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From: pianostix
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  • Please stop talking about the "NOTE"; I am so sorry I brought up the "NOTE"; she cozied up to the "NOTE" as opposed to hitting the "NOTE"; Katie Clarke deserved an Emmy. No NOTE about it!

  • I'm playing Clara in our high school production of this and I can't wait. :)

  • i feel like people who don't like Katie Clarke don't watch her perform. Her character is intoxicating. and her emotions match up with her voice. she isnt a robot like many other classically trained women and men. I think she pulls off this role so well.

  • Saw your videos and thought I would say hi!

  • i think i like katie better. both are amazing, but from just listening to it, katie sounds completely pure. and it breaks my heart. especially with the contrast of the accompaniment and her voice. all of the songs are kind of crazy, and the purity of her voice makes it that contrast all the more obvious

  • Love this so much. Amazing voice. <3

  • I think Katie plays Clara beautifully! Kelli's voice is way too developed for the character and to me she doesnt come across as different to everyone else right from the beginning of the show like Katie does. Katie just suits the character sooo well ...Clara is is one of my dream roles and i think katie is a beautiful fit!

  • I saw her live a couple years ago..and she was AMAZING. Despite imperfect notes in this recording, she is a wonderful performer and has improved (of course) over time. LOVE HER!!!!!!

  • Today, our MBT shoes and UGG boots cut down the price, come on!

  • i like katie better than kelli

  • @ChandraSchwartzROCKS Yes, i do too, i think, except I'd love to see (not just hear) Kelli's version of this song.... Anybody out there - it think it would make my day to see it.

  • @uKooKu i agree!

  • She Went to Sam Houston University for Musical Theatre!!!! Go Texas Talent!!!

  • shes just not that great..say what u want about her, but kelli o hara is just a better singer and actress...katie brings something defferent to the role, but this song is so much like an aria its obvious katie isnt cut out for this song

  • (ctd.) ...I remember being pleasantly surprised by how great she (& the other replacement cast members) was (were.) Often it's just not the same when the replacement cast comes in, but in this case the show didn't suffer at all. I completely believed her as the character, she was terrific.What a great show. I've seen a lot of disappointing things on Broadway - when you see something that really is unique & wonderful, it's so inspiring.

  • I saw this on Broadway in the last week before I closed and I was kicking myself for not seeing it sooner because I loved it so much I definitely would have gone to see it again if it hadn't been closing! (That'll teach me to procrastinate.) I didn't expect to like it that much, and I absolutely loved it. It was just so beautiful & touching & gorgeous to watch and entertaining. Also - I saw Katie do this role, and I thought she was fantastic.I'm sure Kelly O'Hara was wonderful, but I remember

  • I especially appreciate the audio and visual quality of these postings. Again and again, thanx pianostix!

  • Its a shame she went flat on that last "someone".....The rest of the song is flawless...

  • Her voice and physicality are perfect Clara. She is wondrous.

  • Kelli is an Amazing but Katie has that childlike voice that fits the charecter. aaaah! i cant choose!

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  • i've said it once, i'll say it a thousand times - Katie deserves a Tony for this performance!!

    the little nuances like the way she holds her fingers and the slight twang she puts on her words when she talks about her hometown truely make the character.

  • how old is Clara meant to be?

  • @06neasonm 26.

  • @06neasonm she is supposed to be 10 - 12 years cognitively....at least in the novella....

  • Even though i know a bunch of people who could sing as well or better as her, i think she has a delightful innocence and style for this part. this makes the play more alive to me than any perfect proffesional playing the same part could!!

  • "This" is her fleeting, momentary assessment of being young and truly alive.

  • Ok is the lyric.."i Feel KNOWN" or "i feel grow?"

  • @crazyphan18 known

  • The beauty is really and truly Katie Rose Clarke. I can't watch her in this role without getting emotional. She is so pure. So incredible. So unimaginably beautiful. How did Clara ever exist without her? ♥

  • If I HAD to compare Kelli and Katie, Kelli has a stronger voice for this show, but I do like the younger Clara that Katie had. Katie is just adorable!

  • No need to make this Katie vs Kelli all the time they each brought something to the role that the other didn't and neither failed to entertain

  • she is great for this role, but i still prefer Kelli O'Hara to her!

  • I think she sang it perfectly. A lot of other people tend to sing it too operatically, which in my opinion ruins it & completely ruins the emotion.

