Tony Tuesday: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

This week we’re going back to the 80s for some absolute musical theatre majesty that can only be described as: art. This week’s TONY Tuesday is:

‘Sunday’ from Sunday in the Park with George at the 1984 TONY Awards ceremony. 

Sunday in the Park with George is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. After the failure of his last musical Merrily We Roll Along, Sondheim wanted to quit musical theatre, however, his friend James Lapine managed to convince him otherwise when the two felt inspired to collaborate on a piece of work by French artist Georges Seurat and his painting ‘Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’. They decided to fictionailse the life of Seurat in order to make a piece that commented on art, emotional connection, community, artistic expression and artistic isolation. The show explores the character of George, his relationship with his mistress Dot and how that is sacrificed in order to live up to his own expectations as an artist and that of the critics. The show also explores George’s artistic legacy in the form of his and Dot’s grandson who also becomes an artist, that too must navigate an ever changing artistic, cultural landscape and his connection to Seurat and his now high regard.

The production first opened in July 1983 at ‘Playwrights Horizons’, Off-Broadway. Interestingly, the show was still in development more so than usual premieres. Initially, only the first act was presented to theatregoers whilst the cast and creative team worked on creating the second. The show was finally premiered in its entirety for the last 3 performances of its run. The original cast featured Mandy Patinkin as George and Bernadette Peters as Dot. The show received strong reviews, including a glowing one from composer Leonard Bernstein. The production transferred to Broadway in 1984, beginning previews at The Booth Theatre on 2 April. The production again starred Patinkin and Peters and was directed by Lapine. The scenic design was by Tony Straiges, the costume design was by Patricia Zipprodt and Ann Hould-Ward, lighting was by Richard Nelson and the special effects were by Bran Ferran. It was the first Broadway show to use projection mapping. The production opened to mixed reviews, however, is now lauded as one of the greatest works in musical theatre history. The production was nominated for 10 TONY Awards, winning two and winning the ‘Pulitzer Prize for Drama’, making it one of only ten musicals to do so. The production closed in October 1985. 

The West End premiere occurred at The National Theatre in March 1990 with Philip Quast and Maria Friedman playing George and Dot respectively, with Quast winning the Olivier for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’. The original London production ran for 117 performances. 

The show was revived by the Menier Chocolate Factory in November 2005 starring Daniel Evans as George and Anna-Jane Casey as Dot. The production was directed by Sam Buntrock and reorchestrated by Jason Carr. The production was a hit and closed on 17 March 2006, before transferring to the Wyndham’s Theatre in May 2006. Due to scheduling conflicts, Casey was not able to reprise her role as Dot in the transfer, and so Jenna Russell was hired to takeover the role. The production proved just as critically successful in the West End and was nominated for 6 Olivier Awards, winning 5, including Best Musical Production, Best Actor and Best Actress. The production ended its limited run in September 2006. 

Sunday in the Park with George was revived on Broadway during the 2008 season. Roundabout Theater Company and Studio 54 co-produced the transfer, which starred Evans and Russell reprising their roles from London. The limited engagement opened for previews in January and closed on 29 June after three extensions. The production received rave reviews and received nine 2008 TONY Awards, however, it failed to win any. 

After they performed the show for four performances in concert as part of the New York City Center’s Gala, Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford reprised their roles of George and Dot in a full-scale Broadway revival in 2017. The production opened for a limited run at the newly re-opened Hudson Theater to rave reviews. However, due to its limited run, the producers did not submit the production for TONY consideration. The production closed in April 2017 after a run of 61 performances. The production was announced to play at London’s Savoy Theatre in August 2020 with Gyllenhaal and Ashford reprising their roles however, this was postponed to 2021 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The producers recently announced that the production is indefinitely postponed until it is seen viable to mount. 

The original production was filmed live at The Booth Theater in 1985 in order to be presented on PBS. The production was released on VHS and then DVD. 

Besties, if you haven’t listened to Sunday in the Park with George, you must. It truly is one of the greatest musicals ever written and you have the pick of THREE cast recordings, what a treat! 

Cast recordings available on streaming services, DVD available from certain retailers. 

FACTS:

Music: Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Book: James Lapine

Theatre: The Booth Theater
Run: 2 April 1984 – 13 October1985 (35 previews and 604 Regular performances) 

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Original Score – Stephen Sondheim, Best Book of a Musical – James Lapine, Best Actor in a Musical – Mandy Patinkin, Best Actress in a Musical – Bernadette Peters, Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Dana Ivey, Best Costume Design – Patricia Zipprodt and Ann Hould-Ward, Best Direction of a Musical – James Lapine. 

(2008) Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical – Daniel Evans, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Jenna Russell, Best Direction of a Musical – Sam Buntrock, Best Orchestrations – Jason Carr, Best Scenic Design – Timothy Bird and David Farley, Best Costume Design – David Farley, Best Lighting Design – Ken Billington, Best Sound Design – Sebastian Frost. 

(WON) Best Scenic Design – Tony Straiges, Best Lighting Design – Richard Nelson. 

OLIVIERS: 

(NOMINATED) Best Director of a Musical – Steven Pimlott, Best Actress in a Musical – Maria Friedman, Best Costume design – Tom Ciarns, Best Set Design, Tom Cairns

(2007) Best Director of a Musical – Sam Buntrock 

(WON) Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical – Philip Quast.

(2007) Outstanding Musical Production, Best Actor in a Musical – Daniel Evans, Best Actress in a Musical – Jenna Russell, Best Set Design - Timothy Bird and David Farley, Best Lighting Design – Natasha Chivers and Mike Robertson.