Sunday in the Park with George

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Sunday in the Park with George
Window card from Original Broadway Production
Music Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics Stephen Sondheim
Book James Lapine
Based upon A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat
Productions 1984 Broadway
2007 West End
2008 Broadway revival
Awards 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama


Sunday in the Park with George is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Contents

[edit] History

Following the critical failure of Merrily We Roll Along in 1981 (the show closed after 16 performances), Sondheim announced his intention to leave the musical theatre to write mystery novels. However, he was convinced by Lapine to return to the theatrical world after the two were inspired by "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", the masterpiece of the French Pointillist painter Georges Seurat. In discussing the painting, Lapine noted that one major figure was missing from the canvas: the artist himself. This observation provided the springboard for the creation of "Sunday", and the production evolved into a meditation on art, emotional connection, and community.

[edit] Original Broadway production

When the show first opened to subscription audiences at the off-Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters in July 1983, only the first act was written, and still with many holes. However, the first act was fleshed out and the second act began development. The second act was performed only during the last three performances. After seeing the show at Playwrights, legendary composer Leonard Bernstein wrote to his friend Sondheim, calling the show "brilliant, deeply conceived, canny, magisterial, and by far the most personal statement I've heard from you thus far. Bravo."[1] Following its 25-performance run at Playwrights, the show transferred to the Booth Theatre on Broadway on May 2, 1984, but the second act was finished and the show "frozen" only a few days before the opening.

When Sunday opened on Broadway, it received mixed praise from the critics: a much more positive reaction than what greeted Merrily three years earlier. The New York Times theatre critic, Frank Rich, wrote: "I do know ...that Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Lapine have created an audacious, haunting and, in its own intensely personal way, touching work. Even when it fails - as it does on occasion - Sunday in the Park is setting the stage for even more sustained theatrical innovations yet to come."[2] Sunday enjoyed a healthy box office, though the show would ultimately lose money; it closed after 604 performances.

It was, however, considered a brilliant artistic achievement for Sondheim and, although Sunday was nominated for multiple Tony Awards, it won only two design awards. The big winner of the night was Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles, and in his acceptance speech, Herman announced that the "simple, hummable tune" was still alive on Broadway, a remark some perceived as a swipe at Sondheim's pointillistic score for Sunday. (Herman has since denied that that was his intent.)[3]

Sondheim tried to incorporate George's concentration in his painting into his score. "Red, red, red, red, red, red-orange, red, red-orange..." etc. Though widely shunned at the Tonys, Sunday won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, and Sondheim and Lapine were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the sixth time a musical had been so honored.

[edit] London productions

"Sunday" received its UK premiere at London's Royal National Theatre on March 15, 1990 and ran for 117 performances, with a cast headed by Philip Quast (George), who received the Olivier Award for his performance, and Maria Friedman (Dot/Marie).

In 2005, the musical made its second appearance on the London stage at the Menier Chocolate Factory, where the score was afforded new orchestrations by Jason Carr. This revival, starring Olivier Award-winner Daniel Evans and Anna Jane Casey, and directed by Sam Buntrock, won unanimously glowing reviews. The production transferred to historic Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End in May 2006 and ended its run in September 2006. Jenna Russell replaced the unavailable Casey. At the Olivier Awards, the production won in five of the six categories in which it was nominated - including Outstanding Musical Production, Best Actor and Best Actress - only losing out on the Director trophy. (The show's competition included Wicked, Spamalot, Avenue Q, Evita, Porgy and Bess and The Sound of Music, all of which went away with nothing.)

The London cast, nearly all experienced Sondheim performers, are preserved on a recording by PS Classics. This 2-disc album is the most complete recording of the score, and contains a bonus track: the original, full version of "The One on the Left" (of which only a fraction survives in the final show) performed by Christopher Colley, Sarah French Ellis and Kaisa Hammarlund.

