Tony Award-winning musical, "The Light in the Piazza," takes audience on emotional journey about love

The Tony Award-winning musical, "The Light in the Piazza", is now on stage at the Huntington Theater, but it may not be your typical musical, as some of the characters speak and sing in Italian.
But the story about love, hope, growing up, and letting go is universal. The piece takes place in the summer of 1953, as Margaret and Clara Johnson go on vacation in Florence. Tony-nominated actor Emily Skinner portrays Margaret, with Sarah-Anne Martinez taking on the role of Clara.
Skinner said, "The show is about love. The show is about romantic love and familial love and maternal love. "
"In the beginning, we see how much Clara relies on her mom as not only her eyes to the outside world, her way of understanding the world around her, but also her advocate," explained Martinez.
That relationship changes once Clara meets Fabrizio and falls in love.
"She has a moment of independence where she says, 'Mom, this is who I am. Will you support me in this journey that I want to go on?' And so Margaret then has to have faith that her daughter is ready to grow into herself. And I think that's so beautiful. That's something that so many people go through with their own mothers or their own parents. That moment of saying, this is who I am. I'm an adult now. See me, and then we can grow together," Martinez told WBZ-TV.
A full orchestra accompanies the musical
While many modern musicals feature a pop score, the music here is very different.
Skinner said, "The Huntington is doing something amazing. We have a full orchestra with the show. That's rare. That's rare even on Broadway nowadays. And to get to hear this big lush, the orchestrations played so gorgeously."
Martinez agreed, "It's not only a beautifully orchestrated piece, but it's also emotionally challenging to perform, because it's such a vulnerable moment in her life. And I think that it's so rare to have such a romantic, lush, original score. And so this one is just, it's so special."
Director Loretta Grecco's take on the piece is to look at it as a play with music that enhances the storytelling, making an impact.
"Not everybody knows about this show, and so some people might come into it knowing the story, knowing they're going to go on this emotional journey, but when you don't know, it's such a beautiful surprise," says Martinzez. "And so I think some people are really taken aback by how deeply this story gets into their hearts."
You can see The Light in the Piazza at the Huntington Theater in Boston through Sunday, June 15th.

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