Directed by Ron Jones, the production will officially open Jan. 8. Performances continue through Jan. 25.
The cast is led by Susan Shofner as Margaret, Haley Dyes as Clara, Bob Boudreaux as Clara's father, Ross Chitwood as Fabrizio and David Grant as Fabrizio's father. The rest of the company includes Luisa Amaral-Smith, Jamie Geiger, Christina Stroup, Steve Bullitt, Liz Cascio, Richard Nelson Gonzalez, Nicole Marosis, Mia Migliaccio and Charles Swan.
The creative team also features musical director Glenn Sharp, assistant director and choreographer Charles Swan, set and properties designer Liz Freese, lighting designer John Smetak and costume designer Macy Perrone. Eva De La Cruz is the production stage manager.
The Light in the Piazza, according to press notes, "takes place in Italy in the summer of 1953. Margaret Johnson, the wife of an American businessman, is touring the Tuscan countryside with her daughter, Clara. While sightseeing, Clara — a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman — loses her hat in a sudden gust. As if guided by an unseen hand, the hat lands at the feet of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, who returns it to Clara. This brief episode, charged with coincidence and fate, sparks an immediate and intense romance between Clara and Fabrizio. Margaret, extremely protective of her daughter, attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart. As the story unfolds, a secret is revealed; in addition to the cultural differences between the young lovers, Clara is not all that she appears to be. Unable to suppress the truth about her daughter, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara’s future, but her own."
The lush, romantic, soulful musical has a book by Craig Lucas, based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer, and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel (he won the 2005 Tony for Best Score and shared the Best Orchestrations Tony). Show times are Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM.
Tickets, priced $26-$36, are available by calling (713) 524-6706 or by visiting www.mainstreettheater.com. The Main Street Theater box office is located at 2540 Times Blvd. in Houston, TX.
