Romance and drama fill the streets of Florence and Rome in The Encore Musical Theatre Co.’s production of “The Light in the Piazza,” a Tony Award-winning musical about a love affair between a young American woman traveling in Italy with her mother and a young Italian man she meets in Florence. The musical runs Sept. 8-Oct. 2, with shows on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The love birds, Clara Johnson (Chicago-based actress Stephanie Souza) and Fabrizio Naccarelli (University of Michigan voice student Brian L. Giebler) meet when a gust of wind blows her hat off her head and he catches it. The instance of love at first sight is complicated by Clara’s overprotective mother Margaret (local actress and soprano Barbara Scanlon, who has performed on Broadway) who knows a secret about Clara. As Clara and Fabrizio chase young love, her mother, and eventually his family as well, must negotiate their own feelings about the union and love in general.

According to Encore’s description of the production; “As The Light in the Piazza unfolds, a secret is revealed: in addition to the cultural differences between the young lovers, Clara is not quite all that she appears. Unable to suppress the truth about her daughter, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara’s future, but her own hopes as well,” it reads.

The musical, an adaptation of Elizabeth Spencer’s novella of the same title, was written by Adam Guettel (music and lyrics) and Craig Lucas (book/ script). After being performed in Seattle and Chicago, the musical played for more than a year on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center, earning 6 Tony awards in 2006.

The Encore’s production is directed by Steve DeBruyne, the theater’s associate artistic director. The set design, which includes facsimiles of famous Italian art and architecture like Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, is care of Toni Auletti, an adjunct lecturer in the U-M’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Showtimes for “The Light in the Piazza” are Thursdays at 7 p.m., with an additional 3 p.m. show on Sept. 15; Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. A special “Cabaret Night” performance will happen on Oct. 1st. View the complete schedule and buy tickets on The Encore’s website.