How did SOUTH win 'Scenic Design' over SITPWG??? — Page 5

I just got home from what looked like a full house at Studio 54. I had seen the show in its first preview. This second time blew me away. The projections were absolutely incredible. I'm with you guys about them not winning over South Pacific, which had great sets, but no where near as fascinating and innovative as this revival of Sunday in the Park with George.

At the risk of sounding like a little girl, I almost cried at the end. People talk about the small 5-piece orchestra, but I think that's all they really need. They have everything else going for them, and overall everything works. WOW what a show.

Oh and I caught a glimpse of Daniel Radcliff discreetly exiting the theatre.

Both shows had incredible scenic designs. I have seen projections used fairly ineffectively (The Woman in White being a good example), but Sunday really showed how magical projections could be. South Pacific's set design is beautiful and serves the story extremely well. Production design doesn't have to be complicated to be effective and involving. One example that comes to mind is Kelli O'Hara alone on a stage with only a background of yellow behind her in The Light in the Piazza -- it couldn't be more simple than that, but that image will stay with me forever.

Both Sunday and South Pacific had award-worthy scenic design that was leaps and bounds ahead of most shows, and both received honors this season (South Pacific won the Drama Desk for Set Design of a Musical and the Tony; Sunday won the Drama Desk for Projections and Visual Design and the Outer Critics Circle Award). When I think back on most shows, I think about the actors in them. For Sunday and South Pacific, I also think about the pictures that the designers painted -- the first minute and last minute of Sunday, the sailors coming over the dunes in South Pacific. The imagery in both shows took my breath away.

It is too bad that they had to go against each other -- I think either of them would have won last year over Mary Poppins.

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