Opera superstar Renée Fleming and Disney TV star Dove Cameron will make their London theatre debuts next summer in a special production of Tony Award-winning The Light in the Piazza.
The first production from Scenario Two, the new company founded by John Berry and Anthony Lilley, The Light in the Piazza will make its London debut at the Royal Festival Hall for only 20 performances running from 14 June until 5 July 2019.
Presented by Scenario Two in collaboration with Opera North, after completing its London run the production will tour major venues in North America and Australia.
Directed by the multi-award-winning artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre, Daniel Evans, the production will feature the 40-piece Orchestra of Opera North performing on stage conducted by Kimberley Grigsby.
Tasked with turning the Royal Festival Hall’s stage into a sun-drenched Italian piazza, Evans will head an award-winning creative team that includes: set designer Rob Jones (RSC, Royal Opera House, Metropolitan Opera New York), costume designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel (Royal Opera House, The Metropolitan Opera New York) and lighting designer Mark Henderson (Gypsy).
Recently seen on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Carousel, American soprano Fleming will star as Margaret Johnson with Cameron as her troubled daughter Clara. Best known for her role in Disney’s The Descendants musical fantasy film trilogy, Cameron will soon be starring in the off-Broadway production of Clueless: The Musical.
Commenting on her involvement in the production, Fleming said: “I’m delighted to be a part of the London premiere of The Light in the Piazza. Adam Guettel’s score is ravishing, reaching beyond the boundaries of how we think of musical theatre.
“For my London theatre debut, to play Margaret Johnson – a fascinating, deeply human character whose predicament I find incredibly moving – this was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.”
With a book by Craig Lucas and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, the love story set in Florence in 1953, debuted in Seattle in 2003. The Broadway premiere run began in 2005 with a cast including Victoria Clark, Kellie O’Hara and Matthew Morrison. The production won six Tony Awards. The show made its European debut in 2009 with a production directed by Paul Kerryson for Leicester Curve.
Announcing the production, Scenario Two director John Berry said: “The score of The Light in the Piazza is sensational and we are thrilled that audiences will hear this London premiere in a new expanded version for full symphony orchestra. By bringing together a cast from different genres we hope to appeal to a wide audience and make this limited run of performances a ‘must see event’ before it travels to the USA.”
Angela Thomas
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