Il Mundo Era Vuoto

Spent a lovely day on the South Bank last Saturday. It was boiling hot, the market was colourful and brimming with food (I had paella), there was drinks and ice cream (banana and salted caramel) galore - and inside was just as hot despite the aircon, as the Southbank Centre transported its audience (as it has been for the past couple of weeks) to sun-drenched 1953 Florence, as it is showing The Light in the Piazza.

This is one that I had heard of, but didn't really know a lot about it, and I was intrigued, especially as it is the show's London debut. Plus, having a Ticketmaster voucher for your birthday helps - so I decided to come down and see the matinee performance.

Adam Guettal's musical went to Broadway's Lincoln Center in 2005, winning 6 Tonys the same year, including Best Score. It featured Victoria Clark, Kelli O'Hara (The King and I) and Matthew Morrison (who went on to star in Glee) in its original cast.
I have heard a lot about this show lately. They say it is the most romantic score since West Side Story - and like that show, it has seemed to clog up my Twitter in the past couple of weeks - though in the past couple of days, NOT for the right reasons #supportunderstudies!

In addition, many a soprano actress I follow on social media say Clara is THE role they want to play... Well, there must be something to this right...?

Like I said, The Light in the Piazza is set in 1953 Florence; American mother and daughter Margaret and Clara Johnson are on vacation. In the piazza, a sudden gust of wind blows Clara's hat into the hands of handsome native Fabrizio Nacarelli - and the two fall instantly in love. But Clara isn't all that she seems, and her blossoming romance with Fabrizio forces Margaret to confront a family secret that has been buried for years.

Leading the show are opera star Renee Fleming as Margaret and Disney channel favourite Dove Cameron (Hairspray Live!) as Clara - a part she reportedly wanted to play since she was 8 years old. She turned out better than I was expecting and had a lovely childlike innocence about her, which is crucial to the part.
Though the leads turned out to be a bonus, it was the supporting cast that made me REALLY want to see this show!

Rob Houchen played Fabrizio, and I can see why they say THIS is going to be his breakout role, despite having played Marius for at least 2 years! His voice blew me away, and he brought a real likeability to Fabrizio and sweetness to his relationship with Clara.
Liam Tamne (Rocky Horror) played Houchen's pig of an older brother Guiseppe, bringing a bit of needed comedy to the piece.
Finally, there was Celinde Schoenmaker (Rocketman, On The Town) as Franca, Guiseppe's frustrated wife. She was incredibly stylish and classy, but played the balance between her comedic and broken/bitter moments brilliantly.

One more thing - concerning the 3 above, and the Nacarelli parents (Alex Jennings and Marie McLaughlin respectively), is that, being native Italians, they all spoke/sang in either Italian or broken English. Having an Italian degree, it was fun for me to try and follow along and understand what was being said. I must also commend the dialect coach Charmian Hoare - because whether it be spoken or sung, Italiano is HARD!!!

Admittedly, the story is the strongest in the world, as I'm not a fan of the puppy dog Marius/Cosette type relationships, as cute as they can be; but what truly shines is the score - you will not hear another musical, especially one written in the 21st century like this!
It is so lush, rich, classical and operatic - it does at times feel more like an opera than a traditional musical! Lead by the Opera North and conducted by Kimberley Grigsby (how rare to have a female MD!), the orchestra really made a huge difference - any less wouldn't have worked in such a big space!

Meeting Rukaya Cesar

Also, for a lot of the roles, some operatic voice training is a must, plus all the female roles are sopranos - so if a local Am.Dram of it comes my way, I will defo be auditioning for the chorus...

The surprises didn't end after the show however. Coming out of the theatre, I had a bit of a shock when I realised just as lush Rukaya Cesar was standing RIGHT behind me - sorry if I made you jump lovey 😂 We had a great chat after the show, and as promised, HI!!

And even more, after that, I ended up at stage door on my way back to Waterloo. I had LOADS of time so thought I would stay for a bit. It was full of Dove Cameron groupies, but that wasn't who I was after. Liam Tamne snuck away like a ninja, but I did manage to get Rob Houchen and Celinde Schoenmaker's autographs, as well as by pure chance, Molly Lynch (Sunset Boulevard) who is the understudy for Clara (see all in the picture above).

I knew it wasn't long before the show closes, and according to Schoenmaker's Instagram Story, you have a week left - so if you think this is a bit more up your street, then 100% go! I would also recommend this to fans of classical music and opera, who may not have seen much musical theatre - there is more than Phantom (as good as that is) out there with just as big and lush of a score.