  • My god I love her voice.. she is the perfect Clara! I prefer her to Kelli O'hara, mostly because of the 'innocence' in her voice. She's amazing

  • I don't hear the problem with the ending note that everyone is talking about.

  • I'm currently studying musical theatre where Katie went to school and she came and talked to us last week. She was telling us how amazingly nervous not just her but the whole cast was about the recording. As soon as the bows were over they all ran together like screamed because they were happy it was over. She sang "Light in the Piazza" for us, and it was like Clara just flashed into her eyes as soon as the music started. She is so wonderfully talented and sweet.

  • OMG! I was there too! That is so cool! She trully was amazing.

  • What school is that? Im curious

  • @SunshineDucks It's not a school. It was a taping of the Broadway production. CET broadcasted it over television once.

  • @Just2Comment5 I know that. I wanted to know what school she went to.

  • don't blame katie for not hitting the last note perfectly. i'm the second freshman to ever make it into my school's chamber chorale which is really hard to get into, so i'm a pretty good musician, and i'm singing this song for something and it's one of the hardest songs i've ever worked on. she does a really good job for such a hard song!

  • weird..this song is actually pretty easy compared to "The Light in The Piazza." It's just my opinion tho. I love this song, and good luck :]

  • really? i found light in the piazza a lot easier to sing, and i've sung both. i guess its just a matter of opinion. :)

  • Oh my gosh, Katie is so good! She is so perfect for this role!!

  • A friend of mine is good friends with Katie and said that she was the composer's first choice, and that the innocence in her voice was exactly how he imagined when writing the show. Yes, Kelly O'Hara has without a doubt one of the best voices in Musical Theatre, but in reality the character of a mentally underdeveloped adolescent girl would not have a perfect soprano voice. I think the imperfect qualities in her voice are incredibly charming to the character.

  • I completely agree! I think it's adorable and completely fits with the character.

  • @bpaulf89 I am not sure how true that is. She didn't get the gig until a week after her graduation. I could also be misinformed. Irregardless... Katie is a perfect blend of talent and innocence.

  • :( I wish they'd preserved O'Hara's performance. She sings it really MUCH better, and it's a gorgeous song that deserves to be heard sung well...

  • I have to agree with you. Katie is a very good actor getting into the childishness of Clara, but Kelli's tone is a lot purer

  • yes. very elaborately staged.. so many costume- changing "extras" enhancing the mood.

  • I managed to peel my eyes away from the beautiful Katie long enough to notice the couple making out in the background at 2:37

    :)

  • This gives me goosebumps.

    I love it.

  • She is just a tad AMAZING. First time seeing stuff from this show and it's official. I'm in love.

  • This is honestly the only version of this song I can listen to/watch besides Kelli O'Hara's. It's really important to get the acting right - otherwise it's just stupid (like so many of the ones on YouTube - sorry, lol). Katie does this to perfection, while her singing may not be as good as Kelli's.

    I mean, this is actually a difficult song.

  • i always smile when i listen to Katie sing this. She was a wonderful Clara. I got to see her live twice!

  • I never get sick of this song

  • You know... the full show is on YouTube if you're wondering what this song is about... that's a good way to understand it instead of asking people through comments.

  • i don't really know the story of this show, so WHAT is wanting something? WHAT is praying for it? Is she demonstrating the action of those lines to the audience as she sings them or is she referring to something else?

  • she met an Italian boy, Fabrizzio.

    he symbolizes someone new, yet someone similar to her at the same time.

  • I think she's referring to going to Italy, getting away from home and seeing so many different things she's never seen before. The main thing, of course, is Fabrizzio, who she ran into and was immediately attracted to when he caught her hat in the wind. She's wanting to see him again and wants amazing things to happen. Clara hasn't ever felt anything like this before because she's been so sheltered by her mother, loving as she is. This is like a breakthrough for her, being the way she is...

  • WHAT is the way she is?

  • She was kicked in the head by a pony at her Birthday Party and the doctors said her body would continue to develop but her brain would not. :(

  • She wants and prays for love, which is something she's never really had because she's in a kind of arrested development.

  • It's based off a movie released in 1962 staring ...well...people most people wouldn't know. An American mother and daughter are on vacation in Italy (Florence) where the daughter, Clara, meets a boy, Fabrizo. Clara has some mental disability due to an accident at her birthday party when she was younger. Clara's mother is concerned about the emerging relationship between Clara and Fabrizo...rent the movie. It's cute.

