during the summer of 1984, i took my first trip to NYC. i went with my good friend, cathy noe. we both had never experienced NYC, but as a quasi-graduation gift to ourselves, we flew to newark and then embarked on bus and train to get to the big apple. of course, we did all the sightseeing: central park, nbc studios, battery park, the world trade center, chinatown, you know, the touristy stuff every visitor does. but the most exciting part of the trip for me was going to see broadway shows. in high school i had the leads in fiddler on the roof [tevye] and hello, dolly! [no, not dolly...cornelius] and it opened a window to a world that was very exciting to me: theatre and being involved with theatre. so when i arrived in NYC, the mecca of live theatre, we went to see the comedy noises off, the hilarious backstage farce by michael frayn. and then we saw the show that would change my life forever: sunday in the park with george by stephen sondheim [lyrics and music] and james lapine [book]. based on the french painter georges seurat's pointilistic a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte. the beautiful painting is considered to be seurat's masterpiece [it's now part of the permanent collection at the chicago institute of art].
it is an amazing show that has by far my favorite piece of theatre i have seen. sondheim and lapine took this painting and developed a show that redefined what a musical could be. frank rich, the former theatre critic for the new york times, stated in his review on sunday:
"What I do know is that Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Lapine have created an audacious, haunting and, in its own intensely personal way, touching work. Even when it fails - as it does on occasion - ''Sunday in the Park'' is setting the stage for even more sustained theatrical innovations yet to come.
all i know is that after the haunting and incredible finale of act I, i sat in my seat for the most of intermission mesmerized and trying to figure out and process what i had just witnessed and in a weird way, been a part of. the story arc of an artist attempting to create something new and something of his own spoke to me on such a deep level, i knew that i wanted to somehow be part of the theatre in some way.
original broadway review: [NYT]
current broadway revival reviews: [NYT] [USATODAY] [VARIETY] [NY DAILY NEWS] [WP] [ND] [NYP] [AMNY] [R] [LH] [BR] [TNO] [BS] [TM] [NJ] [HC] [FT] [NYSUN] [BN]
"What I do know is that Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Lapine have created an audacious, haunting and, in its own intensely personal way, touching work. Even when it fails - as it does on occasion - ''Sunday in the Park'' is setting the stage for even more sustained theatrical innovations yet to come.
all i know is that after the haunting and incredible finale of act I, i sat in my seat for the most of intermission mesmerized and trying to figure out and process what i had just witnessed and in a weird way, been a part of. the story arc of an artist attempting to create something new and something of his own spoke to me on such a deep level, i knew that i wanted to somehow be part of the theatre in some way.
tonight, the revival of sunday opened in NYC at studio 54 to rave reviews. it's been 24 years since i saw that original production and now i'm looking forward to seeing this reconfigured revival sometime in march. i can't wait.
p.s. i let an acquaintance borrow the DVD of sunday to watch. she said it was like listening to tin foil unraveling. not that i think any less of her but, what the hell does she know anyway!?
here is the humorous opening to act II: "it's hot up here."
original broadway review: [NYT]
current broadway revival reviews: [NYT] [USATODAY] [VARIETY] [NY DAILY NEWS] [WP] [ND] [NYP] [AMNY] [R] [LH] [BR] [TNO] [BS] [TM] [NJ] [HC] [FT] [NYSUN] [BN]
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Ever since I stumbled upon this on PBS years ago, this has been one of my absolute favorite musicals. Maybe it has something to do with my being a writer. I've noticed that creative types are particularly drawn to this musical, possibly because of how well it expresses the creative process. I'm glad to discover other people have been as deeply changed by this work as I have.
The songs Finishing the Hat and Lesson #8 have always been deeply personal songs for me. They somehow manage to express both a desire and periodic failure to connect that I have struggled with ever since taking up writing seriously.
I've been looking forward to next season's production of Sunday in the Park at the 5th Avenue Theater here in Seattle ever since it was announced.