UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Centre Stage will present Adam Guettel’s hit musical "The Light in the Piazza," April 4-15 at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, with direction by Penn State master of fine arts directing candidate Darcy Evans and musical direction by master of fine arts musical directing candidate Chris Rayis.
Filled with sunshine and light as a summer breeze, this exhilarating musical follows the Italian travels of Margaret Johnson and her stunningly beautiful daughter, Clara. When a dashing young Italian captures Clara’s heart, Margaret is compelled to reveal the secret about her daughter.
Director Darcy Evans adds, "I am grateful for the opportunity to direct this beautiful musical, which tells its story through the eyes of a mother and her daughter, a rarity in the musical theatre. Playwright Craig Lucas describes it as 'a paradigm for all mothers and all parents of children in terms of how you let go of them and how they let go of you, the difficulty of it, and the knowledge that your kids will never really be safe.' I believe it is also a story about the power of love and its capacity for healing."