VALDOSTA —
Peach State Summer Theatre realizes few people know much about its third production of the 2012 season but the organization believes if people give the show a chance, “The Light in the Piazza” will be on the lips of everyone who sees it.
Director Randy Wheeler admits there are no famous songs from “The Light in the Piazza.” In some ways, the musical is almost operatic in scope, but sprinkled with several comedic moments.
PSST! is quick to emphasize that “The Light in the Piazza” was nominated for 11 2005 Tony Awards and won six, including best original score.
The New York Times claimed “The Light in the Piazza” has “the most intensely romantic score of any musical since ‘West Side Story.’”
And that may underscore the best selling point of all for this show.
“The Light in the Piazza” is a love story.
“The young people in the show are Romeo and Juliet. They are Snow White and Prince Charming,” Wheeler says. “It is a story of love at first sight.”
In addition to the brilliant theatrical direction of Randy Wheeler making his annual venture from retirement, the show features the popular baritone of Dr. David Johnson, a retired Valdosta State University voice professor who leads the Sine Nomine Singers and still sings professionally. Wheeler’s wife and daughter, Jacque and Megan respectively, also perform in “The Light in the Piazza.”
As for the story, PSST!’s synopsis: “Based on the novella of the same name by Elizabeth Spencer, the story follows Margaret Johnson and her daughter, Clara, as they take in the sights of Italy during the summer of 1953. Clara strikes up a romance with a young man named Fabrizio. Her mother is against this relationship, and quickly does anything in her power to end it. As the story unfolds, a secret kept by Margaret is uncovered, and we find out that Clara is not exactly how she appears to be.”
The show also features the performers who have already received accolades and attracted strong box office for PSST!’s first two shows, “Legally Blonde The Musical” and “Go, Dog. Go!” Once “The Light in the Piazza” opens this weekend, all three shows will be performed in rotation through July 15.
THE CAST: Jacque Wheeler, Megan Wheeler, Kelly Methven, David Lee Johnson, Robert Teasdale, Sarah Michele, Rose Cutuli Wray, Will Sedwick Dozier, Kevin Mark Harris, Sarah Mitchel, Sarah Beth Moseley, Holly E. Dickerson, Rebecca Brunelle, Ashley Anderson, Emmanuel Davis, Daniel Fuentes, Madison Johnson, Ethan Ray Parker, Shelby Nichols, Christiani Pitts, Isaac Sherman, Will X. Stanley, Leigha Witt.
DIRECTION, PRODUCTION: Randy Wheeler, director; Paul J. Guilbeau, musical director; Christopher Bailey, vocal director; Christina Calestani, dialect coach; Lauraleigh Shealey, stage manager; Tom Hansen, scenic designer; Genny Wynn, lighting designer; Esther Iverson, costume designer; Anna Warda Alex, sound designer; Michael Driggers, technical director.
ORCHESTRA: Christopher Bailey, keys; Sarah Cain, reeds; Sarah Carter-Sweatte, keys; Merrie Beth Eubanks, harp; Teal Ewer, trumpet; Trent Harper, bass; Jarron McCarr, trombone; Curtis Moody, percussion.
TECHNICAL STAFF: Dorothy Barnes, draper/stitcher; Timmy Dow, assistant technical director; Taylor Dyleski, sound/electrics assistant; Craig Hawkins, scenic artist; Rebecca Morris, carpenter; Joe Muncy, carpenter; Ryan Ponsell, master carpenter; Kristina Prince, stitcher/dresser/wardrobe; Kathy Raess-Young, costume shop supervisor; Patrice N. Trower, costume shop assistant; Jonathan Willis, props supervisor; Tori Young, master electrician.
MANAGERIAL STAFF: Shawanna Hall, house manager; Lauren Hallford, box office manager; Caleb Spivey, company manager; Abby Vincent, assistant stage manager.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Dean Poling | The Valdosta Daily Times Americans Margaret (played by Jacque Wheeler) and Clara (Megan Wheeler) are introduced to the fiery Nacarelli family (David Johnson, Kelly Methven, Rose Cutuli Wray, Robert Teasdale and Sarah Michele) in Peach State Summer Theatre’s ‘The Light in the Piazza.’
-
Dean Poling | The Valdosta Daily Times A chance gust of wind and a straw hat conspire to introduce an American girl (played by Megan Wheeler) to a young Florentine (Kelly Methven) in Peach State Summer Theatre’s ‘A Light in the Piazza,’ opening this weekend.
Discussion
‘The Light in the Piazza’
Shining a light on PSST!’s latest show
- Local News
-
-
Albino gators visit Wild Adventures
Two rare albino American alligators have joined the other gators at Wild Adventures for the summer.
-
Officers wound man in shootout
A Lanier County man was wounded Saturday during an exchange of gunfire with lawmen, according to a Lanier County Sheriff’s Office press release.
-
Woman fights to live after cancer
To be whole again, the desire that sometimes overwhelms chair-bound Mandy Painter, fuels the Realtor each day through walking lessons during physical therapy and it's also what could see her through a cutting-edge program in Boston, where world-class neurologists can reawaken her cerebellum and see the mother of three to her feet again.
-
North Ashley Street closed following accident
A Sport Utility Vehicle traveling north on North Ashley Street drove into a telephone pole Monday morning, resulting in the closure of the road.
-
Gornto extension half complete
The Gornto Road extension project is more than half-way complete, and could be finished ahead of the one-year deadline contractors were given when the project was approved Oct. 11 by the Valdosta City Council.
-
Nashville honors history, musical tradition
There were more than a few Nashville residents and guests from out of town fiddlin’ around Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of the Georgia Humanities Council and Smithsonian New Harmonies exhibit, celebrating roots music from the state and across the Deep South.
-
Locals, out-of-towners come out for food, fun at Peach Festival
The Morven Peach Festival drew a smaller crowd than usual in its 26th year, but planners weren't complaining.
-
Coliform found in drinking water
The cause of a water quality issue is still under investigation by the City of Valdosta Utilities Department after a water sample taken from a line in the area near the intersection of St. Augustine Road and West Hill Avenue tested positive for coliform bacteria.
-
The Big One: Preparing for mid-America earthquake
It’s a bleak scenario. A massive earthquake along the New Madrid fault kills or injures 60,000 people in Tennessee. A quarter of a million people are homeless. The Memphis airport — the country’s biggest air terminal for packages — goes off-line. Major oil and gas pipelines across Tennessee rupture, causing shortages in the Northeast. In Missouri, another 15,000 people are hurt or dead. Cities and towns throughout the central U.S. lose power and water for months. Losses stack up to hundreds of billions of dollars.
-
Preparing South Georgia for a disaster
A pair of specialized urban rescuers shed some of their protective gear for a moment and exchange relieved smiles because, on the roads across the swamps of residential rubble, a caravan of Lowndes citizens returns to a county that, according to Lowndes officials, was able to repair its wounds in the aftermath of a Category 5 storm due to a dynamic package of disaster plans.
- More Local News Headlines
-
