. The lights dimmed and the audience thunderously applauded the beginning of the overture. This excitement only built when Katie and finally Victoria entered. She even got a standing ovation which I had only seen previously at the last performance of GYPSY 2003.
On a more personal note, I was bawling from the first note of the overture to the last note during fable. It was such a wonderful ending to a true original broadway show, one of the best in the last ten years. Everyone in the cast was unbelievable but special appreciation goes to Victoria, Michael, Patti and Sarah. All put everything they had into their roles that night and made it an unforgettable experience. During curtain call, the whole cast was in tears which in turn made me cry even more. One person in the audience even shouted "Thank you!" to the cast when Victoria was mentioning a few thank you's. Adam Guettel and the rest of the creative team came on stage and we were treated to confetti to celebrate the occassion.
Unforgettable moments in the show included:
-Victoria Clark and the coversation with Mr. Johnson. So damn powerful. You could feel her pain.
- American Dance sequence with Michael Barresse
-Lets Walk- the last moments with Sig. and Margaret lingered on for quite sometime
-Fable-during the climax of the number, Victoria recieved energetic applause from the audience. It was freaking unbelievable!
- right before the last bit of dialogue in the show, there was a moment when everything was quite and one could actually hear everyone in the audience crying and sniffiling.
Happy...Everything!
Kaye Thompson