Before concentrating on The Light in the Piazza, which runs at the Royal Festival Hall (until 5 July 2019), I want to give a big shout out to the whole of London's South Bank London.
Whenever I have cause to visit, which is not nearly enough, I look to have the time to take in whatever is happening here.
This cultural hub across the Thames from the Embankment via the Golden Jubilee footbridge, is one of the most vibrant areas of the capital.
Corralled here are the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, the National Theatre and the British Film Institute Southbank.
A stroll away one finds the London Eye and the Sea Life London Aquarium and London Dungeon.
Linking these, along the Thames side promenade, are any number of bars and restaurants and eclectic street food stalls.
There is invariably something fascinating or entertaining taking place, with free events and busker performances.
Most of all is it the great diversity of those attracted to South Bank that makes a visit so rewarding.
Tourists from all parts of the planet; friends and lovers out for the evening and commuters taking a pause before heading home
And then, of course, there are those at South Bank with tickets for performances or screenings in the concert halls, theatres and cinemas.
The Light in the Piazza
It was this, and The Light in the Piazza at the Royal Festival Hall, that brought me to South Bank on this occasion.
This gloriously warm musical was a Tony-winning hit on Broadway and now enjoys a short run in London before heading to Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Royal Festival Hall is so well suited to a production that has the Opera North Symphony Orchestra prominent on stage to deliver the musicals swirling, string saturated score
From the outset one just knows The Light in the Piazza is going to delight and so it proves.
I was minded of Three Coins in the Fountain with Stephen Sondheim's lyrical ingenuity.
The lyrics and dialogue alternate between English and Italian, or broken versions of each, which adds genuine humour to the production.
It also paves the way for the operatic arias that elevate the musical, particularly from Rob Houchen as Fabrizio.
The feather light plot is set in Florence during the summer of 1953 and finds American tourists Margaret and her daughter Clara taking in the sights of the city.
But as soon as Clara sets eyes on Fabrizio she can focus her thoughts and desires on nothing and no one else.
He is equally smitten for this is a textbook case of young love at its most uncomplicated.
Fabrizio's tempestuous family get involved and succeed in helping then hindering before finally steering the couple to the alter.
While it goes without saying that the whole cast are excellent, special mention must to go to the delightfully sweet Dove Cameron whose performance as Clara is mesmerising.
Renée Fleming's stalwart performance as Margaret anchors the production and Rob Houchen plays Fabrizio offers the right blend of lovelorn fragility and Latin temperament.
Marie McLaughlin, as Signora Naccarelli, is a sexy, sassy Italian firecracker and the one character with genuine depth.
If you miss The Light in the Piazza during this short run, it could well be that it will resurface at a theatre near you at some time in the future.
If so it comes highly recommended, as does the South Bank itself – and indeed Italy.
Useful links
www.lightinthepiazzathemusical.com
www.southbanklondon.com