Sunday in the Park with George

[Elphaba]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:55am

I saw this for the first time this evening, rented it. I was absolutely blown away by it, especially Mandy.
I had heard some of the music before and hadn't been thrilled, but man when you see it, it truly becomes magical.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 1:37am

LOVE IT! I want to see this show get revived so bad. I was unfortunate enough to miss Raul Esparza's performance in D.C. *kicks myslef for the ten billionth time*

[maybethistime]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 1:43am

I'm so hoping some rich producer catches on to the fact that that performance was AMAZING and they should turn it into a revival... **prays for SITPWG revival w/ Raul & Melissa**

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 1:55am

Yes! This show is one of the most brilliant ever written! It's my baby!

[apdarcey]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:26am

i heart sunday.

[GypsyRoseLee]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:52am

You can't go wrong with a musical about pointilism. I say that with absolute warmth. I love the show.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:59am

at my sondheim recital "it takes two" that i performed recently, one of my pieces was 'finishing the hat'. so great! love.

[paradox_error]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 4:51am

Welcome to the Club.

You're praising my all-time favourite musical, and I have a lot of favourites.

This one's a gem.

[Albin]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 8:22am

"This one's a gem."

But it didn't win the Tony...

[hannahshule]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 8:43am

Aww, I LOVE sunday! Bernadette and Mandy are incredible! Over all, it's such a moving piece the finale especially.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 8:58am

One of the best shows ever written. Bernadette and Mandy gave two incredible performances, which I had the privilege of seeing on Broadway in the original production. This is the kind of show that will stay with you for years after you see it.

[amasis]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 10:14am

Absolutely one of my favorites. Glad you liked it, Elphaba .

[magruder]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 11:33am

And La Cage didn't win the Pulitzer.

Updated On: 3/27/05 at 11:33 AM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 11:54am

The DVD so perfectly captures the original production that many consider a revival superfluous. But the staging at Kennedy Center was wonderful. I especially liked the staging where Raoul pulled down the white cloth at the end of the "Sunday" number and exposed the full park.

One funny thing: the first time I saw it on broadway Benadette Peters was on vacation and her understudy (Joanna Glushak) filled in and did an amazing job. When I went back a few months later Mandy patinkin had left the show but Bernadette was there. It was then that I realized the magic that Bernadette creates on stage (I had never really been a fan of hers until then.) However, Robert Westenberg was far less effective in the title role. I did not see the two OC stars together until the TV version was shown!

The OCR was one of the very first done all-digital and Thomas Shepard did an amzing job translating a highly visual show to disc.

As for the battle between SUNDAY and LA CAGE, I think it is so unfair to compare the two. SUNDAY is a serious, introspective "chamber opera" of a show. LA CAGE is a glitzy, fun old fashioned musical comedy (albeit with a great deal of heart.) I didn't care for some of the cheap, vulgar and homophobic jokes in LA CAGE but the tunes were great and the performances (Hearn and especially Barry) were wonderful.

Also SUNDAY opened just at the very tail end of the season while LA CAGE had been running since the previous summer and had become the biggest hit on Broadway. SUNDAY also (surprisingly) opened to some not very good reviews. Frank Rich of the NY Times was the only one who got the show and responded enthusiastically. His fervent support helped keep the show going and in time some of the other critics reversed or at least clarified their position. It is a show that takes a newcomer a few vieweings to fully appreciate the richness of its tapestry, and I think that is why almost a year after it opened it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

But what fantastic season that was for musicals: BABY; THE RINK; TAP DANCE KID; DOONSBURY; THE HUMAN COMEDY; SUNDAY & LA CAGE all opened within a 9 month span. The 1984 Tony Awards is still the one I go back and watch most with their tributes to Sondheim, Herman, and Kander & Ebb.

[Plum]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 11:57am

Because the Tony Awards absolutely always reflect merit, right, Albin? Really, I'd love to see your reaction to the La Cage revival losing the Tony to Pacific Overtures this year.

