by Kristen Leinbach, Dramaturg
One of the most important relationships in this life is that between a family. In The Light in the Piazza we have the opportunity to experience the love and relationships found between many different types of families. Signor Naccarelli is the head of the Naccarelli's household and Fabrizio father. In BYU's production of Piazza Teb Bushman is portraying Signor Naccarelli and he shared the following,
"My name is Ted Bushman. I am a Senior MDT major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and by night I am a playwright and composer too. My favorite stuff I've done while at BYU includes putting on my first play, Fontanelle, which Scott Eckern directed, and composing a score for The Monster of Dr. Frankenstein in 2009, in which I also played the Monster. I loved the experimental, creative nature of those things, and that's a lot of what I love in real life. Apart from music and theatre, I like chicken of all varieties, artful video games, choral music & Daft Punk (usually back to back) and my family.
I play Signor Naccarelli, and for the life of me I can't find a first name for the guy. What I really like about playing him is how different he is from me. I didn't live in the fifties, I have nothing like an Italian temperament, I am not fashionable, whereas Signor Naccarelli is a patriarch of this Italian family, was involved in liaisons during WWII, is possessed of a great dignity and a great temper, and owns a tie shop.
One of my favorite stage directions in the play comes in a scene with Signor and Margaret, where it says "He shines his warmth on her." I love that, and it's something I understand about him. Signor Naccarelli feels very in charge of his world. In general, he knows what he wants and knows how to get it, and for other things he wants to make everyone feel happy and at home.
The best part about this journey of doing The Light in the Piazza is working with the cast and crew. I have never been involved in a production where such a spirit of focus and mutual compassion lives. It is particularly delightful to work with Kim Bunker, as our characters have a special relationship--we have too much fun and we hope Scott doesn't find out and stop it. It's also great to work with Michael Milkanin and Becca Petersen, who are so talented and so hard-working.
My last thought about Signor Naccarelli comes from one of his lines, where he rather poetically says that "the human heart is mysterious and sometimes also dangerous." I think more than anyone, Signor N. understands the complications of love, which are the center of this show."
