How do you interpret the fact that the most awarded musical at the 2005 Tony Awards for excellence in theater was based on Elizabeth Spencer's The Light in the Piazza, a work in which Italy represents a place where a developmentally disabled young woman may lead a full life?
Elizabeth Spencer's The Light in the Piazza well deserves the most awarded musical at the 2005 Tony Awards for excellence in theater. The story draws attention to the development of a mentally challenged woman named Clara, whose own mother has ceased to believe that Clara can live a normal life. In America, which is depicted as a country where people act responsibly and reasonably, Clara has no hope of being accepted by society. However, Clara's hope of becoming a normal individual is rekindled when she travels in Florence. Elizabeth Spencer constantly compares Italy to American and Italian to American throughout the story, showing how Italy is a land where dreams come true and Italians are able to find humor tragedies as severe as death of a family member. Italy in The Light in the Piazza is similar to Italy in Death in Venice, for in both works Italy is represented as a land where impossible things happen.
Works Cited
Spencer, Elizabeth. The Light in the Piazza. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960. Print.
I also wrote about this disparate depictions of the two regions in the Light of the Piazza. I really like how you find that Italy is a land where the impossible happiness, a place where dreams can come true. It's interesting that you say that because people are always talking about the American Dream, the land of opportunities. It's interesting how the roles have actually switched.
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