PBS aired a live broadcast of "The Light in the Piazza" from Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theatre tonight, as part of the Live from Lincoln Center series. The show is certainly much more interesting the second time around, even if it didn't necessarily play as well on television as it did in the theatre. Two friends who were watching it with me found it rather slow and a bit boring - a similar reaction to my first time seeing the show live. But my reaction was different this time around. I appreciated the score much more, allowing myself to be swept away by it, and the drama seemed more moving somehow.
The show plays more like a chamber opera than a typical musical: the music isn't splashy or upbeat, but more complex - twisting and turning to meet emotional moments the way it might in classical music instead of creatign a straightforward "song" in the musicals sense. And the bits in between the music are more like a play. It has bits of comedy, but the drama is more serious.
The performances were stunning. Victoria Clark certainly earned her Tony Award, and the rest of the cast is also very strong. They act very well, and most do justice to the music (Katie Clark wandered off into the flatlands in a few songs, but such is the joy of live theatre).
It was nice to see the show again, and I'm looking forward to seeing it live when it comes around on tour. Piazza is playing late October to early November at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown.
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