Meet the Cast - Becca Petersen as Clara Johnson

By Kristen Leinbach, Dramaturg

When asked about writing The Light in the Piazza and about the relationships of the characters, Craig Lucas said the following

“Clara apprehends the world differently than her mother. [Margaret] goes through Italy with a guidebook. But the girl sees experiences, she sees the light in the piazza. She literally experiences the light as representative of her deepest feelings…That’s why the score has moments where words no longer suffice or are no longer important. It’s the feeling and light. Those things carry us. Human beings are just a conduit for love. I think Clara sees that. Love comes before her and after her.”

I asked Becca Petersen, portraying Clara Johnson, to share a little about her life as well as her experience getting to really know Clara.

“I am Becca Petersen from Carmel, Indiana. I am a senior studying Music Dance Theatre. I will be graduating in April with plans of moving to New York City! At BYU I have performed in PETER PAN as well as two years in the Young Ambassadors traveling to Southern Africa and China. These past two summers I have performed professionally at The Muny and Music Theatre of Wichita. Aside from musical theatre I love to go thrift shopping, take naps, eat out, and spend time with my friends and family.

Clara Johnson has always been one of my dream roles and I could not be more excited and grateful to have the opportunity to play her.

The Light in the Piazza follows Clara and her mother, Margaret, as they travel through Italy. Clara is a very youthful girl who lives life exactly in the moment. She is bright-eyed as she sees and experiences this new place for the first time. The plot is centered around relationships: Clara’s relationship with her mother and her new budding relationship with a Florentine boy, Fabrizio. I feel that I connect with Clara on many levels. I love to travel, explore, and see new places. Because of previous travel opportunities I have had I understand what it is like experiencing different cultures and having to figure out how you fit in. In the show many of the characters, including Clara, go through big life transitions. Currently I can relate as I am getting ready to graduate, preparing to move to NY, having family members and close friends get married, and trying to understand love and relationships of my own. All of these experiences can be scary but can also be incredible if we let ourselves learn, grow, and live in them. We must allow ourselves to find the happiness and joy in all things we experience. In essence, that is what Clara does. Clara finds what makes her happy.”

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By Holly Mancuso, Dramaturg The Count of Monte Cristo has closed after a very successful run. It has been a pleasure to work with so many talented artists and experience the power of this lovely story. I wanted to take a few moments to talk about the themes and main ideas that come out in the show. [caption id="attachment_3494" align="aligncenter" width="423"] Mercedes and Edmond[/caption] First, love. The romantic love between Edmond and Mercedes is inspiring and touching, epitomized by the romantic duets they share. Their commitment to one another and the love they share drives them onward, even when the future looks bleak. [caption id="attachment_3495" align="aligncenter" width="442"] Abbe Faria and Edmond[/caption] Other relationships of love are explored, including between parents and their children, workers and employers, and friends. A notable connection between Edmond and his mentor/fellow prisoner Abbe Faria shows how important it is to have positive influences in our lives. Without the help and support of those around us, it can be exceedingly difficult to overcome our trials. Additionally, even when those we love leave us, they are never truly gone. Their memory stays with us, and can comfort us when all seems lost. Another theme I have considered is that of vengeance. In the show, Edmond becomes the Count of Monte Cristo, and uses that as an opportunity to secure revenge against those who betrayed him. But is that always the best option? We may feel better for a moment, but I think the show helps us see that getting back at others can't make us truly happy. Sometimes it is wiser to let things go instead of allowing anger and hatred to consume our lives. [caption id="attachment_3492" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The Act I finale, "Hell to Your Doorstep"[/caption] Finally, I love the idea of hope. We are never lost or alone. Just like Edmond sings in "The Man I Used to Be", All the pain is gone. Hope is what moves on. The hope for the future can carry us onward into a better life. May we all strive to remember the joy and goodness to be found all around us. And in case you were wondering: What's next for the show? Despite our production at BYU being over, the show is just getting started in America. It's still a relatively new musical, with rewrites and updates in its future. Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City recently announced that they will be producing Monte Cristo on its 2015-2016 season. This exciting development is an important step for the growth and further production of the show. What's coming up next at BYU? There are many entertaining shows in the works at BYU. Keep checking this blog and http://arts.byu.edu/ to stay in the loop for all the current performances! Thank-you so much for reading and for your support of BYU and The Count of Monte Cristo!

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by Rick Curtiss, dramaturg The most quoted line in The Winter's Tale is never spoken. It's Shakespeare’s famous stage direction, Exeunt, pursued by a bear Where a character, after performing a grizzly task, is chased off the stage. It is a moment that demands pause. A bear chases him off the stage? There isn't a hint or prophecy or warning of “bears in these parts,” and within five words a bear appears and disappears. Why the bear didn't just eat the baby is beyond me. Did I mention there is a baby in the scene? It's all too reminiscent of an oft repeated family legend, Please bear with me-- In the early nineteen fifties a bear cub was found and killed outside a logging camp in the northwest corner of Montana. A few days later, Jaunita Curtiss was doing chores at the camp and her daughter Ida, not quite two, was playing outside. When Juanita turned to check on Ida, instead of a baby she saw a sow bear lumbering back into the woods on three legs. Exeunt, bear holding the baby Within five words a bear appeared and disappeared. Juanita, terrified, got everyone at the camp together hoping to find the bear before it got hungry. They searched most of the day and eventually tracked down the kidnapper sans baby. They cornered and killed the mama bear, and continued searching for (what's left of) Ida. It was a grim task. The next morning they discovered the bear's den. Inside they found an unharmed, crying, not quite two year old. Mother and daughter were reunited. What a moment that must have been. To wait through the night sure the child is dead only to be proven wrong the next morning—the best kind of wrong. It was a rarity, a miracle, a shouldn't have been. Ida's only account of the tale was a reference to the “big chi-chis.” The Curtiss family figured that the mama bear was trying to replace her cub. I imagine the mama bear spotted the human baby after just losing her own. “There is one,” she thought, “Not quite right, but close, and one not quite right baby is better than none at all.” Mother and daughter were reunited. What a moment that must have been. It was a rarity, a miracle, a shouldn't have been. They say the mama bear gave suck to baby Ida from her big bear teats, surely a bittersweet moment. Shakespeare must have known that bears have a great sense of justice and mercy. A Winter's Tale is about mothers and daughters, death and miracles, and briefly it's about a bear. But the question remains: How do we do it on stage? I won't answer that here, but I assure you it doesn't involve a man in a bear costume.

Meet the Cast - Becca Petersen as Clara Johnson

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