Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza is a refreshing break from the standard Broadway musical model. It is based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer which was made into a 1962 movie. The musical spent years in development, beginning first in Seattle at the Intiman Playhouse and moving to Chicago’s Goodman Theatre before its New York opening at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center in early 2005. Using the Back Stage criteria, the show directed by Bartlett Sher qualifies as a hit, but just barely: the original production ran 504 performances. PBS documented the show by taping one of the final performances before it went out on the road with a sizable chunk of the remaining cast. The tour has rolled into ASU’s Gammage Auditorium near the tail end of its official list of stops. There have naturally been some replacements, but the cast that remains is quite impressive. There are “A” tours and “B,” this one can be considered an “A+” tour.

This musical breaks a lot of stereotypes and enforces new concepts. Guettel’s music is a lush neoromantic offering with operatic overtones. Set in Florence and Rome, his lyrics are sung not only in English, but broken English and in Italian for long periods. Sher has done well to make sure that the sections that are in Italian are expressively blocked and made understandable for those who know better the language of love. Lucas’ book is coy. There is something odd about Clara Johnson (Katie Rose Clarke) as her mother Margaret (Christine Andreas) shuttles her around Florence to recapture the magic she felt with her husband (John Procaccino) when they last visited. Clara’s free-spirited and quick to engage strangers, while Margaret is more subdued, a no-nonsense Southern lady. When Clara is taken with the Florentine Fabrizio (David Burnham), Margaret seems oddly overprotective, attempting to stop things even as Fabrizio’s father Signor Naccarelli (David Ledingham) and mother (Wendi Bergamini) attempt to stoke the flames. When the reality of Clara and Margaret’s situation threatens to overshadow Clara and Fabrizio’s burgeoning affair, Margaret must make a decision about how she feels about the healing effects of love.

Sher’s direction focuses on fluidity. Michael Yeargan’s sets float around the stage, scenes are oddly split and angled like Christopher Akerlind’s spatial lighting. There is no attempt here to achieve realism, and that supports the theme of the work. Jonathan Butterell’s musical staging moves gracefully throughout scenes, and it’s hard to tell what’s blocked and what’s choreographed.

Margaret acts as narrator as well as central figure, and her relationship to the audience is often restrained. Andreas does an excellent job of keeping the charm and stiffness of her character in balance. Also, she has an amazing voice, one that is showcased in such soul-searching songs as “Dividing Day” and “Fable.” Clarke captures Clara’s childlike innocence and quirkiness without calling attention to itself until textually appropriate. She, too, has an exquisite voice that finds its pinnacle in the titled song. The operatic voice and strong presence that Procaccino brings to Fabrizio never overwhelms the others in the ensemble, but helps us to understand his long Italian arias, such as the initial “Il Mondo Era Vuoto.” The whole family gets to shine in the second act opening “Aiutami,” when the operatic roots of the text really show themselves.

I very much appreciate the fact that while James Lowe’s orchestra sounds lovely and full, it also employs ten local members, most string players, to support the tour’s five musicians. The musical is set in 1953, so kudos go to Catherine Zuber for creating a wonderful costume parade full of crinolines, sharp-lapeled suit jackets, and subtle color choices.