Okay, I know there's no use in debating taste (you like what you like, I like what I like, and we're not going to change each other's minds), but if you like the music in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, EVITA, FLOWER DRUM SONG and SPAMALOT, you're probably not going to like a show like THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. It's just as simple as that.
The shows you seem to like (along with all of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, MISS SAIGON, LES MISERABLES, RENT -- in fact, most musicals on Broadway) are all flat, populist excuses to feed their audiences trite messages delivered in calculated ways. This is reflected both in terms of their lavish, colorful productions and in their music, with pat 32-bar constructions, predictable voice leadings and easy cadences.
Again, liking those things doesn't mean anything other than you like big, brassy, Broadway shows with leggy girls who can belt, even if they're dressed as paupers and should probably be dying of tuberculosis. It doesn't make you "dumb" or "common" -- in fact, I even enjoy an occassional performance of WICKED, myself. :)
But it does mean you're much less likely to enjoy something like PIAZZA, where the emphasis isn't the plot or spectacle or catchy hooks, but the characters, and where the music and staging are designed as carefully and exquisitely as any fine art to get you to explore the subtext.
You mentioned that the music didn't really "deliver" for you -- that it "wimped out" before it reached its greatness. This, right here, is probably the crux of why you didn't like the show, whether you realize it or not.
Don't you see that that was intentional? Most musicals treat the music as answers to questions (the numbers in most musicals almost ALWAYS answer these questions: Where am I? Who am I? What do I want (and how will I get it)? How do I feel?), but in PIAZZA, the music isn't an answer, it's a question in and of itself, designed to engage the audience almost as a mystery novel might -- by dropping little hints for the observant and letting the audience use their own intuition and empathy to fill in the rest of the details.
Comparing a shows like PIAZZA to SPAMALOT is perhaps as useful as comparing movies like AMERICAN BEAUTY to THE INCREDIBLE HULK. Sure, it's possible to like both, but, broadly, they are very obviously not meant to appeal to the same audience. It's unfortunate that in the theatre world (most notoriously on Broadway), the HULKs far out-number the BEAUTYs, and that's the reason no one takes musical theatre for a serious artform anymore (think about it: if your only experience of the cinema were late-night reruns of Jim Carrey movies, would you ever really know that film could be used to tell stories like TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD or THE PIANIST?).
You DO have a great point, however, about the lyrics. I've never really been a fan of Adam Guettel's lyrics. They strike me as "honorable mention in a high school poetry contest" calibre; a bit too operatic, all purple prose and flowery ahh-ing, which lends the whole evening the slightest twinge of stuffy melodrama. Even his music veers into the too conceptual. Fortunately, PIAZZA doesn't suffer from the same gimmick as the rest of his work (indecipherable staccato pianoforte accompaniment), but that's mostly due to the very lush, if occassionally too busy, orchestrations.
Give the show another try. Don't expect to be knocked on your ass with entertainment, and know that you get out of it what you're willing to put into it. In short, be active in considering the message, don't let it wash passively over you. You might like what you find! :)
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limecoconut
19 years ago
I don't know whether you'll see this reply, as your response is from a while ago, but frankly my biggest problems with the play fall under the line of character. I was underimpressed by the performance of Katie Clarke as Clara, in that while she had a lovely voice her acting of the character seemed a bit nebulous and undefined. Her Clara seemed to have no inner life, and while the character is supposed to be mentally challenged, that shouldn't lead to a flat portrayal.
As far as actual characters go (and not just the actor portraying them) I was disappointed by the role of Fabrizio's mother, Mrs. Nacarelli. Her song came up a bit abruptly, (the simmer one) and seemed to have no real relation to any of her actions within the play (she claims to enjoy creating and minding the family drama, yet we never really see this enjoyment and/or quiet meddling.)
I loved the rest of the Nacarelli family, and would have liked to see more of Clara's father, but was pretty satisfied with the part as it was. I felt that Victoria Clark did a lovely job as Margaret Johnson, and I really got a kick out of Sarah Uriate Berry as Franca; she looked wonderful.
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ZaneyMcBanes
19 years ago
Well Clara is really a two demensional character, Margaret is the really heavy character.
"I close my eyes, and I still see his face"-Marian from "The Woman in White"
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