Appoggiatura

Appoggiatura is a musical term that resembles a grace note. It translates literally as “to lean” or “to support.” And so it is with three closely related Americans who find themselves lost in Venice, Italy, and spend a day wandering through that City of Dreams. Soon, time bends around every corner and the floating city works its mysterious wonders on the trio who encounter lost luggage, the patron saint of heartbreak, two dogs named Sophia and Loren, a violin-playing Vivaldi, street musicians, a singing gondolier, an almost magical 1950s Brownie Box camera and a self-proclaimed “travel guider” named Marco who is terrible at his job but impossible not to love. This is a play about longing and grieving and ghosts and heartbreak, all set against the funny and tender path toward healing. Sometimes you have to get lost so that you might get found.