Lincoln Center's The Light in the Piazza Extends Through July

Lincoln Center Theater is extending its production of The Light in the Piazza for a fourth time. The tuner will now run at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre through July 2, 2006.

The Light in the Piazza, 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 musical features a book by Craig Lucas and a score by Adam Guettel.

The Lincoln Center production of The Light in the Piazza--which stars Victoria Clark, Katie Clarke, Aaron Lazar, Michael Berresse, Sarah Uriarte Berry and Chris Sarandon--opened to mixed reviews on April 19. In his Broadway.com Review of the tuner, Eric Grode wrote: "The Light in the Piazza is incredibly lucky to have found Victoria Clark. Her shrewd, poignant portrayal, imbuing Margaret's hesitant emotional growth and deep-rooted pragmatism with a lush singing voice, is by far the highlight of Guettel and Lucas' affecting, occasionally overreaching adaptation of the Elizabeth Spencer novel. Luckily, Clark gets enough help from her talented supporting cast, Bartlett Sher's crystalline direction and an exquisite physical production to vault Piazza over its dramaturgical gaps."

The tuner won Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical Victoria Clark, Best Original Score Written for the Theatre Adam Guettel, Best Scenic Design of a Musical Michael Yeargan, Best Lighting Design of a Musical Christopher Akerlind, Best Costume Design of a Musical Catherine Zuber and Best Orchestrations Ted Sperling, Adam Guettel and Bruce Coughlin.