SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Opened 30 Years Ago Today

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 2:22pm

Let us rejoice.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 2:24pm

On Broadway? Or at Playwrights?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 2:25pm

On the Broad Way.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 2:25pm

I went to the first preview on Broadway. I think I was 19.

[Anshel2]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 2:29pm

My favorite Sondheim show.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 2:49pm

30 years ago today, After Eight went from terrible to horrible.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 2:59pm

Ha ha. Three decades I've been worrying where I'm going?

[newintown]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 3:03pm

This is the first (and one of the few) Broadway shows I saw multiple times. I really adored it.

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 4:06pm

Still one of, if not the most beautiful musical every written. Really hope Sondheim gives us one last great piece. Broadway is in desperate need of his brilliance.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 4:09pm

Those early 80s years were so depressing. The Broadway musical was dying--and every guy you knew seemed to be sick and dying or scared sick of getting sick and dying.

And then, out of the blue, came this miraculous piece of art-about-art from Stephen Sondheim.

Updated On: 5/2/14 at 04:09 PM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 4:18pm

Such a wonderful show.

The tableau at the end of Act One is one of my favorite theater moments.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 4:54pm

Mr. Nowack, that image! It brings me to tears every time. One of the most beautiful stage pictures ever, I'd imagine. The moment when I always lose it is at the end when the characters all bow to George, thanking him for what he made--it's musical theatre at its best. The "Color and Light" sequence is so romantic, when they sing together "I could look at him/her forever," I turn into a mess.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 5:14pm

Over here in grey England I remember buying the vinyl as soon as it came out. The first listen I was baffled. And the second as well, I think.

Then I began to get it.

I couldn't see the Broadway production (though I would later buy the dvd).

When it opened at the National Theatre starring Maria Friedman and Philip Quast it was so beautiful I found myself with tears streaming down my face halfway through Act 2 and I couldn't even explain why.

I would be surprised if Sondheim's greatest work in musical theatre is ever surpassed.

[NewSynchopation]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 5:24pm

The most beautiful show ever written. Period. I wasn't born when it first premiered on Broadway, but I saw the revival both in London and on Broadway a total of 8 times. Truly remarkable.

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 5:30pm

I wish I could have seen the original production, as I was not as impressed with the revival when I saw it in New York. The original cut outs of the trees, ect. swooping in and out is far more magical than the gimmicky projections. The leads also didn't have the vocal chops to handle the score. I'm glad I got to see it, but nothing beats Bernadette Peters and Mandy.

The DVD of the original is one of my most cherished possessions. I've also had the privilege of being in the show in a regional production. It was a dream come true.

My musical theatre professor in college said he hated this show and thought it was boring. He obviously didn't 'get it' because theatre doesn't get much better than this.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 7:05pm

The original production was the first Broadway show I saw and it hooked me on Sondheim forever. But I enjoyed the recent revival as well and strongly disagree that the elads didn't have the vocal chops.

[binau]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 7:07pm

When I watched the OBC video for the first time and heard Bernadette sing "Your eyes George, I love your eyes George.........But most of all, I love your paintingggggggggg" I fell in love with Bernadette Peters and musicals more generally (before this point I wasn't sure if Sweeney Todd was an exception in terms of being high quality).

I often still think about the line "the choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not" when I think about the decisions I have made in life today.

You can imagine how I felt when Bernadette made her surprise appearance here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MCVsMSsIJU

(A shame the video kind of truncates that part).

Updated On: 5/2/14 at 07:07 PM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 7:12pm

Dame - you were at the first B'way preview? Great moment, I imagine! Any recollections from that evening? Did you go in with any kind of expectations? What was the audience reaction like? Did they "get" it? Was the show wildly different at that point or close to being frozen? Did you see any of the creative team? More, more more! I want details!

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 7:13pm

By the end of the show, Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell were vocally fried.

Perhaps I saw them on an off night, and maybe Bernadette and Mandy were vocally tired by the end of the show (and who could blame them?) But I still don't think Daniel or Jenna can hold a candle to Mandy or Bernie.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 7:22pm

Saw the original cast and fell in love with this show. I remember heading out to the lobby at intermission and overhead a man say "but there's no tension" regarding the end of act one. I don't know how people miss the point. It's a beautiful show. Probably my favorite Sondheim score in terms of cohesiveness.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 5/2/14 at 7:41pm

Without a doubt one of the most beguiling, clever, and heartfelt shows ever written. It's definitely a show that grows with familiarity, but what depth it has! I always find something new in it (to cry over), and I'm endlessly thrilled that the original production was videotaped.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 2:39am

A question for those who were around. I know when it first premiered at Playwrights there was no Act 2 yet. Was Act 2 finished in time for any performances there, or was it not seen until previews began on Broadway? I'd imagine even without Act 2 it must have been a wonderful evening during those Off-Broadway performances (despite what I'm sure one poster will say when he inevitably arrives to this thread).

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 3:09am

Can an ENTIRE THREAD ignore a particular poster? Maybe he hasn't been able to make the tired comments we can all predict.

When people complain about bootlegs of shows long gone, I often think of Sunday and what a loss it would be if the general public were not able to share a small part of the magic of that production. The same would apply to the original Dreamgirls, La Cage etc etc that are now only accessible "unofficially".

[mrsyaj]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 2:02pm

The first acts of "Sunday in the Park" and "Into the Woods" are gem-like classics, but the second acts of both feel like "well, something else has to happen to make a full evening of theater so we'll add this and this." Maybe someday when we're all gone and the copyright expires people will stage those two first acts together as a pair of one-acts.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 2:06pm

"The first acts of "Sunday in the Park" and "Into the Woods" are gem-like classics, but the second acts of both feel like "well, something else has to happen to make a full evening of theater so we'll add this and this."

In my entire life, I don't think I've ever read something that made as little sense as that. I can't even begin to roll my eyes enough at that, so I'll just let Thora do it for me.