Martinez actor Deborah Del Mastro is appearing in the Willows Theatre Company’s latest musical presentation, The Light in the Piazza, that focuses on two young lovers whose future together is deemed by everyone to be impossible. Based on the novella by Elizabeth Spencer, it is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953.

In addition to Del Mastro, the cast features Teressa Byrne, Rachel Robinson, Robert Dornaus, and Jonathan Spencer.

A young American tourist, Clara Johnson (Rachel Robinson), meets and falls for young Italian Fabrizio Naccarelli (Robert Dornaus). When Clara's mother Margaret (Deborah Del Mastro) learns of the affair, she opposes it for reasons that only gradually become clear to the audience.

Del Mastro returns to the Willows stage as Margaret Johnson, mother of the young Clara.  Del Mastro was last seen in a very different kind of role at the Willows - as the wise-cracking Sister Robert Anne in Nunset Boulevard.  She will continue the national tour of that show later in the year.

Coincidentally, the role of Fabrizio (played in the Willows production by Robert Dornaus) was played in the U.S. National Tour by Broadway pro David Burnham, whose own solo show played at The Willows January 21 and 22.

The role of Clara Johnson is played by Rachel Robinson, who is also the Willows’ staff musical director.  Teressa Byrne, last seen as the lead in the Willows’ production of Rags, plays Signora Naccarelli.  She is paired with long-time Willows favorite Jonathan Spencer, who plays Signor Naccarelli.

CurtainUp called the musical a "gorgeously staged and musically sophisticated adaptation... the Guettel sound is plush and enjoyable with a genuine musical theater sensibility.” Conversely, the Village Voice praised the show “for its humanity, which separates it from the bulk of current musical theater.”   The Broadway production garnered numerous award and award nominations, including Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Orchestrations and a Tony Award for Best Score.

The show runs through March 3.  The Willows Mainstage is located at 1975 Diamond Boulevard (in The Willows Shopping Center) in Concord.Tickets $30-36 at www.willowstheatre.org or 925-798-1300.