‘Light in the Piazza’ makes collegiate debut

Sophisticated musical arrangements and Italian accents lit up the Musical Arts Center like a Tuscan sunset Friday.

IU Opera Theater produced the collegiate premiere of “The Light in the Piazza” as part of this year’s Summer Music Festival.

The show employed guest conductor Dan Riddle, who was associate conductor in the original Broadway production.

“The Light in the Piazza” is a 2005 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical with a book by Craig Lucas, music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, and is based on the original 1960 novel by Elizabeth Spencer.

The story centers on a young American tourist from Winston-Salem, N.C., named Clara Johnson, played by graduate students Jami Leonard and Christa Ruiz, and her mother Margaret Johnson, played by graduate students Emily Smokovich and Sarah Stone.

While touring Italy, Clara falls in love with a young Italian named Fabrizio Naccarelli – played by senior John McLaughlin and graduate student Tom Stoffel – who comes from an affluent family.

It is gradually revealed that Margaret, who is in a deteriorating marriage to Clara’s father, disapproves of the affair because of her insecurities that “Clara can manage life on her own.”

At her 12th birthday party, Clara was kicked in the head by a Shetland pony and was diagnosed with having a “slower mental and emotional development,” though her body would continue to grow normally. Since then, Margaret has made all of Clara’s important decisions. If there is one thing Clara has made her mind up on, it is her decision to marry Fabrizio no matter what. And at the end, she does.

Jacobs School of Music graduate Joe Fumusa came from Indianapolis to see the show.

He said he found the production to be “brilliant” and the story “mesmerizing.”

“It was light and profound in its music and its message,” Fumusa said.

Dennis Breiter was in town from Houston to visit his nephew and said it was “refreshing” to see a show that emphasized the importance of good values.

He said he enjoyed the way in which opera and musical theater techniques were combined to make a show that offered “something for everyone.”

Breiter’s fiancee, Claudia Salazar, came along for the ride. She teaches children with developmental handicaps in kindergarten.

She related this to the show and how Clara’s mother held her back for fear that Clara could not find her own way.

“There’s a lot of harmony to be had once it is realized that people who have special needs have their own path just like anyone else,” Salazar said. “Clara definitely saw her own path through in the end.”

The opera’s final two shows are 8 p.m. Aug. 7 and 8 at the Musical Arts Center. Tickets are $8 to $18 for students and $12 to $25 for the general public and are available at the MAC box office or ticketmaster.com.