I first became aware of songwriter Adam Guettel in 1997, when I traveled to New York to see a friend and stumbled upon Guettel’s second theater score, “Saturn Returns.” Based on his first show, “Floyd Collins,” Guettel was being talked about as one of the better young composer‑lyricists.

“Saturn Returns,” I was told, was to be an examination of Christianity’s intersection with ancient Greek mythology–not the usual grist for a musical mill. But the ticket was free, and if my newspaper back in Phoenix let me, I could always write a little something on the show.

I hopped the No. 1 train for NYU land and walked into the Public Theatre expecting nothing in particular. I had never before been so completely stunned by an evening of musical theater. There was no dialogue, no story, and no continuing characters. Yet here was deep feeling embodied in rich, varied music, and lyrics of unapologetic intelligence.

There was a song about Icarus’ hubris that strutted boastfully, then fell pathetically. Another song embodied Christian belief in its endlessly rising melodic line. At the heart of the score was a duet about ... abortion. It never mentioned the word “abortion,” yet the audience gasped when it understood what the song concerned.

This was–and I rarely use the word–genius. Its title now changed to “Myths and Hymns,” the piece is only rarely staged. You can find the score, or most of it, on a Nonesuch CD (“Myths and Hymns”) with several of the songs sung by none other than the songwriter. But your misfortune in not being able to see “Myths and Hymns” is balanced by your very good luck in being able to see another, more recent musical theater experience that left me with my mouth wide open and my heart singing like crazy.

“The Light in the Piazza,” the story of a young woman who finds love while touring Italy with her protective mother, is coming to ASU Gammage next week. The composer‑lyricist: Adam Guettel.

We are blessed right now with an abundance of songwriting talent in the theater. William Finn, Jason Robert Brown, the team of Ehrens and Flaherty–all kinds of great writers are making contributions. For that matter, Stephen Sondheim, whom I suspect is a model of sorts for Guettel, is still writing.

Guettel stands out among them for his amazing sense of harmonic subtlety. Melodies shift on tiny changes that prove to be big ones later on in the way a barely perceptible adjustment of light can cause a picture to change shape radically. The ear hears the result as a refreshing fountain of melody.

“The Light in the Piazza” is a traditional musical with dialogue, characters and a story. The story is based on the 1959 novella of the same name by Elizabeth Spencer, a writer who did not know Guettel before the project began, and who does not consider herself particularly musical. I recently talked by phone with Spencer and Guettel, during a visit Guettel made to Spencer’s home in North Carolina.

“I was quite gratified that anyone would want to explore the possibilities,” Spencer recalled of her first meeting with Guettel.

She recognized his talent at once, and gave her blessing to the adaptation. Playwright Craig Lucas was brought on board to write the book (or dialogue) of the show, and according to Spencer he stuck very closely to her novella, even transposing several of her phrases directly into the script.

“The musical has been a boon for me. I thought of myself as in decline, that my main work was over. Suddenly, everyone realized I was there.”

Guettel chose the story for its passion: “You look for characters who want something really badly, very intensely. In this story, everybody wants something, even if they don’t articulate it directly. That makes it a lot easier to embroider with music. You can go from dialogue to music, riding on the intensity of desire.”

“The Light in the Piazza” plays May 15 ‑20 at Gammage Auditorium in Tempe. For tickets, call (480) 784‑4444, or go to ticketmaster.com.

An annual event that has played Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight years is moving to Cave Creek this year. Celebration of Dance, an evening of every type of dance imaginable, will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, at Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center.

“We’ve got everything but tap, because tap wasn’t available this year,” says event founder, dance teacher Helena Saraydarian.

While tap won’t be on tap, here’s a short list of the kinds of dance that will be: Ballet, modern, jazz, flamenco, hip‑hop, belly, folklorico, East Indian, Native American, ballroom and contemporary. Saraydarian calls the event “part of a campaign to bring dance to the desert foothills.”

Tickets are $18 general admission. Log on to goldenlionproductions.com or call (623) 465‑2720.