Adam Guettel’s Tony Award-winning musical “The Light in the Piazza” will be brought to life by Southeastern’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts this week. The musical, which is directed and choreographed by Alton Geno, will feature many theatre and music students.
Set in the summer of 1953, “The Light in the Piazza” is the story of Clara, the daughter of Roy and Margaret Johnson. On a tour of Florence, Italy, with her mother, Clara meets Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, and an intense romance instantly blossoms between the two. However, Clara’s extremely protective mother tries to keep the two apart, which causes family secrets to be revealed.
“I actually looked at it several years ago, and when I first listened to the CD I fell absolutely in love with the music. It’s just a gorgeous show,” said Charles Effler, the musical director and conductor of the opera. “But I didn’t have the students that I needed to cast all the roles then, so I put it away and I looked at it again last spring. I did have the students needed for every role so I decided to go ahead and produce it.”  
The director, producer, set, costume and lighting designers began their research and development of the show in early June.  
“It’s been several months in the making,” said Effler. “We actually went into production two days before classes started. That was the first music rehearsals between me and the cast.”
Although some rehearsal time was lost because of Hurricane Isaac, Effler said that the cast quickly got back to work the week after and made up for the lost time.  
“I have to keep pinching myself to remind myself that this is a college production because the level of performances that I’m hearing and seeing on the stage is astounding,” said Effler. “It’s far above what you’d expect from college actors and singers. I think everybody who comes is going to be as amazed as I am, or even more so. I think it’s going to be incredibly successful.”
One change to the regular musical schedule this year is the location. This year, both performances of “The Light in the Piazza” will take place at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.
“It’s going to have a beneficial effect as far as I’m concerned,” said Effler. “The performance will be enhanced by moving to the Columbia. The fact that we own this incredible jewel downtown is astounding and amazing, and it’s unfortunate that a lot of Southeastern students don’t go there for events because it is far superior to Pottle Auditorium.”
According to Effler, the Columbia Theatre should enhance the audience’s experience because the lobby is bigger, the seats are more comfortable, and the stage, music and lighting capabilities are all much greater there.
“The Columbia Theatre is a cultural jewel right here in Hammond, and a superb venue for a musical of the scope and sophistication of ‘The Light in the Piazza,'” said Dr. Kenneth Boulton, the interim department head for the Department of Fine and Performing Arts. “Many faculty in our department have wanted to move the bigger-scale productions to the Columbia for some years, so this will be a great occasion to see just how magnificent the work of our faculty and students can be displayed. They deserve it.”
“The Light in the Piazza” will be performed at the Columbia Theatre on Sept. 27 and 28, at 7:30 p.m. Southeastern students can attend for free when they present their student I.D.