CCAE Theatricals Announces Cast for THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

Young love and secrets, set against the backdrop of the enchanting city of Florence, Italy, takes center stage at California Center for the Arts, Escondido with the multi-award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza from June 17-25 in the Center Theater. Produced by CCAE Theatricals, with a book by Craig Lucas and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel. Kari Hayter will direct. Tickets are available online at www.artcenter.org.

The CCAE Theatricals' cast includes Nancy Snow Carr* (The Last Goodbye, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Old Globe), Phantom of the Opera, The Buddy Holly Story (National Tour) as Margaret Johnson; Madison Claire Parks* The Fantasticks, The Baker's Wife (Theatre Row) South Pacific (Plaza Broadway) Oklahoma (North Shore Music Theatre) as Clara Johnson; Nigel Huckle* LES MISERABLES (National Tour), South Pacific (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Miss Saigon (Midtown Arts Center) The Soldier in Crossing (Signature Theater) as Fabrizio Naccarelli; John LaLonde* 42nd Street, My Fair Lady, The Drowsy Chaperone (Candlelight Pavilion), Man of La Mancha (Welk Resorts), Sweeney Todd (Lewis Family Playhouse) as Signor Naccarelli. The company includes Colden Lamb as Giuseppe Naccarelli, Melissa Musial as Franca Naccarelli, Debra Wanger as Signora Naccarelli, Tucker Boyes as Roy Johnson/Male Ensemble, Kelsey Ann Sutton as Tour Guide/Female Ensemble, Devin Collins as Priest/Male Ensemble, Maggie Randolph as Female Ensemble, Chase Lowary as Male Ensemble, Caroline Nelms as Female Ensemble, Ernesto Figueroa as Male Ensemble/Fabrizio US and Marisa Moenho as Female Ensemble/Clara US. *All appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity

The design and creative team, includes Kari Hayter, director (Striking 12, Parade (Chance Theatre), Marry Me A Little (International City Theatre), Urinetown (Coeurage Theatre); Lisa LeMay, musical direction & conductor (Broadway/National Tour: Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, A Bronx Tale, Avenue Q, Bring It On The Musical, Brooklyn-The Musical, Disney's The Little Mermaid, All Shook Up); Taylor Peckham, Associate Musical Director; Joe Holbrook, scenic design; Nick Van Houten, lighting design; Jon Fredette, sound design; Janet Pitcher, costume design; Peter Herman, wig design; Caitlin Muelder, dialect coach; Olivia Pence, assistant stage manager; Diane David, production stage manager; and Lindsay Brooks, casting.

"The Light in the Piazza is a unique story about human interaction in the world around us, our place in that world and our relationships with others. Our 2021-2022 Season is set around the theme of "Extraordinary Places. Extraordinary Circumstances," and The Light in the Piazza certainly fits that bill as the dramatic story is set in Florence, Italy. For Margaret and Clara, what begins as an ordinary vacation becomes an extraordinary journey that will forever change their relationship and love for one another. The heart of the story of Piazza is love and how the discovery of love and its many layers will affect each of our relationships. Whether those relationships are between brother and sister, mother and daughter, or true lovers, love exists in all forms. Although it may be found through ordinary experiences, love can always become something extraordinary. I am thrilled to welcome this extraordinary creative team to explore, design and bring the city of Florence to our stage in Escondido. Kari Hayter (Director) is a highly sought-after artist from the Orange County area and she teams up with Lisa LeMay (Musical Director), whose Broadway and National Tour credits are expansive. They have brilliantly put together an incredible design team and cast an astonishing company that follows on the heels of the critical success of Once," said CCAE Theatricals Artistic Director J. Scott Lapp.

Florence. Summer 1953. American Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara take in the wonder and awe of Florence. A fateful gust of wind whisks Clara's hat into the hands of a local dreamer Fabrizio Naccarelli... and it's amore at first sight. But Clara is not quite what she appears, and soon they must all confront a secret kept in the shadows for far too long.

The original Broadway production earned six Tony Awards, including Best Musical Score and five Drama Desk Awards. The New York Times hailed it as "...the most intensely romantic score of any musical since West Side Story."

Adam Guettel is the grandson of musical theatre composer Richard Rodgers. The Light in the Piazza also received five Drama Desk Awards, including two for Guettel - Best Music and Best Orchestrations. He wrote music and lyrics for Floyd Collins, which received the 1996 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical and earned Guettel the Obie Award for Best Music. Saturn Returns (recorded by Nonesuch as Myths and Hymns) was produced in an extended run at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in 1998. Accolades for Guettel include the Stephen Sondheim Award (1990), the ASCAP New Horizons Award (1997), and the American Composers Orchestra Award (2005).

Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director. He is currently Associate Artistic Director at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle. Writing credits include Missing Persons, Singing Forest, The Dying Gaul, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Prelude to a Kiss, and The Light in the Piazza, which garnered him a Tony Award nomination for Best Book.

The Light in the Piazza is generously sponsored by a matching grant from David T. and Dorris E. Staples Foundation.

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

Directed by Kari Hayter

June 17 - 25, 2022

Center Theater at California Center for the Arts, Escondido

340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025

Event URL: https://artcenter.org/event/the-light-in-the-piazza/2022-06-17/

Tickets: $45 - $100

• Press and Opening: Friday, June 17 at 7:30pm
• Evening Performances: Fridays-Saturdays, June 17-18; June 24 -25 at 7:30pm
• Evening Performance: Thursday, June 23 at 7:30pm
• Matinee Performances: Saturdays-Sundays, June 18-19; June 25 at 2:00pm

TICKETS: 800.988.4253; 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025; ArtCenter.org