  • those are the emotions she's experiencing - she's thinking to herself "oh, so THIS is what wanting something is like"

  • @Eponine05 She is mimicing the picture in the museum...the hands of the Madonna in the Annunciation picture behind her....It's worth watch ing all the clips. It is such an amazing story, and so well staged!

  • @Eponine05 I think it's a bit about the hope and the joy of new discovery - The Madonna was discovering her "gift" of bearing the son of God....and Clara is discovering herself & love for the first time...in a "New Old World"....

  • i love the way she acts it, but i much prefer kelli's vocals. her voice is just so undeniably beautiful.

  • 0:32

    the one faithful moment.

    we all saw it coming(:

    i love katie rose carke, and not only for her work in The Light in the Piazza, but mainly for Wicked!

  • I love the way she incorporates Clara's innocence, intentionally or not, into her vocal performance. I always had trouble equating Kelli's vocals with the childlike persona of Clara, especially with the use of a heavy accent.

    Katie's performance is brilliant. Although she doesn't have Kelli's technique (understandably), I think she's better suited for the role.

  • Agreed. There's something about Katie that's so childlike and naive: it captures just how Clara would look at the world.

    Listening to this song always leaves me with a bit of a sad smile :-)

  • I personally like Katie more than Kelli. I just hate how Kelli warbles/wobbles on a lot of her notes. I just like the more classical color and tone of Katie's voice.

  • ... argg. she can't hit the notes.:(((

    she made the song make sense for me, though.

  • Oh, she can hit the notes. She hit a bum note on that last high G, but I think it was just a bad night. Unfortunately it was the night they taped =/

  • Of the two, I do like Kelli's voice better. She's more experienced and it shows through. That being said, I LOVE Katie's portrayal of Clara. She may not be as technically advanced as Kelli, but I feel like her acting was dead on. Especially in the freak-out scenes. Kelli for listening. Katie for watching.

  • What Katie Rose lacked here in technical ability she more than made up for artistically - what an amazingly original, genuine portrayal of this girl-woman role. She gave this character fascinating contours

  • I personally am not a fan of her voice but I love the way she performed this! Kelli is still the best though =)

  • I saw her in the last few months of her run in The Light In The Piazza and she was 100000000 times better then this! I was in awe of how talented she was! Then that same year I saw her in Wicked, not knowing it was the same girl, and she too blew me away again!! This girl is so talented!

  • katie plays the role very well, but this video was taken much earlier in her career. i saw her recently as Glinda in Wicked and she was fantastic. shes improved so much since this. i would love to see her come back and do this role again since shes improved so much.

  • i know right? i've seen her twice in wicked. she's amazing.

  • I did NOT like katie at first...I am so in love with Kelli's take that when I saw katie's it made me upset haha. But Then when I watched more videos, I saw how talented she was and how well she played the part. She really does do an excellent job, but I still love kelli the best.

  • Yes. No one like Kelly and Matthew... :)

  • I saw this performance that night and she plays the character of Clara so well. She took us with her into her footsteps of discovering Italy and true love.

  • I saw this performance that night and she is amazing she hits the character so spot on. With every step you see Clara from her facial expressions to her voice.

  • I know that she was a little off with that note towards the end... but I really liked that she didn't make it dark. She kept it light and mixy like the rest of the song. Often I hear this song and girls will all of a sudden switch from their mix to this big operatic classical voice to hit the note. I like it when voices have personality and stay connected to the piece.

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  • ... you're welcome?

    haha

    hope you enjoy Katie though.

    But I agree, Kelli's a legend.

  • i thought this was well done. I had to really listen closely to it to make sure that SOMEONE was on key and it was, of course. She used a classic technique which many older broadway stars actauujly used in shows like My Fair Lady. But, still fantastic.

  • Really? i thought she blew it just there. But I saw her in Chicago about a year after this, (opposite some geek who overplayed Fabrizzio), and she made 'SOMEONE' sail without question! I was waiting for that very note! Anyway, she's wonderful in this role.

  • exactly

    i think this was one of her performances, plus with the cameras there, obviously it wouldn't be the perfect performance... yet.

    i'm sure she was great once she got the hang of the role.

  • i meant *first* performances, haha

  • (TMI?) I saw her not once, but twice in Chicago. She really had that note DOWN. Also, Christene Andreas was a great Margaret. Such a beautiful voice, it made me wish for 2 versions of the score- Victoria Clark, and Christene Andreas.

