REVIEW: 'The Light in the Piazza' Brings Italy to Downtown Dexter

The production of The Light in the Piazza makes for a beautiful night of theater. 

The story follows Margaret Johnson and her daughter, Clara, who take a vacation to Italy. When a sudden gust of wind takes Clara's hat off of her head, it lands in the hands of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a young Italian man. It is love at first sight.

It is also love at first sight inside the theater. I absolutely loved Toni Auletti's set design. The minimalistic set is framed by beautifully painted panels featuring reproductions of famous Italian art and sculptures, such as Michelangelo's David. The design is perfectly functional and really makes you feel like you are in Italy.

Sharon Larkey Urick's costumes perfectly set up the 1950s time frame. Everything fits perfectly, and the mostly muted color scheme really adds to the beauty of the overall look of the show.

Steve DeBruyne's direction and Brian E. Buckner's musical direction combine to produce marvelous sounds. The full-cast harmonies are sung flawlessly, and the voices are blended perfectly together, especially in the song "Statues and Stories" in Act 1. The sheer beauty of the chord at the end of the song had me slightly teary.

Barbara Scanlon as Margaret is truly a joy to watch on stage. She takes every emotional moment — from loving mother to heartbroken wife — and makes you go through them with her. Even if she isn't verbally telling you what she is thinking, it's written all over her very expressive face.

Stephanie Souza and Brian L. Giebler as Clara and Fabrizio, the young lovers, each put so much joy and enthusiasm into their performances.  They add a nice lightness to contrast the adults.

The Naccarelli family, especially Scott Crownover as Signor Naccarelli and Sebastian Gerstner as Giuseppe Naccarelli, steal the show. The Italian accents are nearly impeccable and obviously took much work to perfect. Crownover moves around the stage with a commanding saunter, and most of the laughs in the show are at either his lines or actions. His scenes with Scanlon are magic.

Gerstner really sinks his teeth into his role. It's nice to see him play something with a bit more grit than I've seen before, but he still makes the character likable.

The Light in the Piazza runs through Oct. 2. Tickets for all performances are on sale now and may be purchased by visiting theencoretheatre.org or by calling the box office at 734-268-6200. Tickets cost $28 for adults and $25 for seniors and youths 17 and younger.