#The Light in The Piazza

[dailydoseofkimwhalen]

Daily dose of Kim Whalen #152 (plus a bonus dose of Curt Mega)

[pureanonofficial]

ANNA ZAVELSON & JAMES D. GISH

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA - New York City Center Encores!

[sailforalittle]

The Light in the Piazza at New York City Center

[the-shark-is-a-mammal]

What if I was a neurodivergent american girl with an overprotective mother and you were an italian boy? And we fell in love?? Haha just kidding 😏😏

Unless 😳😳😳

[hold-out-my-sweet]

i don’t think you could possibly understand how excited i am about this

[mollywog]

My husband reminded me of the time I was telling him about the musical The Light in the Piazza and he heard The Life of Mike Piazza

[trinitea-fics]

The Light in the Piazza is one of those musicals I've regarded as having an okay book, but a fantastic score (which is where my affection for it lies). And I can't really speak on Clara as good/bad/complicated disability representation. But I just keep chewing on Clara and Margret being Asian. The feeling of being a perceptual outsider when you're somewhere that is predominately white. How that contributes to Margret's over protectiveness of Clara. When Margret doesn't believe that Clara can be independent because of her disability, and how she spends all this time sheltering her, it reminds me of some of the complicated relationship between immigrant parents and their children. The "I didn't come to this country for a better life just so you could make your life harder by being disabled/queer/trans, etc." hgnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[pierreism]

Inside the Encores! Rehearsal Room: Statues and Stories | New York City Center

Ruthie Ann Miles (Margaret Johnson) and Anna Zavelson (Clara Johnson) perform the opening number, setting the scene for their adventurous summer in Florence.

via NYCityCenter

[dailydoseofkimwhalen]

Daily dose of Kim Whalen #143

[droughtofapathy]

The Gilded Age's Broadway Divas: Mrs. Bruce (Celia Keenan-Bolger)

Despite having a largely underdeveloped Downstairs role in The Gilded Age, Mrs. Bruce runs the Russell household like a tight ship. From averting near-disastrous soup escapades, to catching escaped dogs in the dusty streets, she approaches her job with no-nonsense competence, all while totally unable to reach the high shelves.

For the first time, Celia Keenan-Bolger (45) has broken free of her child typecast cage to play a fully grown adult with adult responsibilities and it must be such a thrill for her. Those unfamiliar with Celia may not be aware of her illustrious career playing children on Broadway as a grown adult.

In 2005, Celia (26) made her Broadway debut in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as twelve-year-old Olive Ostrovsky, a precocious spelling bee contestant who should have won, dammit, and I'll die on that hill. In 2011, she (31) played thirteen-year-old Molly Aster in Peter and the Starcatcher, nominated for a Tony the same year as her brother Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies). In 2018, she (40) starred in To Kill a Mockingbird as six-to-nine-year-old Scout Finch, for which she won a Tony. This coming spring, Celia (46) will once again be a child on Broadway as she takes on the role of Jessica Lange's teenaged daughter in Mother Play. (List non-exhaustive)

#1: "Green Finch and Linnet Birds," Sweeney Todd (2002)

In one of her earliest professional roles, Celia (24) takes on sixteen-year-old Johanna Barker, the daughter of the titular Sweeney Todd, who has become Judge Turpin's ward. This is not great for her. But the role was. Too often, this particular song gets the short end of the stick. It's long, slow, and very high, yet Celia approaches it with a controlled vibrato that makes us all sigh in relief.

The Kennedy Center production featured a fantastic cast, including Mary Beth Peil as The Beggar Woman, Broadway's Leading Man Brian Stokes Mitchell as Sweeney Todd, and our very own Agnes van Rhijn, Christine Baranski as Mrs. Lovett.

#2: The Light in the Piazza - Pre-Broadway (2003)

Before Kelli O'Hara took on the role of Clara Johnson, a young woman whose mental development stunted at age twelve after being kicked by a horse, the role belonged to Celia Keenan-Bolger (25). Ultimately, when the production moved on from Chicago, the creative team decided they wanted a Clara who was a little older. Kelli, who had been playing Francesca, the sister-in-law, was unwilling to "steal" a role from someone she considered a dear friend, but either way, Celia was out, so Kelli was in with minimal damage to their friendship, which persists today.

However. Some years later, when South Pacific was auditioning their Nellie Forbush actresses, the final three came down to Kelli O'Hara (who got it), Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Victoria Clark, who won a Tony for playing Margaret, Clara's mother, in Piazza. Talk about awkward.

#3: "The I Love You Song," The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005)

Losing out on Clara wasn't all thunderclouds for Celia (26). Shortly after, she landed a role in the off-Broadway production of Spelling Bee, and when it transferred to Broadway, she received her first Tony nomination.

In this scene, Olive sings the most heartbreaking and beautiful number in the entire show. It is just devastating. Up until this point, the show is a barrel of laughs, and then suddenly you're sobbing your eyes out over a lonely little girl in a bad home situation.

Will Celia Keenan-Bolger ever be allowed to play an adult again? How long until she is no longer able to play children? How did she get the role of Mrs. Bruce if she's only allowed to play kids? All questions we have no answers to.

LINK TO MASTERPOST

[pureanonofficial]

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA - New York City Center Encores! - June 21-25, 2023

[henrytheduck36q]

Dividing Day from The Light in the Piazza

[broadwaytwinsies]

[ladylizaelliott]

I don’t think I have ever experienced

A theatre SO QUIET as it was during Encores! The Light in the Piazza right as Margaret put Clara to bed after Hysteria.

Ruthie had the entire theatre on her every breath for the monologue. What an emotional, real, funny, and raw Margaret she was.