The Light in the Piazza

The Light In The Piazza concert was my second outing from production company Quick Fantastic following their phenomenal Sunset Boulevard concert at The Royal Albert Hall in 2021. It also coincided with my first visit to the beloved Alexandra Palace, affectionately known as the ‘Ally Pally.’ I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t too familiar with the show besides the 2019 Royal Festival Hall production starring opera diva Renee Fleming, Disney Channel star Dove Cameron and West End darling Rob Houchen, one I unfortunately missed due to it being my final year at uni. For some context, that was an era when I when commuting from Reading to London which gave me zero time to see it.

With the above established, let’s consider this Light In The Piazza concert a second chance. So was the three-year wait worth it?

Venue: The Alexandra Palace Theatre

Cast

Margaret Johnson: Elena Shaddow
Clara Johnson: Amara Okereke
Fabrizio Naccarelli: Jordan Luke Gage
Signor Naccarelli: Peter Polycarpou
Signora Naccarelli: Deborah Crowe
Franca Naccarelli: Ami Di Bartilomeo
Giuseppe Naccarelli: Sharif Afifi
Roy Johnson: Ako Mitchell
Priest: Tim Mahendran
Ensemble: Freddie King, Ceili O’Connor, Laura Di Luca, Cristian Zaccarini, Jodie Beth Meyer

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What is The Light in the Piazza about?

Based on the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer, The Light in the Piazza follows Margaret Johnson, who is touring the Tuscan countryside with her daughter, Clara. While sightseeing, Clara loses her hat that is caught by Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine. Sparks immediately fly between the two young lovers to the concern of Margaret. But as events unfold, a secret is revealed: in addition to the cultural differences between the young lovers, Clara is not quite all that she appears. Unable to suppress the truth about her daughter, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara’s future, but her own hopes as well.

What were my thoughts on Light in the Piazza?

Already familiar with Quick Fantastic’s concert formatting through their production of Sunset Boulevard, my expectations were already high when going into The Light in the Piazza. Luckily, they exceeded them. Instead of relying on lavish sets and costumes to transport the audience to 1950s Italy, director Charlotte Conquest strips the show back to its core as a multifaceted story about love that transcends culture, language and age while letting the music be the real star.

Whether it’s between two young lovers, parent and child or husband and wife, it doesn’t mock or belittle any of the character’s views on this deceptively simple concept, especially when one protagonist has a developmental disability. An appropriate choice as The Light In The Piazza functions as part opera and part musical theatre, it knows that sometimes relationships can be as simple as love at first sight while for others it’s a complex journey requiring communication and trust.

Penned by Adam Guettel, grandson of musical theatre legend Richard Rodgers, his soul-stirring operatic score played beautifully by the orchestra showcases The Light in the Piazza’s grand romance and tragedy while working with conventional musical storytelling. Featuring grand arias including the titular song, Il Mondo Era Vuoto and quartet Autami, Guettel’s radical choice to feature both English and Italian with no subtitles enhanced the show’s themes of love transcending language.

What was the cast like?

What made The Light in the Piazza pure magic to watch was its gorgeous cast led by Broadway star Elena Shaddow, who was a pitch perfect Margaret Johnson. The knowledge that she previously played Clara in the US Tour added subtext while stepping into the mother role, turning a traditional villain into a sympathetic figure. Shaddow made you immediately understand Margaret’s overprotectiveness of Clara both from the heartbreak she’s faced and as a self-punishment for seemingly her part in the accident that caused her daughter’s developmental issues. Watching her grow from weary of the Naccarellis discovering the truth to encouraging her daughter to make her own decisions was both heartbreaking and near cathartic.

Having seen her spirited performance as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady this year, Amara Okereke once again showed her star power as Clara. Her sweet yet powerful soprano voice was a joy to listen and her ability to act through song was equal parts stunning and heartbreaking, especially during her moments of anguish. She made Clara wrestle with her frustrations of being treated like a child while growing into a young woman capable of making her own decisions a beautiful story anyone could resonate with. While having naive views of love that win over the Naccarellis, the most important thing Okereke and the book don’t do is infantilise her.

Jordan Luke Gage is one of those performers who instantly oozes charm whether he’s playing a lovesick if dimwitted Romeo or monstrous rogue Clyde and he brought that same charisma to Fabrizio. Even knowing he’s a full decade older than the character, Gage perfectly captured Fabrizio’s wide-eyed near melodramatic idealism and brought a genuine sweetness and comedy that made you understand Clara’s attraction to him even with the language barrier. Speaking of, his Italian skills in the haunting score were phenomenal and captured Fabrizio’s pure emotions behind them even if you didn’t understand what he was singing.

The characters surrounding the main trio was also phenomenal and added so much charm and humour to their roles. These include the always amazing Peter Polycarpou as patriarch Signor Naccarelli, Deborah Crowe filling in at the last minute for the previously announced Rebecca Lock as Signora Naccarelli and Ako Mitchell, who makes an impact in his comparatively limited role as Margaret’s dismissive and emotionally distant husband Roy.

Amongst the talented cast, the most pleasant surprise of the night was Amy Di Bartolomeo as Franca Naccarelli. If you thought Six showed off her already amazing singing chops, her operatic skills in Light in the Piazza were a whole other level. On top of a voice worthy of opera’s grandest stages, she captured Franca’s fiery attitude and frustration at her husband Giuseppe’s, played by the amazing Sharif Afifi, neglect with poignancy and depth in her solo The Joy You Feel.

While not in the ensemble, another highlight I have to mention for The Light In The Piazza was Tim Mahendran the Priest. A performer most will be familiar with as the sweet-natured Francois in & Juliet, the concert highlighted his superb acting and comedic timing. To many laughs, he knew how to show the audience exactly what the Priest thought through a single facial expression.

I must also give a shoutout to the amazing ensemble comprising of established and rising stars across the West End. Acting as tourists or even statues in the case of Freddie King, they added personality to their characters show while immersing the audience into its version of Italy.

What were my overall thoughts?

I’m so glad I finally got to see The Light In The Piazza thanks to its phenomenal cast and one of the most beautiful scores in modern musical theatre. The Alexandra Palace was the perfect venue to host it in with its rich history and amazing acoustics that enhanced the orchestra.

Conductor Alex Parker sadly announced the concert would be the last Quick Fantastic event for a while. With many shows closing because of box office numbers not returning to pre-pandemic levels and the UK now facing a disastrous cost of living crisis, it was heartbreaking to hear from Parker himself. Are there other factors that may have impacted the decision? Possibly, but I’d rather not speculate. What I’d rather focus on was this beautiful concert that I’m glad I watched as my first Ally Pally outing.

With sadly more hard times to come, let’s hope there are ways we can support them so they can make a grand return to musical theatre.

Did you see The Light in the Piazza or any of Quick Fantastic’s other concert shows? Be sure to comment below!