The Light In The Piazza - SF 1st Preview- Page 3

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 2:45am

Good for him!

Fortunately I'm back home August 6 and once I deposit my stack of NYC paychecks, I'm buying LITP and ACL tickets (if I don't get comps. with careful hob-nobbin')

How was the staging, since The Orpheum is working with a traditional rectangle instead of Lincoln Center's thrust 45-degree turned square? Did they have the sliding/rotating set pieces/columns?

How was the audience? Orchestra? Lighting design?
I'm gonna keep milking this!

PS: Who's the stud in your avatar?
Updated On: 8/2/06 at 02:45 AM

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 2:54am

The avatar is "Miguel" from NBC Daytime's "Passions".

The set pieces looked like what I remember from the PBS show. The "cell phone" announcement was the same. There was one missed lighting cue that I noticed during one of Margaret's solo talks she was in the dark. Not a big mistake since it was the first preview and the cast did not get to the Orpheum until Sunday, according to what the director said at the start.

The orchestra sounded fine and the audience seemed to be into it. There were some people who stood up at the end but I would guess it was less than half (I was in the front, though, so I;m basing that on what I saw when I turned around). There were empty rows in the back of the Orchestra and the right and left sides had empty seats there as well. I'm sure once the positive reviews come out, they will be filled.

[ThePinballWizard]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 2:55am

I just came back from what was one of the greatest shows I have ever seen and I feel so lucky to have witnessed the first preview for a show that is only going to get better from here.
Before I begin let me preface it by saying I've seen the Broadway company 12 times. Victoria Clarke is the definitive Margaret for me as is Kelli O'Hara and the rest of the cast.
That being said, I was completely open to a new interpretation of the piece and was very excited to see what the new actors were going to bring to the table. So, first things first..

The Set
You never fully realize how much the thrust stage really played a part of the story until you realize that it's gone. On Broadway it felt much more spacious and just large and beautiful. The tour set has been much more compacted (for obvious reasons). There is no thrust which means most of the action which came from the thrust now takes place coming in from either SL or SR. Everything else was there including the moving buildings, paintings, statues and the black iron gate. You could tell a little bit that they were a bit smaller than the original (and a little claustrophobic), however if you didn't know you wouldn't be able to tell. Everything was beautiful and for the first preview moved absolutely smoothly without a hitch. I did miss the thrust stage but a regular audience member wouldn't know the difference.

The Actors
I'll only really comment on the actors that I really focused on. Characters such as Roy really didn't stand out to me but I'll try to be as detailed as I can.

Diane Sutherland (Signora Nacarelli)
She was good. Much more livelier and italian than Patti. Her soprano was okay but not as strong as Patti's. When she spoke in English she had a heavy Italian accent, which Patti did not.

David Ledingham (Signor Nacarelli)
He was also good. I'm not sure whether I liked him or not as he was much more subtle and a less demanding Signor than those of past but that was his own interpretation of it.

Jonathan Hammond (Giuseppe)
His acting was good but I much prefer the dancing of Michael Berresse in the role. It just didn't suit him. I think he'll find his character soon, but I prefer Michael's suaveness.

Laura Griffith (Franca)
She was great and had a beautiful soprano voice. She had a much more sexy, starlet feel than Sarah did but she made the character her own nonetheless. Her comic timing was on and everything was great. Although I do feel that Sarah was STUNNING in that brunette wig.


AND NOW FOR THE THREE...

David Burnham (Fabrizio)
I do not think it was a wise choice for the director to put the glasses on him as it made him look like a goof. I understand from previous posts that they wanted to make him look like he made a transformation, but David didn't play the transformation strong enough so it felt like he was a goof the entire time up until Love To Me. That being said I believe that David will only get stronger in this role. I know that he was one of the understudies in the Broadway cast, however, he needs to work on his Italian accent. The familys' accents felt very natural and his to me felt fake. His singing was great and he will continue to grow I believe and feel where the arc of Fabrizio is going.

Elena Shaddow (Clara)
Wow. Wow. Wow. This girl has a beautiful BEAUTIFUL voice. I hate to say this but almost a little better than Kelli's (and I love Kelli's). When this girl let's go it's like OMG where did that come from? I felt that she really defined the character and made it her own. Not as childlike as Katie and not exactly like Kelli's character. It was almost like a hybrid but not, but there were little things that she did that received laughs that didn't before. So I'm glad she's found little subtleties that will make it her own. If this is where she is on the FIRST preview she will be stunning a couple of months down the line.
Sidenote: I'm not a fan of the brunette wig. She blends in with EVERYBODY else in the show who's ALSO a brunette including her mother. She needs to be a blonde just because she'd stand out in the crowd. AND her (THe Joy You Feel) dress was awful, they need to replace it. Overall expect BIG things from this girl in the future.

and now DRUMROLL PLEASE...

