Scarlet reviews the London production of The Light in the Piazza.

Starring four-time Grammy award winner and Tony nominee Renee Fleming alongside screen star Dove Cameron, Light in the Piazza begins as a jovial musical but quickly transpires into a dark and more sinister story. 

Dove Cameron stars as Clara, the daughter of Margaret Johnson played by Renee Fleming. The pair are on holiday and land in Florence, Italy, where Margaret can relive her past from when she first visited the city and found love. On this trip, both of them are now tourists, taking in all the sights and exploring as one would in a town so beautiful. A gust of wind, however, sways the fate of Clara as her hat ends up in the hands of a young man, Fabrizzio.

We follow Clara and Fabrizzio on their journey, which echoes every part of the Italian holiday romance most of us have dreamt of. But just as we begin to enjoy a Romeo and Juliet style love story, a dark twist - that none of us really expected - comes into fruition. 

Just like Clara loses control of her mind at certain points in the musical, I too found myself slightly lost. Adam Guettel's period inspired score carries each scene, along with Renee Fleming's star quality and Dove Cameron's innocent yet incredible voice. But something felt slightly off, and it wasn't down to the fact we all fell quickly into the story of a girl with brain damage. It felt like the audience were waiting for Renee Fleming to do what she does best, and completely belt out a note one could only dream of hitting - but it never really happened. The goosebumps never arrived.