MANSFIELD — The Renaissance Theatre is opening its first production in a new black box-style theatre with a production that, for Mansfield, is very out-of-the-box.
The brand new performance space Theatre 166 will kick off its inaugural season with “The Light in the Piazza” opening this weekend. The intricate show in an intimate space is designed to appeal not only to lovers of serious, classical theatre, but also to local audiences craving an alternative to the popular main-stage productions.
“I think it’s nice to put this out there to say this is something a little different, and there are more things to be discovered in theatre,” said director Michael Thomas. “You can always go to McDonald’s, but every now and then it’s nice to try something different. There is so much more to be discovered and nobody is ever going to expand their horizons unless they’re exposed to it.”
“Piazza” tells the story of an American woman vacationing in Italy with her daughter in the 1950s. When the daughter falls in love with a local Italian boy, the mother, struggles with whether she should reveal her daughter’s secret: that she is developmentally disabled and will remain forever childlike.
“It’s a story about the mother coming to realize maybe this is what the daughter really should have and this is what would make her blossom, and along with being worried about letting her go the mother realizes how empty her life is without her, and how dysfunctional her marriage is,” Thomas said.
Playing the mother is Lori Turner, a veteran of the Renaissance stage with an extensive background in classic theatre. Turner has said previously her favorite musicals to perform are those that are intellectual or incorporate classical music.
“It’s definitely a romance of cinematographic quality,” Turner said of the story. “The music to me sounds like a movie score, and the intimacy of the story is like what you would see in a romance in a film rather than on a big stage.”
Turner said the style of performance on display for “Piazza” is what is called “lyric singing,” with songs written for singers to sing with their full bodies and full voices. She described “Piazza” as a refreshing change of palate for not only the actors, but the audience.
“In this general community of Mansfield and its surroundings, we sometimes get stuck as artists in a cycle of the same style of art, the same style of theatre and musical theatre, and not only is it good for us as performers but it’s good for our audiences to have something different,” Turner said. “Theatre is not just for entertaining, it’s also to inspire and provoke conversation.”
The show has been both rewarding and challenging for Maddie Penwell, the newest director of education, community engagement and symphony at the Renaissance. Penwell plays Turner’s developmentally disabled daughter, and noted that local audience might be surprised at the intimate storytelling presented in Theatre 166.
“The story we’re telling is so different than even the stage-on-stage shows we’ve had in the past,” Penwell said. “This show really takes it much deeper into reality, and I think people are going to be blown away by the fact that we’re even attempting this kind of story. This is nothing like the Renaissance has done since I’ve been around.”
The storyline is not the only challenging part of “Piazza.” Thomas said the complex, Tony Award-winning score is likely one of the most difficult scores performed with the Renaissance.
It’s been particularly demanding for Ryan Shreve, who last appeared on the Renaissance stage in “Newsies.” Shreve plays an Italian native, and therefore has had to learn the appropriate accent.
“I sing a few songs that are strictly in Italian, so that’s been hard to get around,” he said. “But Lori has a background in many languages so she’s been giving some times on how to speak in Italian, how to speak in English with an Italian accent, and it’s been good that way. But it is very challenging music; we’ve all come together and made it work out in the last three weeks.”
Because of the shortened rehearsal time, Thomas was purposeful in choosing his cast. Joining Turner, Penwell and Shreve on stage are Sue Amstutz as Franca, Colton Penwell as Giuseppe, Jacob Poiner as the Priest, Elizabeth Stillion as the Tour Guide, Michael Miller as Signor Naccarelli and Pam Phillips as Signora Naccarelli.
“I picked people who I’ve worked with before and I knew they could do it,” Thomas said. “I went to them and said we have a very short rehearsal time but we’re going to do this like the pros do, you guys come in prepared and ready. And they were great about it. This is one of the toughest shows we’ve ever done, and they’re doing great.”
In addition to the cast, the creative team includes Nik Demers as assistant director, Aaron Nicolas on lighting design, Jason Kauffman and Abe Swanger designing scenery, and Sharon Grimes on piano.
“The Light in the Piazza” runs one weekend only from Oct. 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. through Oct 7 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are on sale now at the Renaissance Box Office, via phone at 419-522-2726, and online at MansfieldTickets.com. It is rated PG for very mild language and adult situations.
