PTC bringing taste of Italy to Salt Lake in 'Piazza'

Styrofoam, the brand name for polystyrene foam, is more quickly associated with insulation, packing material and disposable coffee cups.

But that very same Styrofoam will help take Pioneer Theater patrons on a journey to the city of art and romance — Florence, Italy.

This Friday, PTC opens the regional premiere of the musical "The Light in the Piazza," which, in 2005, was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. It won six, including Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations.

"It's a white, pebbly Styrofoam that you'll see in insulation sometimes," said sculptor Siliva Davis, "It's very messy. I wouldn't bring it into my studio to work on."

Davis has made her living as a sculptor for more than 30 years and has the task of turning a big block of Styrofoam into a classic greek sculpture of a male torso, "it's not David, but it's in the feel of David — it's a male torso from the knee to the neck, with no arms."

"It's definitely a change and is something I like to do on occasion," said Davis, who usually works with wood and bronze castings. "Wood has a lot of resistance, but the Styrofoam is so fast and free."

Davis has been sculpting since she was 3 or 4 years old, "I was making things out of whatever I could get my hands on — Playdough, Tinker Toys, sticks, mud." She now lives in Teasdale, Utah. Styrofoam is used primarily for theater pieces, "because it's cheaper and it's very light so it can be flown into the air (for set changes). Plus the time; I can do this piece in three or four days, as opposed to months with wood."

After Davis completes sculpting, "then I have to give it a nice marbley finish."

And the sculpture is not the only artwork. "We have a series of water colors which we're going to put into slides in the background in various scenes," said director John Going. "We hope that will add a lot of feeling and beauty to the piece."

The artwork aside, "The Light in the Piazza" is, above all, a love story — motherly love and young love. "The root of the story is more of the mother's story of letting go of her child," Going said, "but the love story between the two young people is very paramount to the story."