Kelli O’Hara is tart and commanding as Fabrizio’s unhappy sister-in-law. Mark Harelik is suave and wise as Fabrizio’s father. In all other respects, however, the performances are fine. (While most of the play is written in English, the Italian characters speak and sing briefly in Italian among themselves it’s unfortunate that we can’t hear the difference.) Sometimes they’re overpowered by the musicians other times the performers seem to be struggling with the vocal range of the songs, and simply cannot be understood. Throughout the show, sung monologues and dialogues - many critical to the plot - are lost. Guettel’s lyrics can be rapturous, so it’s a shame they can’t be heard better. Clara’s cascading “The Beauty Is” (“This is wanting something … This is praying for it”) captures the yearning and uncertainty of youth. Margaret’s meditation on the emotional distance that has come between her and her Stateside husband, “Dividing Day,” is melodic but brooding. At its best, it is reminiscent of Sondheim - haunting and poetic. While much of the show feels understated or restrained, the score is ambitious and often lush. Seattle choreographer Pat Graney has set many of the musical numbers in a minimalist style: Songs are animated with precise gestural phrases and slowly moving tableaux vivants. A five-piece orchestra (violin, cello, bass, keyboard and - evocatively - harp) is arranged on one side, limiting the action to two-thirds of the stage. That institution - which may or may not be Clara and Fabrizio’s future - is cast in a rather dim light.Īt Seattle’s Intiman Theater, the story unfolds on Loy Arcenas’ simple set consisting of a shimmering backdrop that changes color with Christopher Akerlind’s Mediterranean lighting. The mother, Margaret, initially objects to the union - for reasons she cannot disclose to Fabrizio, his family or even her daughter.Īs the situation slowly finds its resolution, we are introduced to several couples in various stages of marriage. The daughter, Clara, falls in love with a young Florentine, Fabrizio (Steven Pasquale). A proper American mother (Victoria Clark) and her grown daughter (Celia Keenan-Bolger) take an extended sojourn to Italy. Based on Elizabeth Spencer’s 1959 novella of the same title, it centers on a small domestic drama. “Piazza” is less a musical, really, than a chamber opera.
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