[edit] 2008 Broadway revival (of the 2005/6 London production)

According to playbill.com (Feb 23, 2007), "The Menier Chocolate Factory production of Sunday in the Park with George will arrive in New York in January 2008. Roundabout Theatre Company will present the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical at Studio 54." This will be a limited engagement. No cast has been announced, although it is reported by Philip Boroff writing in bloomberg.com(http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ahQHBma515xs ) that Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell, who played George and Dot in the 2005-2006 London production, have been greenlit by Actors Equity to reprise their roles on Broadway. (See also: http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=16834 and http://www.playbill.com/news/article/106679.html )

Current event marker This article contains information about an upcoming Broadway play or musical. The content is expected to change as more information becomes available and/or it has its official opening night.
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

[edit] 1984 Broadway Cast

  • Mandy Patinkin - George
  • Bernadette Peters - Dot/Marie
  • Barbara Bryne - Old Lady/Blair Daniels
  • Judith Moore - Nurse/Mrs./Harriet Pawling
  • Brent Spiner - Franz/Dennis
  • Charles Kimbrough - Jules/Bob Greenberg
  • Dana Ivey - Yvonne/Naomi Eisen
  • Robert Westenberg - Soldier/Alex
  • William Parry (actor) - Boatman/Charles Redmond
  • Cris Groenendaal - Man Lying on Bank/Louis/Billy Webster
  • Nancy Opel - Young Man on Bank/Frieda/Betty
  • Mary D'Arcy - Celeste #2/Elaine
  • Danielle Ferland - Louise/A Boy
  • Melanie Vaughan - Celeste #1/A Waitress
  • John Jellison - Man with Bicycle/Museum Assistant
  • Kurt Knudson - Mr./Lee Randolph
  • Sue Anne Gershenson - Woman with Baby Carriage/Photographer
  • Michele Rigan - Little Girl

Note: During the show's run, Mandy Patinkin was replaced by Robert Westenberg, followed by Harry Groener. Mandy Patinkin returned to the show shortly before it closed. Bernadette Peters was replaced by Betsy Joslyn, followed by Maryann Plunkett.

[edit] 2006 London Cast

  • Daniel Evans - George
  • Jenna Russell - Dot/Marie (replacing Anna Jane Casey)
  • Gay Soper - Old Lady/Blair Daniels
  • Joanne Redman - Nurse/Mrs/Harriet Pawling
  • Simon Green - Jules/Bob Greenberg
  • Liza Sadovy - Yvonne/Naomi Eisen
  • Alasdair Harvey - Boatman/Dennis
  • Christopher Colley - Soldier/Alex
  • Sarah French Ellis - Celeste 1/Elaine
  • Kaisa Hammarlund - Celeste 2/Silent Artist
  • Mark McKerracher - Mr/Charles Redmond
  • Ian McLarnon - Louis/Billy Webster
  • Steven Kynman - Franz/Lee Randolph
  • Anna Lowe - Frieda/Betty
  • Alex Gaumond - Swing
  • Rachel Grimshaw - Swing
  • Natalie Paris/Lauren Calpin/Georgina Henry - Louise

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The first act deals with the life of Seurat as he was painting what is considered by many to be his masterpiece, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," as his obsession with painting emotionally divorces him from the people around him (most notably his lover, the aptly-named "Dot"). As George gathers sketches and works on the painting, Dot—who is pregnant with his child—finally leaves him for a more stable, but emotionally unfulfilling lover, a baker named Louis. George realizes with his mother, that everything is changing, from the appearance of the island due to the new "Exposition," to the loss of his lover. George regrets his loss, though he continues with his painting, "finishing" it in a tableau of actors at the end of the first act.

The second act opens with the same tableau, however rather than rapturously singing about Art (as they did in the first act finale), this time the characters sing about the torture of being trapped forever in the painting, fully aware of the situation.

Following that interlude, the play moves into the 20th century, as another George (a fictional great-grandson of Seurat) presents his own art: a machine that projects light, sound, and pictures. The machine is titled "Chromolume #7" (the actual Seurat referred to his art style as "Chromolumism" rather than "Pointillism"), and is presented as part of a retrospective of Seurat. Like the George of the first act, this George is also a struggling artist who has difficulty maintaining human connections (e.g., he is divorced, his assistant leaves him), however, the thrust of the beginning of the second act is more a satire on the financing of art. Whereas the first act had a song about Art together ("Color and Light"), the second act song "Putting It Together" is about schmoozing collectors and museums into financing an exhibition.

