‘The Light in the Piazza’ Coming to Downtown Theatre Center

UNIVERSITY PARK  — Penn State Centre Stage will present Adam Guettel’s hit musical ‘The Light in the Piazza,’ Tuesday, April 4. through Saturday, April 15, at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center.

Direction is by Penn State master of fine arts directing candidate Darcy Evans and musical direction is by master of fine arts musical directing candidate Chris Rayis.

The 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.

‘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 theater,’ said Evans.

‘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.’

Preview performances are Tuesday and Thursday with opening night on Friday.

Tickets are available at the Penn State Downtown Ticket Center, Eisenhower Box Office, Bryce Jordan Center, or by calling (814) 863-0255 or (800) ARTS-TIX.