Summer season
Besides “The Light in the Piazza,” Maine State Music Theatre’s 51st season includes “Crazy for You,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “The Drowsy Chaperone.” In addition, three children’s musicals – “A Year With Frog and Toad,” “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “Schoolhouse Rock, Live!” – will be presented; and the a cappella group Toxic Audio will give a concert. Detailed show information is available at www.msmt.org.

BRUNSWICK – Maine State Music Theatre will begin its 2009 season with the romantic musical “The Light in the Piazza.” Winner of six Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards, the show is known for its lush score.
With music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, grandson of famed Richard Rogers, and a book by Craig Lucas, the play generated considerable attention when it opened on Broadway in 2005 at Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center.
Since Broadway, it has had a successful national tour and will make its Maine debut at MSMT.
The production runs June 3-20 at Pickard Theatre on the campus of Bowdoin College. Tickets range from $29 to $52 and are available by calling 725-8769 or online at www.msmt.org.
Based on a novel by Elizabeth Spencer, “The Light in the Piazza” takes place in Italy in the summer of 1953. Margaret Johnson, wife of an American businessman, is traveling through the Tuscan countryside with her daughter, Clara. While touring, Clara, a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman, loses her hat in a sudden gust.
Guided by fate, the hat lands at the feet of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, who returns it to Clara. This sparks an immediate and intense romance between Clara and Fabrizio. Extremely protective of her daughter, Margaret attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart.
Besides cultural differences between the young lovers, it becomes apparent that Clara is not quite all that she appears to be. Unable to hide the truth about her daughter, Margaret is forced to reconsider Clara’s future as well as her own.
MSMT’s production stars Broadway veteran Lynne Wintersteller and Jennifer Blood as Margaret and Clara Johnson. MSMT veteran Mark Jacoby, well known for portraying the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, plays Signor Naccarelli, father of young Fabrizio. Fabrizio is played by Jacoby’s real-life son, Ben Jacoby, who was previously a part of the MSMT internship program and is a recent graduate of Denison University’s theater program.

‘Recession Rush Friday’
In response to the current economic crisis, MSMT will offer what it calls “Recession Rush Friday.” On June 5, for both the matinee and evening shows of “The Light in the Piazza,” patrons will be able to pay what they can for any remaining seats.
Purchases must be made in person June 5 at the MSMT box office inside the lobby of Pickard Theater. Seats will be sold at a pay-what-you-can price on a first-come, first-served basis that day. The box office will open at 10 a.m.; the special will last as long as there are seats available. Showtimes are 2 and 8 p.m.