Sunday in the Park With George is indeed a gem, and the performances of the original leads (and especially Bernadette Peters) are incredible. It's one of my all-time favorite shows, warts and all.

[Justice]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:01pm

Sunday in the Park with George was originally supposed to end with "It's Hot Up Here", but they wanted to put it on B'way, and no one wanted a One Act on B'way, so Sondheim and LaPine quickly wrote the second act. It is obvious, because it is not as good as the first act.
As for a revival, they would have to make many changes in the second act in order for it to get good reviews.

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:04pm

The second act needs some tweaking, but (and I don't say this just because I'm a Sondheim fan and not a Lapine fan) it's really a book problem. All of the songs in Act 2 (Hot Up Here, Putting it Together, Children and Art, Lesson #8, Move On, Sunday) are fantastic; there just needs to be a little more talking to pull it all together.

[Albin]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:08pm

"And La Cage didn't win the Pulitzer."

Touche!!!

[magruder]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:08pm

Sunday's Act Two may be problematic, but for me the show would be ineffective without it. Some of the show's most moving material is in Act Two ("Putting It Together, "Children and Art," "Move On"), and while the Act Two George is a bit of a sketchy creation, I still am moved by his spiritual and creative awakening. I was electrified by the celebrated Act One closing when the painting is "created," but it's the Act Two closing when the characters bow to Act Two George and Dot disappears behind the blank canvas that moves me to tears.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:09pm

I would consider myself more of a musician than an actor, and maybe that's why I fell in love with this show the first time I heard the cd. I just couldn't beleive it. It gave me chills. The music is stunning. And then I saw it. One thing it reminded me of was Into the Woods. The first act is practically a whole musical in itself. A lot of people are like, "okay that's the end. good show"

And I've watched it several times now. I just don't understand why that show isn't the raved show it should be. It is so moving, and graceful. Not to mention extremely clever. I think George is such a great character, and Dot is equally so. You know what, she is especially so. I love how strong her character is. I had never heard any of the songs performed live until last Saturday at Wall to Wall and just seeing songs such as "Color and Light", "Sunday in the Park with George", and "Move On" performed live, was one of the most exciting points of that whole day.

[Albin]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:13pm

"Really, I'd love to see your reaction to the La Cage revival losing the Tony to Pacific Overtures this year."

Lighten up, will ya? I made a joke. If "Overtures" wins, I'll say congratulations. It will in no way diminish my love for the World's Gayest Musical and I won't spend the next 30 years bitching about the fact that it was robbed of the "Best Musical Revival" Tony Award because, as we all know, the Tony awards voters don't always give the award based on merit.

[riv]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:30pm

Some folks have mentioned second act problems. Both Sunday In The Park With George and Into The Woods have first acts which are essentially brilliant one-act musicals. They could easily stand on their own and it would be almost impossible to criticize them. The second act of both is what causes any concern one may have with them, whether it be the accusation of pretension, preachiness, and other knocks along those lines.

If these had been originally presented together, each as half of an evening of double one-acts, I can't help but think it would have been thought of as one of the greatest evenings of theater anyone could hope for.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:38pm

HOLD ON!! Something needs to be corrected here.

SUNDAY was never intended to end with "It's Hot Up Here." That was actually one of the first songs written for the show, but when it was tried out at Playwrights Horizons in the summer of 1983 it was just what is now Act One and the final 3 performances featured a sketch of Act II including "It's Hot Up Here", the Chromolume perfomance art piece (quite different from what it evolved into) and a song "Gotta Keep 'em humming" which became "Putting it Together." But in no way was the show ever intended to end with "It's Hot Up Here."

[Katecab99]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 12:51pm

i must see this dvd.

[leomaxfrank]

Posted: 3/27/05 at 1:13pm

Magruder - I almost spit out my drink when you said the "Pulitzer" line. Truly hilarious!

Oh by the way, I've posted about this show MANY times before, but I will again say that it is one of the greatest pieces of theatre ever created...opinion of course!

Updated On: 3/27/05 at 01:13 PM