by Barry Willis

Sonoma Arts Live continues its ambitious and mostly successful run of boy-meets-girl favorite The Light in the Piazza through May 10.

A tale about an American woman and her daughter on a tour of Italy, with book by Craig Lucas and music by Adam Guettel, the stage show, based on the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer, had a healthy run on Broadway in 2005 followed by a national tour that began in San Francisco in 2006. 

The lead character is southerner Margaret Johnson (Daniela Innocenti Beem), accompanied by her daughter Clara (Emma Sutherland). In Florence, on a languid tour, they meet a young man named Fabrizio Naccarelli (Malcolm March) who’s soon smitten with Clara. All looks promising for the young pair until Fabrizio’s father Signor Naccarelli (Tim Setzer) discovers that Clara is fully six years older than his son. Her loopy, childish handwriting reveals that she is developmentally challenged, having been kicked in the head by a pony when she was much younger. 

It’s a simple story with deep complications, played out on an ornate set by director Sandra Ish, assisted by Laurynn Malilay. A six-year age difference wouldn’t be a concern today, but it was a big deal in the 1950s, when the story takes place. Ironing out the problems is a challenge for Margaret, her taciturn long-distance husband Roy (Mike Pavone), Clara, Fabrizio and his high-energy brother Guiseppe (Drew Bolander) and Guiseppe’s wife Franca (Evvy Carlstrom-March). The issue is even mitigated by a priest (Thaddeus Louvierre).

More than a musical, less than a full opera, The Light in the Piazza is compellingly delivered by a talented cast. Innocenti Beem is fully in her element—the North Bay’s most powerful singer and an actress with impeccable credentials, she’s a second-generation Italian-American whose parents met and married in Florence. The material is close to her heart. 

Sutherland gives Clara a heartbreaking blend of vulnerability and innocence. In two solid cameos, Pavone presents Roy as superficially strong with underlying self-doubts. The always-reliable Tim Setzer is more than convincing as Signor Naccarelli, whose friendship with Margaret blossoms into a force reflecting the relationship of their children. Evvy Carlstrom-March is amazing as Franca, a role unimaginably different from the one she most recently played in Marin Musical Theatre Company’s jagged little pill – the Musical.

The performance overall is exemplary, especially vocal work by Innocenti Beem. The effectiveness of SAL’s staging is hampered by a too-crowded set that, if simplified would give the audience a clearer view and better understanding of the characters and their relationships.

The show’s only serious drawback is Guettel’s music, performed by a small group led by Sherrill Peterson. It competes against instead of supporting the vocal melodies. “It’s difficult,” as Bay Area music director Daniel Savio mentioned after the opening night’s performance. (Savio was not involved in this production.)

“Difficult” is putting it mildly. Innocenti Beem battled piano and drums in her soaring closing piece, emerging victorious thanks to sheer volume and total emotional conviction. It’s a shame that the composer was more concerned with impressing listeners with his intellectual prowess than he was in giving an audience songs to carry in their hearts.

Sonoma Arts Live’s production of The Light in the Piazza runs through May 10 on the Rotary Stage of Andrews Hall in the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E Napa St, Sonoma.

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Photos by Katie Kelley Photography

Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: barry.m.willis@gmail.com