Sarah Uriarte Berry Wins Role of Franca in Light in the Piazza

By Robert Simonson
09 Nov 2004

Sarah Uriarte Berry
Sarah Uriarte Berry
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Sarah Uriarte Berry, who will play the title role in Cinderella at New York City Opera beginning Nov. 12, has been cast in the role of Franca in the upcoming New York premiere of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas' The Light in the Piazza.

Piazza will play Lincoln Center Theatre's Vivian Beaumont beginning March 18, 2005, for an April 18 opening.

"It's Vicky Clark, Kelli O'Hara and myself," Berry told Playbill On-Line. "We're the three chicks. My character is Franca — I can't wait!"

Franca is the role formerly played by Kelli O'Hara in the regional productions of Piazza. O'Hara has since been bumped up to the larger part of Clara.

Piazza is the latest in a spate of Berry jobs which began with her turn in the Broadway musical Taboo. She has also appeared on Broadway in Les Misérables and Beauty and the Beast. She also took part in the City Center Encores! productions of The Boys From Syracuse and Tenderloin. Berry has toured in productions of Carousel and Sunset Boulevard and was seen in the Kennedy Center mounting of A Little Night Music.

Piazza, based on Elizabeth Spencer's 1960 novella, has played critically acclaimed runs at both Seattle's Intiman Theatre and, more recently, at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

The Light in the Piazza is a love story of a young American woman, Clara (O'Hara), who while on holiday falls for a young Italian man. When the young woman's mother (Victoria Clark) learns of the affair, she opposes it for seemingly unknown reasons. The musical is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953.