Additional casting has been revealed for the upcoming New York City Center Encores! production of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas' The Light in the Piazza, set to play New York City Center June 21–25.
Joining the previously announced Ruthie Ann Miles, taking a break from Broadway's Sweeney Todd to star as Margaret Johnson, are Shereen Ahmed as Franca Naccarelli, Andréa Burns as Signora Naccarelli, Rodd Cyrus as Giuseppe Naccarelli, James D. Gish as Fabrizio Naccarelli, Ivan Hernandez as Signor Naccarelli, and Anna Zavelson as Clara Johnson. Newcomer Zavelson was a finalist and scholarship winner at the 2022 Jimmy Awards.
Based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer and featuring a book by Lucas and a Tony-winning score by Guettel, The Light in the Piazza follows an American mother vacationing in Florence, Italy, with her daughter, who falls in love with a local man and forces her mother to embrace her own undreamt-of opportunities in the shadow of a tragic accident. Victoria Clark and Kelli O'Hara led the Broadway premiere of the work in 2005, with Clark winning a Tony for her performance.
The Encores! season launched with Dear World, starring Donna Murphy and directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes earlier this year, and is set to continue May 3-14 with Lionel Bart's Oliver!, with Encores! Artistic Director Lear deBessonet at the helm. Oliver! will be led by Benjamin Pajak in the title role, sharing the stage with Lilli Cooper, Raúl Esparza, and Tam Mutu.
WATCH: The Cast of Oliver! at New York City Center Perform Songs From the Show
