THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ruthie Ann Miles gives an emotionally exposed performance in the sensitively recalibrated Encores! revival of THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

Ruthie Ann Miles and Anna Zavelson in the Encores! revival of “The Light in the Piazza” at New York City Center (photo by Joan Marcus).

This week, New York City Center has been playing host to the highly anticipated Encores! revival of The Light in the Piazza (the very limited run concludes this evening). Adapted from the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer, the musical tells the story of Margaret and Clara, a mother and daughter pair whose travels in Italy lead them to unexpected places of the heart. Although the 2003 musical lost out to Spamalot for Tony Award for Best Musical, Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s gorgeous show has stood the test of time and is now widely considered to be a masterpiece.   

The Encores! production has been elegantly directed by Chay Yew, who sensitively recalibrates the swoon-inducing musical by consciously casting an Asian American woman in the central role of Margaret Johnson. As played by Tony-winner Ruthie Ann Miles (who is taking a temporary leave from playing the Beggar Woman in the current hit Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd), Margaret excavates the notion of love in relation to her “other-ness”. It’s a deeply personal, emotionally exposed performance that pierces the soul. Miles’s introspective performance also stands in fascinating contrast to Victoria Clark’s broader, more conventionally Southern (but still outstanding) originating performance, bringing added layers to an already exquisitely nuanced show.

The rest of the cast is excellent. As Clara, Anna Zavelson makes a smashing debut, thanks to her impeccable acting and her effortlessly soaring soprano voice. She’s one to watch out for (she would have made a truly ideal Christine in The Phantom of the Opera). Other standouts include Ivan Hernandez and Andréa Burns, go deliver confident Italianate turns as the parents of Clara’s love interest Fabrizio (played with appropriate earnestness by James D. Gish). Last but not least, guest music director Rob Berman does full justice to Guettel’s score, in my opinion one of the most ravishing in Broadway history.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA
Off-Broadway, Musical
Encores! at New York City Center
2 hours, 30 minutes
Through June 25

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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