  • i love her personally. i love both katie and kelli actually. i love how katie says "and keeping fingers crossed" in this vid. love it!

  • i think the reason why people are saying the "SOMEone" (someone could be looking for a someone like you) sounds off-key is because instead of hitting the note right on, she swoops up to it... unlike the original broadway cast recording (which is amazing..haha) if you listen really closely she hits the note eventually, but it's not the first thing that comes out of her mouth

  • Seriously, everyone who is talking about Katie hitting the note wrong at the end. If you listen to the soundtrack, or look at the music, she hits the note at the end perfectly, with perfect pitch. I guess it takes a musical theater major to know. Adam Guettel doesn't always write music based on how we "think" it should sound.

  • Exactly! I have "absolute perfect pitch" and I didn't hear Katie go off pitch, whatsoever. Guettel's music is pretty complex. It's rare to find a score nowadays that incorporates elements of opera and neo-classical music.

    There are many ppl who aren't MT majors, yet they are knowledgeable about such topics.

  • If you listen to the soundtrack, it's not Katie, it's Kelli. So that's kind of irrelevent.

  • I've always adored Katie's hand gestures - in fact, they are one of the aspects i most love about her portrayal of Clara. The "hand clappys" she does when she's excited - just gorgeous!!! I think it's a delightful way for her to channel into the character.

  • Haha You're so right! Everytime I sign on now, I HAVE to watch this! haha

  • Um...I think its character work!! the actor and the character 2 sometimes very different things.

  • Why does Katie ALWAYS to that thing with her hands when she performs? She always makes like... a hook with her fingers when she's singing. Look at when she sings the light in the piazza and this, she does it in both videos.

  • i've seen this question multiple times on these videos, and i must admit i'm kind of surprised that people have to ask. in my opinion it's katie's portrayal of one of Clara's quirks as a person who's mentally challenged; it's just one of katie's signature moves, and one that differentiates her from other actors who have portrayed clara! hope that helped!

  • she does it in wicked. its just something she does and it works really well... let's just go with it...ps- that last note isnt wrong at all, its beautiful and the way the music was written

  • Listen to the soundtrack. She hit the note perfectly.

  • Actually, that's Kelli O'Hara on the soundtrack, but they both sing the song beautifully =D

  • i am jealous of her perfect posture!

  • so am i lol!

  • I like your thinking about Kate's note!, that noone's perfect,

  • Oh my, she is so talented. I would love to hear her perform in another show.

    I love this song so much. I keep replaying it over and over =D

  • I love her voice and I adore this song, but I have an issue with her vowel placement here.

  • She's so fantastic!!! Her voice is so fresh and young and expressive. O'Hara's voice is GORGEOUS too but Clarke's is a bit lighter which works well I think.

  • i love her voice in this song. its an awesome song and she rocks it!!

  • ohh myy goddd we saw this with kelli o'hara it's so amazing very touching i love it =)

  • this song is soo good and i love it but what's with the floating naked statue??? =/

  • they're in museum idiot there were other statues around earlier

  • he meant why is it floating

  • probably easy to take on and off stage that way, by pulling it up

  • i love this song to death

  • You know, I would probably die to perform the role of Clara. Everything about this musical is so beautiful.

  • I think the male singer at the end is Aaron Lazar; maybe you should add that in the video's description.

  • um, yeah... he is in the video description. He doesn't sing in this piece, though. What did you mean exactly?

  • Must have missed it. This is a really, really great song--thanks for putting it up. I first heard about this composer on his interview on the NPR program "Studio 360," and they used this song as an example of his work.

  • loved it =]

  • this is amazing.

  • Katie Clarke's performance as Clara is probably one of the strongest from a young musical theatre actress....EVER.

    There. I said it.

    So to all the haters, stop hating.

  • yay! i agree, she's one of my faves! amazing, especially from someone who just finished school! :)

  • I know we're all expecting the future Claras to be at the level of Kelli O'Hara, but it's a seriously tough score to sing. I think Katie did fine. On Broadway people always have different strengths and while Kelli has a richer, more acrobatic soprano, Katie's got the acting chops. She did a great job as Clara!

  • I love it how we are all bad mouthing this actress...however I don't see anyone here on Broadway. So, until you reach Broadway, I say shut up. Besides, the music is hard and I think she mixing contemporary singing with healthy, legit singing.

