The Light in the Piazza
September 19 - October 18, 2008Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel
Book by Craig Lucas
Directed by Scott Edmiston
Musical Direction/Conducting by José Delgado
Choreographed by David Connolly
Scenic Design by Susan Zeeman Rogers**
Costume Design by Chip Schoonmaker**
Lighting Design by Karen Perlow
Stage Managed by Dawn Schall*
Assistant Stage Managed by Andrea Healy*
This soaring musical whisks you away to Italy for a captivating tale of passion and romance. It’s the summer of 1953, and Margaret Johnson is travelling the Tuscan countryside with her daughter Clara. When a handsome young Florentine captures Clara’s heart, Margaret must decide if she will risk revealing the truth that could threaten her daughter’s happiness.
Featuring:
Amelia Broome*…………………….…………Margaret Johnson
Erica Spyres………………..…………………………Clara Johnson
John Bambery…………………………..……Fabrizio Naccarelli
Joel Colodner*………………….………………Signor Naccarelli
Carolynne Warren*………………………….Signora Naccarelli
Christian Figueroa………………………….Giuseppe Naccarelli
Alison Eckert*…………………………….……Franca Naccarelli
Craig Mathers*………………………………….……Roy Johnson
With:
Karen Fanale, Heather Hannon, Joel Perez, and Paul Soper*
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Who's Who
Cast & Crew
JOHN BAMBERY* is very happy to be back at SpeakEasy and to be working on such an exciting and interesting show! A recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory, John was last seen here as Fabrizio in The Light in the Piazza. John extends his thanks to the entire cast and crew for their tireless efforts in creating such a great show.
AMELIA BROOME* is delighted to be returning to SpeakEasy, where she recently appeared as Mrs. Zero in Adding Machine: a Musical, Zandra/Irene/Mary in Jerry Springer-The Opera and as Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza (2009 IRNE Award). Other credits include Becca in Two Wives in India at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Lilli Vanessi in Kiss Me, Kate at the Lyric Stage; Katharine Hepburn in the one-woman show Tea at Five (IRNE nomination) at Worcester Foothills; I Can’t Imagine Tomorrow at the inaugural Tennessee Williams Festival; and My Old Lady at Gloucester Stage. Amelia holds an MFA from Boston University and is currently on the acting faculty at Emerson College.
DAVID CONNOLLY SpeakEasy: The Drowsy Chaperone (direction and choreography — 2012 IRNE Award); Nine; The Great American Trailer Park Musical; Adding Machine: A Musical; [title of show]; Jerry Springer – The Opera; The Light in the Piazza; The Mystery of Edwin Drood; and Zanna, Don’t! (Elliot Norton Award nomination). He is co-director of Dance Explosion Studio of Performing Arts in Dedham, MA; a member of the dance faculty at Boston University; and artistic director of the theater program at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, MA. David has worked as a master teacher, guest artist, and adjudicator for numerous organizations including Boston College, The Boston Conservatory, Dance Masters of America, and Dance Ovations Performing Arts Competition.
PAUL DAIGNEAULT (Producing Artistic Director) was the recipient of the 2014 Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence by the Boston Theater Critics Association. Since founding SpeakEasy in 1992, he has produced over 100 Boston premieres. SpeakEasy directing highlights include: The Color Purple; In the Heights; Xanadu; Next to Normal; Nine; Body Awareness; The Great American Trailer Park Musical; [title of show]; The Savannah Disputation; Jerry Springer – The Opera; The New Century; Some Men; Zanna, Don’t!; Parade (2008 Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding Director, Midsize Company); Almost, Maine; Caroline, or Change; Take Me Out; Company; A Man of No Importance (co-production Súgán); Bat Boy: The Musical (2003 Elliot Norton Award – Outstanding Director, Small Company); Passion; A New Brain; Violet; Songs for a New World; Floyd Collins; Jeffrey; and Love! Valour! Compassion! Regional credits: Grand Hotel and Nine (The Boston Conservatory and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music); Rent, City of Angels, Sunday in the Park with George, and Merrily We Roll Along (The Boston Conservatory); and Into the Woods, Urinetown, and Blue Window (Boston College). Paul is also on the faculty at The Boston Conservatory where he teaches musical theatre and directing. He has also been honored with the Boston College Arts Council’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement in 2007, and served as the 2011-2012 Rev. J. Donald Monan S.J. Professor in Theatre Arts. Outside the theatre, Paul serves on the Boards of the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center and the ICU Patient & Family Advisory Council at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
SCOTT EDMISTON (Director) returns to SpeakEasy where he directed Far from Heaven; The History Boys; The Light in the Piazza; Five by Tenn; Other Desert Cities; Next Fall; In the Next Room (or the vibrator play); Reckless; The Women; The Last Sunday in June; and The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. He has directed more than 60 productions across New England for Lyric Stage, A.R.T., Huntington Theatre, and New Rep, among others. Highlights: Long Day’s Journey into Night, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Time Stands Still, Sunday in the Park with George, Water by the Spoonful, A Marvelous Party, Nixon in China, Private Lives, and Betrayal. Scott is the recipient of SpeakEasy’s Outstanding Artist Award, three Elliot Norton Awards, two IRNE Awards, the StageSource Theatre Hero Award, and the Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence in Theatre. He is a Professor of the Practice and Chair of the Theatre Department at Northeastern University.
DAWN SCHALL SAGLIO* (Production Stage Manager) has stage managed 15 shows for SpeakEasy, among them: CARRIE the musical; The Motherf**ker with the Hat; Reckless; The Savannah Disputation; Jerry Springer – The Opera; The Light in the Piazza; The History Boys; The Women; Five by Tenn; and The Last Sunday in June. Other local credits include productions at the Huntington Theatre, Gloucester Stage, BPT, and The Nora. Her greatest credits are sons Nick, Eric, and Tucker. Dawn serves on SpeakEasy’s board of trustees and has been a member of Equity for 14 years. Love to Doug!
CHARLES SCHOONMAKER** (Costume Design) is happy to be back at the SpeakEasy. Previous work here includes The Light in the Piazza, Nine, and Other Desert Cities. He is the recipient of four Daytime Emmy Awards for his work in television. Boston-area theatre credits include Venus in Fur, God of Carnage, and A Long and Winding Road (Huntington Theatre Company); Tarzan (North Shore Music Theatre); Race, The Clean House (New Rep); Grey Gardens, The Legacy of Light, and 33 Variations (The Lyric). Credits in the Berkshires include the Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Dorset Theatre Festival, The Chester Theatre Company, and seven seasons as the resident costume designer at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Television credits include Another World, All My Children, and As the World Turns. He teaches costume design at Bennington College. Charles-Schoonmaker.com
ERICA SPYRES* returns to SpeakEasy after having appeared in The Light in the Piazza (IRNE Award). Recent credits include Master Class and Marry Me a Little (New Rep); Of Mice & Men (Moonbox); Avenue Q (IRNE Award, Elliot Norton nomination), Time Stands Still (Elliot Norton nomination), The Mikado (Lyric Stage); and Pirates! (Huntington). Erica is a busy corporate spokesperson, radio/TV announcer, and can be seen and heard on commercials throughout the US. She coaches for My College Audition and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. www.ericaspyres.com
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