Show Synopsis:
Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara are revisiting the sites of Clara's parents' honeymoon in Italy from America when Clara meets an Italian boy named Fabrizio. Margaret begins to reflect on how her own marriage has gone sour while she watches their love blossom, but then tries to prevent their engagement. She hides Clara's mental impairment from Fabrizio's family, who does not detect it because of the language barrier, but eventually concedes to them getting engaged because she believes Italy has made Clara more mature. Her husband opposes the engagement, and Margaret realizes that they have grown apart permanently. Fabrizio's father has to be persuaded to let his son marry a woman six years older than him, but Fabrizio and Clara become married in the end. Margaret realizes that she has believed a lot of things that are untrue about love, but Clara and Fabrizio should have a chance to be married to each other.	

Character:
Margaret Johnson, a self-assured and elegant wife and mother in her late 40s who likes being safe; very protective of Clara since she did not protect her well enough when she was a child; become stronger and more confident in herself as an individual throughout he musical.

Song Context:
Over the course of her trip to Italy, Margaret's views about herself, her family, and love have been drastically altered. Her daughter is about to be married, something she was not sure would ever happen, to a man in a foreign country, which she was positive would never happen. She has also exchanged a kiss with Signor Niccarelli and realized that she no longer loves her husband. Margaret tries to discern what she knows about love from what she has been told about love.	

Fun Facts:
1) Victoria Clark won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Joseph Jefferson Award for originating the role of Margaret at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and on Broadway. 
2) In an interview with Talkin' Broadway, Clark described Margaret as a woman who "can't express. She feels so much, but it's much more layered underneath." 
3) Composer Adam Guettel made his Broadway debut with The Light in the Piazza and won a Tony Award for its score and orchestrations.