  • Didn't really like her tone at some areas (almost like if she was trying to sing with a southern accent), but that's just a small thing. Very very good overall.

  • Katie did mess up on one note but I have to say that her acting is amazing. In the part of Glinda she has added a lot of depth to the song Thank Goodness that no other actresses have done so far. Her interpretation is the best I have ever seen.

  • Honestly, her voice is nice. She is just boring. She's not engaging, her performance has no depth. She's cute, but that's about it for me.

    *shrug*

    as Simon from A.I. would say, "I'm not jumping up and down."

  • i suggest you watch the show, then tell me how you feel about how engaging her performance is. ;)

  • Oh, Jesus. I disagree... I think the high notes are a big problem! I know I'm going to get scorched for saying that, but oh well.

  • I think that's because they were live on national tv and she got nervous, i've already heard her hitting the high notes and she's as good as kelli o'hara

  • Yeah I noticed on some other videos that she obviously knows how to sing, so you could definitely be right about that.

  • I'm learning this song with my voice teacher right now.. and may I say, it is EXTREMELY difficult to sing. This young lady makes this hard song sounds superb, effortlessly.

  • The music for this show is gorgeous, but I really can't stand the accents that come and go. Now, I know it's pretty much impossible for women to have any kind of accent once they get up into legit soprano range, but because of that I wish they would just drop the accents completely for the songs. As it, it looks like they forget to do the accent and only slip it in when they remember it. Breaking into song is already unnatural, so why try to maintain an accent for the sake of "realism?"

  • Katie Clarke is...ridiculously southern. I saw her do Glinda the other day. Diphthongs ALL OVER the place.

    Plus, the general public isn't usually analyzing the maintenance of your accent when you're hitting notes that high. They're a little distracted.

  • It's not the high notes that are the problem. I'm saying that I think the diphthongs that are only heard in her lower register are distracting. Plus, it's not just her. Victoria Clark does the same thing, so they were clearly directed to sing with accents. They are both stellar, but I think the accents during the songs get in the way sometimes.

  • She cannot easily drop the accent she talks with.

  • Better than Kelli o'Hara? You are high.

  • It's a subjective matter.

    Vocally? maybe not.

    i think her interpretation of the character, however, outstood even kelli's.

  • The "sour" note was on "someone" right at the end. She just slid a little bit into it. Not a big deal. This was a very decent performance.

  • where's the off note i really cant hear it!!

  • I know, i cant either! And even if she did have an off note it doesn't matter, i still think she is a better clara than kelli o'hara

  • lol, i wouldn't worry about it.

    she's perfect in my book.

    =]

  • she is really talented!! I saw her I wicked last night and she not only sang good but she was very funny and charming!!

  • i like this song a lot, and i think this girl is a great actress, but man... that last high note... oof.

  • i really didn't mind, i knew it was one of her first performances straight out of college, and she had only seen the show once before performing it.

  • Lovely.

  • This is the performance that came to the theater I work at, so I saw her perform many many times (free tickets! XD). She may have been nervous or something here, because she FLOORED me in person!

  • Lucky duck! :P I've wanted to see this show for AGES. Don't you just love this song?

  • "and the beauty is, when you realize someone could be looking for someone like you"---love that line. How much I would like to discover that beauty in person.

  • Amazing writing, amazing performance. Just listen to that piano at the beginning! *dies from the beauty of it all*

  • *dies right along with you*

    This is definitely one of my favorite songs from LitP. Absolutely gorgeous. ADAM GUETTEL IS A GENIUS.

  • she was AMAZING!

  • OMG! I love this song and though her voice isn't as developed as O'Hara's, you have to remember she got this job right after graduating college, so props to her lol...

  • I don't know, I don't feel Katie Clarke fills the voice requirements for this role. She occasionally sounds whiny. Kelli O'Hara, however, sounds gorgeous and as a beautiful round tone to her voice.

  • I agree that her voice is not as developed as O'hara's, but I think it contributes her character in the play. Kelli's voice is beautiful, I agree, but the fact that it's almost operatic doesn't match her innocence, I think. I love both of them, personally.

  • This performance does not begin to do Katie's voice justice. She was clearly very nervous. I saw her twice in person and her voice was a thousand times better. Acting-wise, I think Katie is the best Clara. Vocally, Kelli is.

  • I could not agree more. I actually don't care much for Kelli's interpretation of the role - she always seemed way too mature and composed to me. Katie absolutely embodies Clara, despite a few hiccups here and there.