The Light in the Piazza
Written by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas
Directed by Fred Anzevino and Brenda Didier
at No Exit Café, 6970 N. Glenwood (map)
thru April 29 | tickets: $29-$34 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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A charming, musical labor of love in Rogers Park
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre presents
The Light in the Piazza
Review by Lawrence Bommer
A far cry from the rough realism that he brought to Floyd Collins (first seen here at Goodman Theatre), Adam Guettel delivers a phosphorescently rhapsodic score for this musical version of Elizabeth Spencer’s troubling novella. (“Light” was also first seen here at Goodman Theatre in 2004, a year before its Broadway debut.) Quicksilver, diaphanous, and sugar-spun, those 15 sweet songs are easily the chief delight in Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s latest musical labor of love, where the sounds are superb even when the story stumbles. Throughout, co-directors Fred Anzevino and Brenda Didier honor the romantic emphasis of a hothouse musical whose title really is a trick of the light.
Framed by set designer Adam Veness as a Florentine arcade, Spencer’s 1953 work cleverly exploits our American suspicion of romantic foreigners who, we fear, just want our money. (What does that imply about our desirability?!) But the family of 20-year-old Fabrizio Narccarelli is well-off, and, despite some operatic flamboyance (the same Italian excesses that Tennessee Williams caricatured in “The Rose Tattoo” and that this musical spoofs in its semi-operatic “Octet (Part 2)”), they’re loving and accepting.
Spencer also throws in a misleading conflict between smitten, 26-year-old Clara and Margaret, her suspicious and protective mother. Margaret wants to spare Clara avoidable heartbreak: She hides a secret about her daughter that could endanger this sudden summer marriage. Though Margaret finally admits that her daughter must not repeat Margaret’s loveless union, Clara’s marriage may be doomed for different reasons.
It’s that secret–which must be kept so–that mocks this musical’s good intentions. Love, Spencer’s disturbing story implies, deserves to stay blind, while Clara’s father, who’s never told where the wedding will occur, gets no say in his daughter’s happiness or his son-in-law’s future. The emphasis–and it’s justified by Kelli Harrington’s bravura performance–is on Margaret’s ultimate
These changes deserve some grounding. “Light” feels like a Romeo and Juliet where everyone–adults and lovers–rushes into an unholy hurry. This is one musical whose story isn’t over when it ends: It’s easy to imagine the “third act” of Light In the Piazza as tragedy.
A highly-strung love-seeker, Rachel Klippel’s Clara explodes in non-negotiable ardor that’s redeemed by her bedrock intensity. Justin Adair’s Fabrizio (not very Italian looking except for his glorious tenor) is all infatuation when a protective wariness is required. (But that’s reserved for the divorce courts…) Michael Kingston brings depth and dignity to Fabrizio’s equally protective father and Pavi Proczko has a wry turn as the rightly doubting wife of Fabrizio’s philandering brother. Their songs, perfectly shaped by music director Jeremy Ramey, nearly save their story.
Rating: ★★★½
The Light in the Piazza continues through April 29th at No Exit Café, 6970 N. Glenwood (map), with performances Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays 8pm, and Sundays 7pm. Tickets are $29-$34, and are available by phone (800-595-4849) or online at Tix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More info at theo-u.com. (Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes, which includes an intermission)
All photos by Adam Vaness