SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE in Performances (The 2017 Revival) — Page 7

You're absolutely right, Minnie, it is close-minded. But I hate the feeling of disappointment at the theatre...it's a quirk of mine. And I know my tastes. So I'm usually able to deduce what I should, theoretically, enjoy based on subject matter/cast and creative team/musical style.

I am so excited to see this on Sunday! I have no familiarity with the show, but I am familiar with the famous painting. I read the NYT review for the concert production and knew that this was a show not to be missed! Even better to read lots of positive reviews on this board. Has anyone stage doored and would like to share their experience or tips?

Sondheim was there on the opening night of previews. He came out stage door and everyone just stood there stunned unable to speak. Got in his car and went on his way.

Saw this last night, and was largely (and unfortunately) underwhelmed. Sunday is one of my all time favorites, and this production didn't really do anything for me.

With that said, it was incredible to hear the full orchestrations, plus an additional two pieces. The lighting/projection design was so strong that they could have told the story on their own, and Jake was absolutely incredible as George. I was worried that he would have been channeling too much Mandy after the video they released last week, but he has found his own George and his choices are smart and refreshingly different. While I feel Mandy had always glided through "Putting it Together" like it was jazz; Jake was able to milk every lyric for what it was worth, and we saw the uneasy relationship that he had to the world of networking. Overall he was brilliant, and "The Day Off" alone shows that you can throw him into any space/situation, and he'll be able to command it and give a strikingly urgent/note worthy performance.

Ashford on the other hand just wasn't doing it for me. I thought that her strengths were in the book scenes, and vocally she was just a little too "wispy" for my tastes. Her Dot thought of herself/presented herself as "put upon" without any of the burning desire to get inside George's head, and get his full attention. This made her largely unlovable to me, and for the first time, I was much more interested in George's dilemma than her own. By the time she got to "Children and Art" as Marie, she did begin to pick up speed, and gave a strong rendition of "Move On." I have a strong feeling that she has a quality Dot in her. Perhaps it was lack of solid direction?

And that's the biggest thing. Sarna Lapine's direction is uninspired and lands flat. It seems like all she did was translate her uncle's staging to a platform, and the lack of levels and consistency in the staging was downright boring and sometimes even strange (ex. when the celeste's/ensemble members are fishing, they do it on all sides of the platform. Are we to believe that the cast is walking into/out of a river that completely surrounds them when they make entrances/exits?). I understand that this is a transfer of the Encores! production, but please do not bill it as a staged production unless you're going to stage a full production. After this and the '08 revival, I want to see a master director take a hand to this material, and breathe something new into it.

The ensemble is largely fine and almost everyone has their chance to shine throughout. They just never blend though. Most of them feel like they're in different shows, and that's not their fault.

Overall: I'm left a little underwhelmed, but I'm thankful to have heard the score/full orchestrations live, and to have seen Jake take on (and might go as far as to say master) such a challenging role. I hate walking out of the theatre unmoved, but this production just didn't really do anything for me.

Updated On: 2/17/17 at 10:52 AM

Would the overhang over rear orchestra or rear mezz block the view of the Chromolume much?

petewk87 said: "Would the overhang over rear orchestra or rear mezz block the view of the Chromolume much?



Who cares? The chromosome is not exactly an important part of the show. In the original production, it was agonizing to sit through. It was mush better in the Roundabout production, but still not essential to the success or failure of the production.

As someone who will not be in LA any time that this is running, can someone who has seen the show message me about how the Chromolume works? Y'all make it sound like the best thing since sliced bread, and I'm very curious!

Sorry I meant to ask if rear orchestra/mezz would be bad for viewing both the projections overall and the Chromolume.



Jarethan said: "petewk87 said: "Would the overhang over rear orchestra or rear mezz block the view of the Chromolume much?



Who cares? The chromosome is not exactly an important part of the show. In the original production, it was agonizing to sit through. It was mush better in the Roundabout production, but still not essential to the success or failure of the production.





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dramamama611 said: "How odd...I am someine that won't be in GA while this is playing. ??

Lol, I enjoyed this even though it was diminished by the spelling error

I have orchestra row P seats 14 and 16... Are they really horrible seats?

I was so excited to see the show having read the rave reviews thus far. Unfortunately I left feeling very underwhelmed, and personally think this show is highly overrated. If I had spent a lot of time in a rush line for this, I would have been upset. There are some INCREDIBLE shows/casts on Broadway right now. Save your time and money and skip Sunday.

The last two responses in this thread perfectly display that you either really connect with this show on an emotional level or you're left unmoved and underwhelmed by it. There's not much middle ground.

The show has enriched my life in many ways and I'm grateful for it.

Well, it is hard to take her review too seriously since she doesn't really say why she doesn't care for it...but ljay is right, not much middle of the road for this show.