In 2005, Broadway experienced an extremely tight race for the Tony Award for Best Musical, with nominees that included the Monty Python gag fest “Spamelot” (which was the ultimate winner), David Yazbeck’s sharp and snazzy musical adaptation of the film “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” William Finn’s anarchic but tenderhearted “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and Adam Guettlel’s radiant musical romance “The Light in the Piazza.”
At the time, I was rooting for “Piazza,” which resembled the kind of mature, intelligent, Sondheim-influenced musical that felt increasingly out of place on Broadway (which was dominated at the time by self-aware musical comedies and the emerging jukebox musical phenomenon). “Piazza” was also unabashedly sincere and romantic. While “Piazza” did not win Best Musical, it did win six other Tony Awards (including Best Score) and became an unexpected prestige hit for Lincoln Center Theater that enjoyed an extended year-and-a-half run.
It was an unusual choice for City Center to present “Piazza” as part of its Encores! series, considering that “Piazza” premiered just 18 years ago. (Then again, “Chicago” was just two decades old when Encores! presented it in the 1990s.) In any case, “Piazza” is a musical that is well worth a second (or third or fourth) listen, especially since its rich score (which contains lush arias, intricate harmonies, and passages in Italian) and complex, introspective characters merit extended attention and analysis. Like so many Sondheim musicals, which received far greater acclaim when revived years after their original Broadway productions, “Piazza” may find a more appreciative audience today.
Based on a 1960 novella (which received a 1962 film adaptation with Olivia de Havilland), “Piazza” (which has a book by Craig Lucas) follows Margaret, a woman from the American South, who is traveling in 1950s Florence with her daughter Clara, a beautiful young woman who suffered physical injuries as a child that stunted her cognitive development.
Bartlett Sher’s production of “Piazza” at Lincoln Center Theater (which established Sher as a top Broadway director) was a masterpiece of theatrical design, for which it won Tony Awards for scenery (Michael Yeargan), costumes (Catherine Zuber), and lighting (Christopher Akerlind). Needless to say, the concert-style Encores! production does not achieve the same level of visual sumptuousness and precision, but it is as musically resplendent as City Center subscribers would expect, with Rob Berman conducting a full size orchestra, using the original Tony-winning orchestrations. In fact, the Encores! production uses the show’s entire overture, wheras the original Broadway production cut the overture in half.
Director Chay Yew (“Cambodian Rock Band”) has not altered the script or score, but nevertheless makes the gutsy choice of casting Margaret and Clara with actresses of Asian descent, namely Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles (who is currently appearing on Broadway in “Sweeney Todd”) and 19-year-old Anna Zavelson, respectively. Margaret even acknowledges using through body language that she and her daughter are not Caucasian.
One could argue that the casting of Miles and Zavelson accentuates the cultural divide of the Johnson family (which hails from North Carolina and is on vacation in Florence) and the Naccarelli family (which lives in Florence and is of Italian descent). Nevertheless, I was so caught up in the gorgeous singing and nuanced acting that I quickly forgot about the casting concept. Even if it does not add much dramatically, it provides a good excuse to cast Miles (who is more subtle in her characterization than Victoria Clark, who originated the role) and Zavelson (who gives a breakout performance).
The Encores! production reminded me why I attended the Broadway production of “Piazza” at least four times – and why I felt so passionately about it back then. If it works out logistically and financially, it would be wonderful to have this production transfer to Broadway next season for a limited run – perhaps as a Roundabout Theatre Company revival at Studio 54.
City Center, 131 W. 55th St., nycitycenter.org, through Sun.
