Margaret Johnson, the wife of an American businessman, is touring the Tuscan countryside with her daughter, Clara. While sightseeing, Clara – a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman – loses her hat in a sudden gust. 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. Margaret, extremely protective of her daughter, attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart. But as events unfold, a secret is revealed: in addition to the cultural differences between the young lovers, Clara is not quite all that she appears. Unable to suppress the truth about her daughter, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara's future, but her own hopes as well.

"PIAZZA features a remarkably string-saturated and romantic musical score by today's standards - or even those of composer Adam Guettel's grandfather Richard Rodgers."

Dawn Shirley LA City Beat

"The most intensely romantic score of any musical since WEST SIDE STORY!"

The New York Times

"Guettel...won the Tony for Best Music and Lyrics at the 2005 Tony Awards and the award was well deserved. His score for PIAZZA is rich and complex and the lyrics, sung in English and Italian, perfectly capture the voice of each character."

Theatre Scene West

"What Adam Guettel (music and lyrics) and Craig Lucas (book) have crafted is a quiet, beautiful, elegant, and romantic show."

Jeff Favre LA Downtown News

"Breathtaking! Original and daring!...Anyone who cares about the rather uncertain future of this truly American genre should/must see the show!"

New York Magazine

"The most melodic and emotionally satisfying musical this season!"

Associated Press

"A work of such consummate beauty, truth, energy and accomplishment that you leave the theater filled with joy and revived by hope for the future."

The New York Observer

"Adam Guettel's astonishing music is the most beautiful score written for the American musical theater in 20 years, and the uncommonly wise and emotional lyrics from Craig Lucas collapse all the usual defenses against Broadway flim-flam. This is a serious and passionate musical and I regard it as a masterpiece. If you have a passion for serious musicals, you'd be a fool to miss this show."

Chris Jones The Chicago Tribune

Premiere Production: In 2005 The Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center, and ran for 504 performances.