Christine Andreas (Margaret)

It took me a little bit to grow on to her. Being "brought up" on Vicky's accent, it took me awhile to adjust to her deep southern accent. Christine has a husky, sexy voice so in turn it brought a southern sort of sexy charm to her Margaret. Her characterization of Margaret is FAAAAAR different than that of Vicky's. Christine doesn't play it with a little comic pizazz, it's more of a restricted southern belle-like woman. WHICH btw still gets laughs in places that I never thought would. I enjoyed her acting and think she still has a few kinks to work out. Her singing on the other hand...I think she's the first Margaret to have almost belted the entire show. Christine's voice is unique as it has (as I said before) a huskiness and a beltiness to it. BUT that being said let me tell you, when she soared into the rafters in The Beauty Is (Reprise) I was like Holy CRAP. She can get up there and have a beautiful soprano. I think she's still finding her vocal footing as well. It's weird, I love Victoria's voice but I loved the delicacy and the sexiness of Christines. OVERALL she has quirks and things to figure out about where she's going with Margaret. Some of her moments are stunning while others fall flat. I think she needs to have a sense of humor about her a little bit, but then that would be comparing her to Vicky which is not fair. I think she'll find it as the run goes along and it will be great.

CONCLUSION
Go see the tour. It may not be exactly as the Broadway cast or anything of the sort but that's the beauty of reinvention. New ideas, new concepts. Be open to interpretation and just know that the art of this show is still at it's core. I will always love the performances of Vicky, Kelli, Katie, Aaron, Matt and the others but it's nice to know that these people will live on in this tour across the country and touch that many more peoples' hearts.

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 02:55 AM

[hortonhearsasam]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 2:55am

The only awkward thing about the set was that Signor Nacarelli's desk was brought on by people, so the transition into "Let's Walk" was awkward as a man walked on to take his desk off. Otherwise, set pieces came in from above, the big house-like pieces drifted in from the sides, and small things like the beds and desks were brought on by people.

The audience was pretty receptive, but not the best audience I've ever been a part of.

The orchestra sounded gorgeous, but how could it not playing that score?

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:02am

Thank you PinBallWizard. What's your name, by the way?
That's everything I wanted to read. Really.
Nothing more to say.
I'm glad you enjoyed your 13th experience.

[hortonhearsasam]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:05am

ThePinballWizard--I agree with pretty much everything you said. David Burnham as Fabrizio has the longest way to go out of all the principals, I feel. His voice seemed two-toned (he had his main, almost whiney voice, and then a huge operatic belt for the big high notes), neither of which seemed natural for the part for me, and his accent was a little funky as PinballWizard said. But he was very sweet.

The only thing I disagree with is that I thought Elena's "The Joy You Feel" dress was BEAUTIFUL! When she came out I think I gasped.

[ThePinballWizard]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:10am

I agree with you. I mean, and I didn't want to say it but out of all the Fabrizio's, AARON is by far the strongest out of ALL of them.

I might have gotten the dress scenes mixed up too. There was one dress she wore where I was like, no way.

There was also another dress that Christine wore, I believe during The Beauty Is (reprise) that looked faded and worn. Not sure if that was the look they were going for but it's sort of bland.

[hortonhearsasam]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:12am

The dress Clara wore during "The Joy You Feel" was the greyish blue one with the red/purpleish dots on them. I thought it was beautiful! I also liked that her "TLITP" dress was yellow, and not orange like Katie's.
The dress she wore for the tirade, though it seemed to be exactly the same as on Broadway, didn't seem to suit her and I'd like to see a different dress for that scene (though I don't think they'd change costumes now).

To be honest, I liked Matt's Fabrizio more than Aaron's, but I only saw Aaron on the PBS broadcast and I saw Matt live.
Updated On: 8/2/06 at 03:12 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:21am

I was there, too. It was my first time seeing the show (apart from the PBS broadcast, which I've only watched maybe 3/4 of). Cast is great, and it comes across MUCH, MUCH better live than on TV -- but I doubt I'll go again unless there's an understudy on I want to see.

[jochang621]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:15am

what a great show! to answer some questions: hopefully i won't be repeating stuff that's already been said.

