Q&A: A Conversation with 'The Light in the Piazza' Director Steve DeBruyne

Ahead of Thursday's opening of The Light in the Piazza, Dexter Patch sat down with Steve DeBruyne, assistant artistic director at the in Dexter, to talk about the cast and rehearsals.

Dexter Patch: The Light in the Piazza is a move away from the more mainstream musicals the Encore has put on in the past. What can audiences expect to see with Piazza?

Steve DeBruyne: What our audience can expect is a really fantastic new piece of musical theater. The show made its debut on Broadway in 2005, winning a handful of Drama Desk and Tony Awards along with a slew of other nominations.

(The show is about Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara, two Americans on vacation in Italy during the summer of 1953. While sightseeing, Clara, a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman, loses her hat in a sudden gust of wind. 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.)

Patch: How did the Encore come to include this show in its season? In your opinion, does it fit with the other shows you've done this year?

DeBruyne: The show was a last-minute addition to our season, replacing Seussical. We wanted to move Seussical out due to the huge cast that it requires. Since it was set to appear at The Encore between The Music Man and It's a Wonderful Life (two shows with equally huge casts), we thought we should find a more intimate piece.

The show fits well in our season because it's an introduction to something new. We all know and love The Music Man, and It's a Wonderful Life was a big hit last year, so Piazza will give our audiences the opportunity to see something that's new and fresh, which is always exciting.

Patch: Early on, rehearsals hit a snag when you had to recast a character. How has production been going? Has there been any more challenges?

DeBruyne: Yes, we had to recast the role of Fabrizio when the actor who was originally cast in the role suddenly became unavailable.  Since then we've added Brian L. Giebler to the cast as Fabrizio, and he is incredible. Brian is a voice student at the University of Michigan, and as soon as he begins singing his talent is clear. The rest of the rehearsal has been going very smoothly.

Our biggest challenge has been how to make Clara's hat get swept off of her head by a sudden gust, but those are the kinds of challenges that are very fun to solve.

Patch: You've been both on and off the stage this season and thus have had a chance to see the show from both an actor onstage and a behind-the-scenes director. Which do you like better? Will you be in the audience opening night?

DeBruyne: I will definitely be watching opening night, but possibly with my hands over my eyes! I have to be there for the cast, rooting them on and cheering during that first curtain call. That said, I definitely prefer to be an actor. It's much more challenging for me to try to direct a show from all of the character's perspectives, to keep them honest and living in those imaginary circumstances.

I prefer to think from one perspective, my own character's, to learn my lines and take it from there. The director's angle is much harder and requires many more hours of preparation and thought. ... That's not to say that I don't enjoy it, it's just much harder.

Patch: Can you share with us some of your experiences working with Piazza's cast and crew leading up to the show's opening? Are you excited to wrap up rehearsals?

DeBruyne: I'm very excited to wrap up rehearsals, but only because I can't wait to show this piece to Dexter. This cast is amazingly talented. When they sing, it sounds like the sky has opened and a chorus of angels have burst from the clouds. The show stars Barbara Scanlon (Broadway's Camelot, national tour of The Phantom of the Opera).  Barb is beautiful in the role of Margaret and her voice is gorgeous.

Joining Barb is local Equity member Scott Crownover as Signor Naccarelli. Scott was recently seen as Aldolpho in Performance Network's The Drowsy Chaperone, for which he was nominated for multiple awards. Plus we have Chicago's Stephanie Souza returning to The Encore as Clara. Stephanie just appeared as Marian in The Music Man. The rest of the cast is equally talented, including Encore favorite Sebastian Gerstner as Fabrizio's brother Giuseppe and Marlene Inman-Reilly from The Encore's Nevermore as Signora Naccarelli.

Patch: How is the Encore's going?

DeBruyne: The roots project was hugely successful. Just this afternoon we officially took ownership of the entire building at 3126 Broad St. The Encore is here to stay, and we hope more and more citizens of Dexter will come out and support us by simply purchasing a ticket and enjoying a great night of entertainment.

The Light in the Piazza opens today and 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 are $28 for adults and $25 for seniors and youths 17 and younger.