[NEohioPAL] Review from Scene Magazine: Lakeland's Light in the Piazza

[Martin Friedman]

 The Light in the Piazza by Tom
Fulton<http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/ArticleArchives?author=3765526>
  click to enlarge [image:
stage1-1.jpg]<http://www.clevescene.com/imager/the-light-in-the-piazza/b/original/3777863/e0b4/stage1-1.jpg>


 Musical theater is surprisingly unforgiving. Audiences are far more likely
to recognize a squeaking sour note than they are the barking clamor of a
bad actor in Shakespeare. So it is to this cast's credit that under the
excellent<http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-light-in-the-piazza/Content?oid=3777862#>musical
direction of Jordan Cooper and the sensitive and intelligent
leadership of Martin Friedman, the notes and most key moments of *The Light
in the Piazza* at Lakeland Civic Theatre weave together like silver strings
in a fairy's pavilion.

Lights flare up on a cleverly rendered background of sketches by Leonardo
da Vinci, lit with Trad A. Burns' lovely cool evenings, gleaming sunsets
and warm summer afternoons.

Sketch artists dressed in the creamy, sandy colors of a fresh rain are
scattered about. The locale has the feel of an elegant cotton and lace
table setting on a dusty Italian afternoon. Credit costume designer
Stephanie Fisher and Burns for their dynamic artistic collaboration. This
evocative setting prepares us for the delicate heartbreak and yearning of
the next two hours.

Into this ancient Italian plaza, a mother, Margaret, and daughter, Clara,
arrive: two Americans, here to see the statues and revel in the stories of
old Florence. They sing, immersed in the unique harmonies of Adam Guettel's
music. Played by Sandra Emerick and Lindsey Sandham Leonard, their voices
soar in wonder at the crumbling
beauty<http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-light-in-the-piazza/Content?oid=3777862#>of
the old city.

A breeze blows by, catching Clara's hat, which lands in the hands of
Fabrizio Naccarelli, played with finesse by actor/tenor Shane Patrick
O'Neill. As she retrieves her hat from his hand, Fabrizio and Clara are
felled; he by her innocent beauty, she by his aching soul.

When Margaret whisks Clara away, Fabrizio cries out in song, in his native
Italian, of the impossibility of their sudden passion. His cry is
magnificent--an onrush of anguish and melody and bell-ringing clarity. The
sound of the human voice, perfectly placed, is distinctive. To reach that
level of expertise is in itself an artistic accomplishment. But to reach
that mastery and then let go of it - so that the heart's emotional storm
can be given free voice - turns a good sound into a soul-stirring whisper
that reaches through the music to touch our dreams.

Shane Patrick O'Neil plays Fabrizio with simplicity and vulnerability. His
passion and superb technique are thrilling.

As Clara, Leonard matches O'Neill note for note. Her bright eyes reach out
into the world with a passion to embrace it all. She is a study in
innocence, curiosity and beauty. She possesses the singer's knowing that
allows her most private feelings free access to the world. Her voice is
starlight: powerful enough to move a train off its tracks, yet subtle
enough that at times I couldn't tell if I was hearing her or thinking her,
the sound was so pure and filled with quiet longing.

As if two weren't enough, Emerick, as Clara's mother, is also gifted with a
powerful voice that soars through the theater as she battles her uncaring
husband, the frightened father of the groom and her deep and abiding love
for her daughter.

Rob Albrecht, who plays Signor Naccarelli, Fabrizio's father, maintains a
quiet dignity and confidence of his wisdom. His voice is deep and full and
commands the stage whenever he appears. His daughter-in-law, Franca, played
by Neely Gavaart is excellently played with man hating, world-weary
despair; Gavaart is a fine singer in her own right.

The most fully written character in the
play<http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-light-in-the-piazza/Content?oid=3777862#>is
Johnson, Clara's mother. Her marital regrets, her motherly love and
loss, her heartbreaking struggle to let go of her daughter resonate through
the play.

So it is with some puzzlement that in this production in spite of the
masterful singing, design and staging, I was left interested, but not
necessarily moved by her struggle. I suspect much of this has to do with
the play itself, which utilizes an old cliché of bumbling Americans abroad,
love-at-first-sight melodrama and occasional lines that sound like a Van
Johnson B movie. At one point in the beginning of the second act, the play
turns into a scene reminiscent of a *South Park* parody, loud Italians
screaming at each other incomprehensibly. All of this tends to interfere
with the potential emotional impact of the play.

That being said, there are many beautifully realized moments, from
Margaret, Clara and most particularly when Fabrizio comforts Clara just
before the wedding in a quiet, intimate embrace.
The Light in the Piazza will open on Friday, January 31 and run through
February16, 2014:
Friday, January 31 @ 7:30pmSaturday, February 1@ 7:30pmSunday, February 2 @
2:00pmFriday February 7 @ 7:30pmSaturday, February 8 @ 7:30pmSunday,
February 9 @ 2:00pmFriday February 14 @ 7:30pmSaturday, February 15 @
7:30pmSunday, February 16 @ 2:00pmTickets: $15 for adults, $12 for seniors
and $7 for all students. For ticket reservations and information call
440-525-7134 or contact Martin Friedman at martinfriedman98 at gmail.com.
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