The audience was good to above average - I think after the director gave the disclaimer at the beginning of the show (that there is a chance that they may have to stop the show, if something goes wrong, and he told us that we should laugh loudly or cry uncontrollably b/c he will probably be crying uncontrollably. :), the audience warmed up to the show. it wasn't the most enthusiastic audience (no real wild applause after each song), but the most telling moment was at the end of Octet, when Clara throws her drink at Franca, the entire audience gasped in shock.

in all, it felt like a funnier show - some of it, in my opinion, a bit overdone (like when fabrizio was playing it up in "il mondo era vuoto" and his father and his brother make fun of him calling him "van johnson"), but it felt funnier than the broadway production.

i'm so glad they turned up the microphones in the second act. it was a noticeable difference, the first act I was straining to hear some of the words and i felt like the actors were holding back. i'd love to see the first act again with better sound. The second act was much better - the song that stood out most for me was elena shaddow's "the light in the piazza". beautiful.

i met up with them afterwards! elena shaddow was describing her experience and started tearing up while explaining it. :) she was very nice, i told her about the discussion about her hair being too dark and she asked me if it looked ok. ^^ it looked fine, she doesn't have the dark coloring compared to franca and there was a gold tint to her hair. david burnham told me that they flew in two nights ago - i think the orchestra and the actors didn't quite mesh as well, which is explained by their lack of rehearsal time.

but overall, it is still one of my favorite shows on broadway, and the tour did not disappoint. Granted, the backstage noise will decrease (it sounded like a stampede when fabrizio was running backstage to show up at clara's hotel door before "say it somehow") and the wrinkles ironed out.

does anyone know if the touring cast is scheduled to stay on for the entire national tour?


Updated On: 8/2/06 at 04:15 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:17am

but the most telling moment was at the end of Octet, when Clara throws her drink at Franca, the entire audience gasped in shock.

I started laughing at that gasp. Really, yes, it was a big deal, but it wasn't THAT big of a deal...or much of a surprise, for that matter.

[DramaQueen700]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:47am

i was wondering the same thing. are they going to stay for the whole run?

also is there any possiblity of them extending the tour? i mean maybe they will be like the wicked tour with an ever changing cast and a tour that goes on for what feels like forever....only itll be a good thing because its LITP haha.

[mint0621]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 7:30am

but the most telling moment was at the end of Octet, when Clara throws her drink at Franca, the entire audience gasped in shock.

I started laughing at that gasp. Really, yes, it was a big deal, but it wasn't THAT big of a deal...or much of a surprise, for that matter.

This kind of audience reaction only occurs when they are immersed in a story & the drama. Great job SF cast!

[chinkie azn jai]

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

How big is the orchestra on tour?

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 10:10 AM

[jochang621]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:54am

in the program, they list six people in the orchestra, and then ten people under "local musicians", probably to beef up the sound of the touring musicians.

i checked on david burnham's website and it looks like he's touring with them til the end! am very excited.

[IssaMe]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:54am

They are scheduled to stay the entire tour as currently booked...if it goes beyond the one-year point with added dates after summer 2007, there well may be cast replacements. Christine has some (very few) off dates for previously booked engagements.

[Sparklesss]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:54am

Does anyone know if they'll be student tickets (aka discounted) for this tour? I asked our broadway office here in cincy and they said they wouldn't know until the tour actually came through...so I figured if they did it at every stop, maybe they'd do it here :) any idea??

[AshleyBrownFan123]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:56am

They should have it return sooo many times, like Phantom and Mamma Mia! I might see it in LA.

[jochang621]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:57am

i asked an usher about the possibility of rush tickets or lottery, but she made some vague comment about possibly but not sure or the policy hadn't been set yet. i have a feeling either 1) an usher was the wrong person to ask about rush tickets, or 2) they're trying to see how well the show sells out before instituting a rush policy.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 11:06am

Student tix like rush? I don't know the policy, but unless the tour production offers such policy, it'll be up to each producer(s) at each stop I guess. I doubt they'll offer any discount in SF (unless they cannot fill the theatre as Opheum is huge), but I bet anything that LA tickets will be offered at half price (Goldstar event). For LA, you can even purchase $20 tix in advance. I'm hoping to catch the show in LA instead of SF although I'm going to see it in Sacramento (but not until June 2007) as I'm a subscriber.

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 11:31am

I'm glad the tour's going well. Can't wait to see Elena!

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 11:33am

Sounds like an auspicious start for the tour! Wishing them well!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 12:02pm

I wouldn't be surprised if they started some kind of obstructed view thing à la White Christmas.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 12:07pm

So happy to hear the yellow, "Light in the Piazza" dress is back.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 12:11pm

Wow. I really think I have to see this when it comes to Philly, especially if this cast is all there.

Is Elena wearing a brunette wig, or is that her natural wig?


I find it semi-amusing that when David would understudy the role on Broadway, some people WORSHIPPED him in the role. And all they did was complain when Aaron replaced Matt, and they couldn't figure out why David didn't replace Matt. Well I think it's obvious after these reviews that David wasn't fully ready for the role then, and he still needs time to grow in the role now. He's not perfectly fit in the role, like so many fans were making it seem.