Direct from Broadway, winner of six 2005 Tony® Awards plays Atlanta

Direct from Broadway, the romantic new musical “The Light in the Piazza” swept into Atlanta this week for a limited one-week engagement which will wrap up this weekend at The Fox Theatre. The show, presented by Broadway Across America - Atlanta, will play Oct. 13-15 before continuing on its national tour.

“The Light in the Piazza” visits Atlanta as part of its 50-week North American tour, which kicked off in August in San Francisco and is visiting more than 25 cities across the continent, including Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston and many more. A full tour schedule is available at www.piazzaontour.com.

The new musical opened on Broadway in April 2005 and instantly became a favorite of critics and audiences alike, extending its run until July 2006 at Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont Theater. With book by Craig Lucas, music and lyrics by Adam Guettel and direction by Bartlett Sher, “The Light in the Piazza” is the winner of six 2005 Tony® Awards, five Drama Desk Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards for its acclaimed New York run, and was recently seen nationwide on PBS’s “Live From Lincoln Center.”

The musical, based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer, is set in the summer of 1953 and tells the story of a mother and daughter traveling through Italy, the daughter’s romance with a handsome, high-spirited Florentine, and the mother’s determined efforts to keep the two apart.

The beautiful songs echo the romantic feelings of love and have been the key to winning the hearts of audiences. Composer Guettel has been praised for capturing “that transcendent, irrational state familiar to anyone who has fallen head over heels in love” (The New York Times) in his score for “The Light in the Piazza.”

NETworks presents the Lincoln Center Theater production, which reunites the award-winning creative team from Broadway. The musical has sets by Michael Yeargan (2005 Tony® Award winner), costumes by Catherine Zuber (2005 Tony® Award winner), lighting by Christopher Akerlind (2005 Tony® Award winner), sound by ACME Sound Partners, orchestrations by Ted Sperling, Adam Guettel and Bruce Coughlin (2005 Tony® Award winners), music direction by Kimberly Grigsby and musical staging by Jonathan Butterell.

Leading the cast of the touring production is Christine Andreas as Margaret Johnson, a protective Southern matron, Elena Shaddow as her daughter Clara, a beautiful 26-year-old American traveling abroad, and David Burnham as Fabrizio Naccarelli, a 20-year old Italian suitor who barely speaks English and is the source of the romantic tension central to the story.

The cast also features Laura Griffith as Franca Naccarelli, Jonathan Hammond as Giuseppe Naccarelli, David Ledingham as Signor Naccarelli, Brian Sutherland as Roy Johnson and Diane Sutherland as Signora Naccarelli.

“The Light in the Piazza” will play Oct. 13-15 at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta. Tickets range from $19 to $58 and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 404-817-8700 or in person at The Fox Theatre box office. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster outlets. Orders for groups of 20 or more may be placed by calling 404-881-2000.

For more information on “The Light in the Piazza,” visit www.piazzaontour.com.

The Atlanta engagement of “The Light in the Piazza” is presented by arrangement with Broadway Across America-Atlanta. Broadway Across America-Atlanta presents Broadway productions in Atlanta as a member of Broadway Across America under the direction of Live Nation. For information or to purchase tickets for touring Broadway shows throughout the network, go to www.broadwayacrossamerica.com.

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