And the Beauty Is: Newcomer Katie Clarke to Replace Kelli O’Hara in Piazza

Katie Clarke, a senior at Sam Houston State University in Texas, will replace Kelli O’Hara as Clara Johnson in the Lincoln Center Theater production of The Light in the Piazza on Friday, December 16.

O’Hara, who originated the role, will play her final performance on Sunday, December 4; on January 19, she will begin performances as Babe in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of The Pajama Game. Jennifer Hughes, O’Hara’s understudy, will perform the role of Clara from December 6 through 15.

Clarke has appeared in Anything Goes at Houston’s Theater Under The Stars and in The Exonerated, Ragtime and The Sound of Music at Sam Houston State University, from which she will graduate with a BFA in Musical Theatre next month.

The Light in the Piazza won six 2005 Tony Awards, including Best Score (Adam Guettel) and Best Actress in a Musical for Victoria Clark. In addition to Clark, the show currently features Glenn Seven Allen, Michael Berresse, Sarah Uriarte Berry, David Bonanno, David Burnham, Patti Cohenour, Beau Gravitte, Laura Griffith, Prudence Wright Holmes, Felicity LaFortune, Catherine LaValle, Aaron Lazar, Michel Moinot, Peter Samuel, Chris Sarandon, Joseph Siravo, and Diane Sutherland.