Collegiate premiere of musical ‘The Light in the Piazza’ opens Friday at IU
By Peter Jacobi
July 26, 2009
Dan Riddle served as pianist and associate conductor when, in 2005, Adam Guettel’s musical, “The Light in the Piazza,” was prepared for its Broadway premiere in the Vivian Beaumont Theater at New York’s Lincoln Center.
“I sat next to Adam. He sat next to me,” recalls Riddle. “I watched him work to make changes, to make improvements. He’s just terrific. Of all the new composers on Broadway, he is by far my favorite. I love his stuff. He writes tuneful, singable melodies, a talent that’s in his blood. He is, after all, the grandson of Richard Rodgers. But his harmonic structure is far more complex. ‘Piazza’ is a great show with an amazing score. It’s organic, with the language, harmonies and melodies becoming one.”
That show, but with Riddle now the maestro, the conductor in charge, opens at the Musical Arts Center Friday evening. We will bear witness on that night, and on three additional ones that follow, to the first collegiate production of “The Light in the Piazza,” one otherwise featuring IU Jacobs School talents: sets and costumes by C. David Higgins, stage direction by Vincent Liotta, two student casts and orchestra.
“The set is fantastic. I was blown away by it,” says Riddle. “The orchestra is double the Broadway size, a hugely large one, and wonderful, filled with really talented musicians. The casts are talented, very different, one from the other. In one, a 22-year-old plays the part of a 45-year-old, the mother of someone in her 20s. In the other, a more mature grad student and former professional soccer player from Brazil takes the role. They are both excellent and have worked their way into the role.
“On Broadway,” he explains, “the performers were of medium age with greater life and professional experiences. The learning curve here is different. Portrayals have to be developed more carefully so that the emotions of the characters in the story become assimilated. But these singers are superbly trained musicians. They came in knowing their music. And with Vince Liotta directing them — he’s fantastic — they’re getting the hang of it. Rehearsals have been going fantastically well.”
Liotta came to the assignment “with no pre-judgments.” The musical, he says, is a “new experience. We’ve wanted to do it for several years and just got the rights for this summer. I’m enjoying the challenge. It’s fortunate,” he adds, “that Dan Riddle is here. He’s a fine musician, and he knows so much about the show, having worked on the Broadway production and so closely with Adam Guettel.”
The source for the musical is a novella by Elizabeth Spencer. The tale it tells takes place in 1953 when the wife of an American businessman, Margaret Johnson, tours the Tuscan countryside with her beautiful but challenged daughter Clara who meets Fabrizio, a young man from Florence. Romance ensues, about which the mother has doubts. The mother’s doubts come not only from her concerns for Clara’s welfare and Fabrizio’s but from out of her own past and yearnings for the future. Should she allow Clara and Fabrizio to get married? Should he be kept unaware of issues in Clara’s development caused by an accident in childhood?
“In the book,” says Liotta, “the end is inconclusive. The story might work itself out or not. We’re left to decide for ourselves. The film version is more black and white. The musical goes back to a feeling of uncertainty, Margaret not knowing if she’s doing the right thing as she makes a decision for her daughter’s happiness. She is much like parents everywhere. How can we be sure about a decision we make as we try to make something good happen for our child?”
Liotta rates the music as “very interesting. Guettel is not the traditional songwriter, even though the craft is in his genes. That makes it possible for him to write magnificent melodies, in the family tradition. But the music he composed for ‘Piazza’ is hard to extract from the story. The songs are not there as popular items to sing. They fit seamlessly, more even than in Sondheim’s musicals. And unlike Sondheim, ‘Piazza’ is very music driven. Everything is musically appropriate to the moment.”
Turning to the cast, Liotta says, “There were so many good candidates that came to the audition that we thought about giving more of them a chance. So, we selected two casts rather than the usual one we’ve worked with in past summers.”
“The kids are having a blast,” adds Riddle. “They’re into it. It’s great to work with the young people here at IU, just as I do with those at Penn State. They learn so rapidly, and they bring such energy to every moment.” Penn State is where Riddle now centers his activities. He’s music director of the university’s department of musical theater, having determined — after 12 years in the world of Broadway — that “a steady job and a regular paycheck” are preferable to the never-know-what-comes-next of the New York theater scene.
Liotta passes along “an urge.” “Tell your readers,” he says to me, “the show is really good summertime entertainment. It would be a shame for anyone interested in the musical theater to miss it. ‘Piazza’ blends traditional melodies with the best of modern trends. It’s a fine score that fits an emotional story. I’m glad we have a chance to present it here and that we’re doing it first.”
The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music would like
to thank the Herald Times for permission to republish this review.
