Love is in the air in the Auburn Theatre Department with the spring musical "The Light in the Piazza," opening Feb. 17.
Set in 1950s Florence, Italy, the play tells the story about a girl, Clara, falling in love with an Italian man while on a trip with her mother.
"If you've ever been lucky enough to fall in love, you can see yourself onstage as one of these characters," said John Tourtellotte, senior in theatre. "This is a play about human beings, with all the beauty and struggle we face every day in the matters of the heart."
Tourtellotte plays the father of the musical's leading man, Fabrizio, who encounters obstacles while trying to win the affections of Clara.
"It's full of beauty, art, music and sound, and it will take you right out of the theatre," said Jordyn Culbreth, junior in theatre.
This "old style of musical" is what drew the department to the play in the first place, said Chase Bringardner, department dramaturg.
Director Joey Bates has had "The Light in the Piazza" on his "bucket list" of plays he has wanted to direct for many years, Bringardner said.
"The music was written by Richard Rodgers' grandson, so it's very classic," Bringardner said. "It's all about the lengths we need to go to for love."
The actors received help with the Italian language and dialect from outside the department, Culbreth said.
"Judy Blazer, a famous voice coach, came and worked with us," Culbreth said. "There are a few Italian phrases in the play we wanted to get just right, so we also got someone from the Italian department here at Auburn to help us. We wanted to sound as credible as possible."
As a member of the ensemble, Culbreth does not have a major role in the play, but she said this is one of the best aspects of the play.
"The ensemble members bring Italy alive in the play," Culbreth said. "All of us singing and talking together whisk you away to Florence. The music is amazing, and since it has such an Italian feel, it's also almost operatic."
A motif in the play is the different seasons of love-- you see relationships in all sorts of stages between the couples, Tourtellotte said.
"The primary romance between Fabrizio and Clara can certainly be viewed as the spring season of romance," Tourtellotte said. "They have all sorts of obstacles to overcome over the course of the play, but they're so in love with one another they refuse to be stopped."
The play, written by Adam Guettel and Craig Lewis, first produced in 2003, was originally based on a novella written in 1960 by Elizabeth Spencer.
The musical runs from Feb. 17-26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free for students and can be picked up at the box office of Telfair Peet Theatre.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
