Synopses & Reviews
Winner of six Tony AwardsA wondrous fable that is as simple and complicated as its ineffable subjectlove. The Light in the Piazza has ravishing power. Its as if Guettel were determined to capture the golden light of Tuscany in a bottle. His lyrics are remarkable, and the book, written by Craig Lucas, is written with characteristic empathy and humor. Brilliant.” Frank Rich
The Light in the Piazza beautifully captures the eternal allure of Italy. . . . The story wraps itself around your heart.”Chicago Sun-Times
Sumptuous and romantic. Guettels music and lyrics represent a genuine expense of spirit. The Light in the Piazza offers a complex contemplation of the well-defended emptiness of every man and woman. It doesnt want theatergoers to feel good; it wants to make them feel deeply. And it does.” New Yorker
Composer Adam Guettel, best known for his Floyd Collins, has teamed with Prelude to a Kiss playwright Craig Lucas to create a passionate and soaring new musical. Based on Elizabeth Spencers 1960 novella, The Light in the Piazza is the story of a young American woman whose chance encounter with a charming young Italian man in a Florentine piazza sets off a whirlwind romance, with an unsettling revelation.
Craig Lucas is a playwright, screenwriter and director. His plays include Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless, Blue Window, Gods Heart, The Singing Forest and Small Tragedy. His screenplays include Longtime Companion, The Secret Lives of Dentists and The Dying Gaul, which he also directed. Mr. Lucas awards include the L.A. Drama Critics Award, an OBIE Award for Best Play and Best Director, and the Excellence in Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Adam Guettel is a composer/lyricist living in Seattle, where he is Artist in Residence at the Intiman Theatre. His other work includes Floyd Collins and Saturn Returns (recorded by Nonesuch Records as Myths and Hymns). Mr. Guettels awards include the Stephen Sondheim Award, the ASCAP New Horizons Award, and the American Composers Orchestra Award.
Synopsis
“The Light in the Piazza beautifully captures the eternal allure of Italy. . . . The story wraps itself around your heart.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“Guettel’s music and lyrics take nothing from the razzle-dazzle bargain basement of feeling; they represent, instead, a genuine expense of spirit. . . . The Light in the Piazza doesn’t want to make theatre-goers feel good; it wants to make them feel deeply.”—The New Yorker
“With Adam Guettel’s gorgeous melodies, a compelling narrative hook from Craig Lucas, and moving themes about happiness and risk, there’s no question that The Light in the Piazza is Broadway worthy.”—Daily Variety
Composer Adam Guettel, best known for his Floyd Collins, has teamed with Prelude to a Kiss playwright Craig Lucas to create a passionate and soaring new musical based on Elizabeth Spencer’s 1960 novella, which was first published as an entire issue of The New Yorker. It is the story of an American ingénue abroad, whose chance meeting of a charming young Italian in a Florentine piazza sets off a whirlwind romance—with an unsettling revelation. The Light in the Piazza opens on Broadway at the Lincoln Center Theater this spring after major productions already in Seattle and Chicago.
Adam Guettel wrote music and lyrics for Floyd Collins, produced across the country and in London. His other works include Love’s Fire, a collaboration with John Guare, and Saturn Returns, a concert at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival that was recorded by Nonesuch Records under the title Myths and Hymns.
Craig Lucas won this year’s Obie Award for Best American Play for Small Tragedy and the New York Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay for The Secret Lives of Dentists. His other plays include Reckless, Blue Window, Prelude to a Kiss, God’s Heart, The Dying Gaul, Missing Persons, Stranger, and Singing Forest.
Synopsis
The bittersweet, award-winning Broadway musical by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel.
About the Author
Craig Lucas recently won the 2004 OBIE Award for Best Play for his work "Small Tragedy". He is the author of numerous plays including "Reckless" and "A Prelude to A Kiss", both of which were Broadway successes and made into films. Composer and lyricist, Adam Guettel is best know for Floyd Collins (published by TCG in The New American Musical), which has been widely produced and available on Nonesuch Records.