Topic Piazza tour review 1/13/07 from the Theatre Chat forum.
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| Author | Topic: Piazza tour review 1/13/07 |
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BroadwayBabyGal
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5/8/2003 | posted: 1/13/2007 at 10:27:43 PM ET
I just got back from seeing the matinee in Des Moines. The Light in the Piazza has been my all-time favorite show ever since I saw the PBS broadcast last June. I fell deeply in love with the Broadway cast and was almost dreading the tour cast. For the most part, they exceeded my expectations.
Christine Andreas as Margaret- She has a lot of charisma and it lovely to look at. Her singing was weak and her acting varied. Sometimes she was very real, and sometimes she was trying too hard. Her heart was definitely in the right place. She was crying real tears. I really missed Vicki during Fable.
Elena Shaddow as Clara- She has a beautiful voice. Stronger than Katie's, not as rich and full as Kelli's, but still beautiful. Her acting also varied. She played Clara more like a sullen teenager of today, rather than a wide-eyed girl of 1953. It didn't always work. She was sometimes screechy, but her acting improved as the show progressed.
David Burnham as Fabrizio: He was pretty good. His singing was good, but I don't think he's such a good actor. His accent was horrible, but again, his heart was in the right place. I missed the falsetto in Passeggiata and I hated how he tried to reach up Clara's skirt in Say It Somehow. It cheapened the whole thing.
David Ledingham as Sognor- He was good. Didn't leave much of an impression on me either way. His singing was weak.
Evangelia Kingsley as Signora- She was horrible. Aside from the fact that she looked like a drag queen who was about to eat you alive, her acting and singing were just atrocious. Different from Patti in every way.
Wendi Bergamini as Franca- She was very good. Her singing wasn't as strong as Sarah's and she didn't have as much sex appeal, but overall I liked her a lot. She also didn't have much of an accent. Still, I thought she was the strongest cast member.
Jonathan Hammond as Giuseppe- He looked way to old. He's going bald. His acting and dancing weren't nearly as good as Michael's. The only time he showed any depth was in Tirade.
John Procaccino as Roy- He looked like a complete doofus and his acting was weak. The line "Dashing as the day we met" made no sense with him.
Despite my complaints, I feel so fulfilled. I truly had a wonderful time.
Jessica
|  Jean
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Registered:
6/7/2003 | posted: 1/14/2007 at 9:53:43 AM ET
My goodness, you really write a good review!
I have one question and one comment:
as I recall, the lighting was something very special in the Lincoln Center production-almost another character-how was the lighting on tour?
it's funny how performances stick in our minds, so that we almost have to make comparisons. I try mightily not to make comparisons, but sometimes it's impossible. (Which is why I'll probably never see another production of "Gypsy"!)
| BroadwayBabyGal
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Registered:
5/8/2003 | posted: 1/14/2007 at 1:59:00 PM ET
LOL, I've never been shy about giving my opinion.  I unfortunately never saw it live on Broadway. I taped the PBS broadcast and have watched it enough time times to know the entire show by heart. The staging was quite different because the Vivian Beaumont (where it played on Broadway) is not a proscenium stage. I missed the original staging and the original cast. But I am so grateful that I finally got to see it live.
Jessica
|  Sister Rose
Registered User
Registered:
5/4/2004
From:
NYC | posted: 1/14/2007 at 3:58:57 PM ET
Great...but too bad you didn't see Kelli O'Hara as Clara - she was extraordinary.
http://sarahbsadventures.blogspot.com/
| BroadwayBabyGal
Registered User
Registered:
5/8/2003 | posted: 1/14/2007 at 5:28:57 PM ET
I adore Kelli.
Jessica
|  leebee
Registered User
Registered:
1/19/2004
Fav. BP Song: Being Alive
Fav. BP Show: Sunday In The Park With George
| posted: 1/15/2007 at 6:08:51 PM ET
We are going to be seeing this show soon when it comes to Raleigh. The star of the show for me is all of that wonderful, wonderful music but it will be interesting to see how the rest of it holds up compared to the original production. I too was a little weirded out by some of the choices for actors, but I'm glad to see that your overall impression is good.
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