After the death of George's grandmother, Marie (Dot's daughter, played by the same actress), George goes to La Grande Jatte, where the painting was originally made, to exhibit his Chromolumes. Depressed by his isolation and failure as an artist, the play takes a surreal turn as George is visited by Dot, who addresses him as if he is the first-act George. She persuades him to keep working on Art that interests him ("Move On"), even if it doesn't lead to critical acclaim or financial success. The play ends with George reading Seurat's artistic principles, while the tableau slowly dissolves behind him.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Tony Awards, Broadway 1984

[edit] Drama Desk Award, Broadway, 1984

  • Won
    • Outstanding Musical
    • Outstanding Book - James Lapine
    • Outstanding Director of a Musical - James Lapine
    • Outstanding Orchestration - Michael Starobin
    • Outstanding Lyrics - Stephen Sondheim
    • Outstanding Lighting Design - Richard Nelson
    • Outstanding Set Design - Tony Straiges
    • Outstanding Special Effects - Bran Ferren
  • Nominated
    • Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Mandy Patinkin
    • Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Bernadette Peters
    • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical - Charles Kimbrough
    • Outstanding Music - Stephen Sondheim
    • Outstanding Costume Design - Patricia Zipprodt, Ann Hould-Ward

[edit] Olivier Awards, London 2007

  • Won
    • Outstanding Musical Production
    • Best Actor - Daniel Evans
    • Best Actress - Jenna Russell
    • Set Design - Timothy Bird and David Farley
    • Lighting Design - Natasha Chivers and Mike Robertson
  • Nominated
    • Best Director - Sam Buntrock

[edit] Pulitzer Prizes, 1985

  • Letters, Drama, Music: 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

(source: www.pulitzer.org/index.html)

[edit] Musical Numbers

[edit] Act I

  1. Sunday in the Park with George (Dot)
  2. No Life (Jules, Yvonne)
  3. Color and Light (Dot, George)
  4. Gossip (Celeste 1, Celeste 2, Boatman, Nurse, Old Lady, Jules, Yvonne)
  5. The Day Off (Company)
  6. Everybody Loves Louis (Dot)
  7. The One on the Left - fragment (Soldier, Celeste 1, Celeste 2)
  8. Finishing the Hat (George)
  9. We Do Not Belong Together (Dot, George)
  10. Beautiful (Old Lady, George)
  11. Sunday (Company)

[edit] Act II

  1. It's Hot Up Here (Company)
  2. Chromolume #7
  3. Putting It Together (George, Company)
  4. Children and Art (Marie)
  5. Lesson #8 (George)
  6. Move On (George, Dot)
  7. Sunday (Company)

(In Jonathan Larson's musical, tick...tick...BOOM!, the musical number "Sunday" is a homage to this finale, recalling extensive lyrical, melodic, and harmonic sections. Larson, a Sondheim enthusiast, went so far as to call the song's tempo "Sondheimian.")

[edit] Deleted/Abridged Numbers

  1. Yoo-Hoo! (Boy, Pervert, Young Man) [replaced by dialogue before the title song]
  2. Soldiers and Girls (Soldier, Celeste 1, Celeste 2)
  3. The One on the Left (Soldier, Celeste 1, Celeste 2)

The complete version of The One On The Left appears as a bonus track on the London cast recording, listed below.

[edit] Cast Recordings

1984 Original Broadway Cast Recording (RCA)

2006 London Cast Recording (PS Classics, 2 disc set)

[edit] Television video

Sunday in the Park with George was taped on October 21-25, 1985 at the Booth Theatre with the original Broadway cast. It was broadcast on American television on February 18, 1986 on Showtime and on June 16, 1986 on Public Television's "American Playhouse". (Bernadette Peters, who was performing in Song and Dance at the time of the taping, was given time off from that play in order to be able to tape this production. New York Times, October 17, 1985, Section C; Page 25)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brown, Chip. "Sondheim!", Smithsonian, Aug. 2002, 33(5).
  2. ^ Rich, Frank. "STAGE: 'SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE'", The New York Times, 1984-05-03. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
  3. ^ Ask a Star: Jerry Herman, Broadway.com, 2004-12-08.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Stephen Sondheim musicals

Saturday Night • West Side Story • Gypsy • A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum • Anyone Can Whistle • Do I Hear a Waltz? • Evening Primrose • Company • Follies • A Little Night Music • The Frogs • Pacific Overtures • Side By Side By Sondheim • Sweeney Todd • Marry Me A Little • Merrily We Roll Along • Sunday in the Park with George • Into the Woods • Assassins • Putting It Together • Passion • Bounce

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