As Fabrizio, Morrison speaks and sings much of his role in Italian, including the number "Il Mondo Era Vuoto," in which he emotionally professes his love for Kelli O'Hara's American Clara without uttering a single English word, outside of "Clara" and "Van Johnson."

"I didn't want to audition for [the role] for the longest time because I didn't think I could do it because the music was so difficult — plus the accent," Morrison previously told Playbill.com. "They kept asking me to come in [and audition], and I kept saying no because I wanted to be in L.A. and do stuff out there. Then I thought, 'What the hell?' I went in, and it was just that thing [where] they kind of knew and I kind of knew. It was just kind of magic at the audition. It was really great."

Morrison received a Tony nomination for his work.

Piazza took home six Tony Awards on June 5, and has extended its run at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre through the end of the year. The show, which opened on April 18 after a month of previews, will now play until Jan. 1, 2006. It was to have closed on June 12.

The Light in the Piazza is a love story of a young American woman, Clara (Kelli O'Hara), who, while on holiday, falls for a young Italian man. When the young woman's mother (Victoria Clark) learns of the affair, she opposes it for unknown reasons. The musical is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953. The creative team includes Ted Sperling (musical direction), Michael Yeargan (sets), Catherine Zuber (costumes) and Christopher Akerlind (lights).

Piazza is based on Elizabeth Spencer's 1960 novella.