Musical Theatre Guild, the company that produces one-night-only concerts of forgotten or overlooked musicals, concludes their 23rd season with a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Sunday in the Park with George will be presented on May 5th at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.
Sondheim and Lapine were inspired by the Georges Seurat painting, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. What Sondheim noticed was that none of the people in the park in this painting were looking at each other. Not one person. So he and Lapine pondered what would have been going on in their minds that afternoon. And what was going on in the life and mind of Seurat himself.
Act One of this beautiful musical takes place as Georges (Marc Ginsburg) is trying to complete the painting while maintaining his relationship with his muse, Dot (Alyssa Simmons).
Act Two takes place 100 years later. Georges and Dot’s great-grandson, also named, George (Ginsburg), is an artist relying on technology for his work. It’s the debut of his “Chromolume #7” which celebrates the work of Seurat. Joining him for the debut is his 98-year-old grandmother, Marie (Simmons).
The musical is an incredible depiction of the life of artists, what it means to be an artist and it depicts the challenges of finding your voice – whether your are an artist or not.
Sunday in the Park with George first appeared on Broadway in 1984. There have been two revivals since then, including a terrific production that originated at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. The most recent revival starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford.
Amongst the songs found in Sunday are “Finishing the Hat,” “Move On,” “Children and Art” and “Color and Light.”
Thomas James O’Leary is directing the concert with musical direction by Doug Peck.
Sunday in the Park with George is an ambitious show and a one-night-only concert is equally ambitious. No doubt they are taking Sondheim’s advice by tackling this production, “bit by bit, putting it together.”
For tickets go here.