History[edit]

Following the failure and scathing critical reception of Merrily We Roll Along i
n 1981 (the show closed after 16 performances), Sondheim announced his intention
to leave the musical theatre to write mystery novels.[citation needed] He was p
ersuaded by Lapine to return to the theatrical world after the two were inspired
by "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", the masterpiece of th
e French pointillist painter Georges Seurat. Lapine and Sondheim spent several d
ays at the Art Institute of Chicago studying the painting.[1] Lapine noted that
one major figure was missing from the canvas: the artist himself. This observati
on provided the springboard for the creation of "Sunday" and the production evol
ved into a meditation on art, emotional connection and community.[2]
The musical fictionalizes the life of Seurat. In fact neither of his children su
rvived beyond infancy and he had no grandchildren. Seurat's common-law wife was
Madeleine Knobloch, who gave birth to his two sons, the second after his death.
In the musical, he had a daughter, while in reality, he never had a daughter. Un
like Dot in the musical, Knobloch was living with Seurat when he died and she di
d not emigrate to America. She died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 35.[
3][4]
Productions[edit]
Original Off-Broadway production[edit]
The show opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, starring Mandy Patinkin an
d Bernadette Peters, in July 1983 and ran for 25 performances. Only the first ac
t was performed and even that was still in development. The first act was fleshe
d out and work began on the second during that time and the complete two-act sho
w was premired during the last three performances.[5] After seeing the show at Pl
aywrights, composer Leonard Bernstein wrote to his friend Sondheim, calling the
show "brilliant, deeply conceived, canny, magisterial and by far the most person
al statement I've heard from you thus far. Bravo.".[6] Kelsey Grammer (Young Man
on the Bank and Soldier), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Celeste #2) and Christin
e Baranski (Clarisse, who was later renamed Yvonne) were in the company of the o
ff-Broadway production but did not continue with the show to Broadway.[7]
Original Broadway production[edit]
The musical transferred to the Booth Theatre on Broadway on May 2, 1984. The sec
ond act was finalised and the show was "frozen" only a few days before the openi
ng.
Directed by Lapine, Patinkin and Peters starred, with scenic design by Tony Stra
iges, costume design by Patricia Zipprodt and Ann Hould-Ward, and lighting by Ri
chard Nelson.
When Sunday opened on Broadway it received mixed responses from critics. The New
York Times theatre critic, Frank Rich, wrote: "I do know... that Mr. Sondheim a
nd Mr. Lapine have created an audacious, haunting and, in its own intensely pers
onal 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 ye
t to come."[8] The musical enjoyed a healthy box office, though the show would u
ltimately lose money; it closed on October 13, 1985 after 604 performances and 3
5 previews.
Although it was considered a brilliant artistic achievement for Sondheim and was
nominated for ten Tony Awards, it won only two, both for design. (The major win
ner of the night was Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles. In his acceptance speech
Herman noted that the "simple, hummable tune" was still alive on Broadway, a re
mark some perceived as criticism of Sondheim's pointillistic score. Herman has s
ince denied that that was his intent.[9]) Sunday won the New York Drama Critics
Circle Award for Outstanding Musical and Sondheim and Lapine were awarded the Pu
litzer Prize for Drama,[10] one of only nine musicals to win the Pulitzer.
On May 15, 1994, the original cast of Sunday in the Park with George returned to
Broadway for a tenth anniversary concert, which was also a benefit for "Friends
in Deed".
Original London production[edit]
The first London production opened at the Royal National Theatre on March 15, 19
90 and ran for 117 performances, with Philip Quast as George and Maria Friedman
as Dot. The production was nominated for six Laurence Olivier Awards, beating In
to the Woods, another collaboration between Lapine and Sondheim, to win Best New
Musical. Quast won the award for Best Actor in a Musical.[11]
2005 London revival[edit]
The first revival of the show was presented at the Menier Chocolate Factory in L
ondon, opening on November 14, 2005 and closing on March 17, 2006. The score was
radically re-orchestrated by Jason Carr and starred Daniel Evans and Anna-Jane
Casey, with direction by Sam Buntrock. The production transferred to the Wyndham
's Theatre in London's West End, opening on May 23, 2006 and closing on Septembe
r 2, 2006. Jenna Russell replaced the unavailable Casey. The revival received si
x Olivier Award nominations overall, and won five in total including Outstanding
Musical Production, Best Actor in a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical.
2008 Broadway revival[edit]
The 2005 London production transferred to Broadway in 2008, where it was produce
d by Roundabout Theatre Company and Studio 54. As a limited engagement, previews
started on January 25, 2008 with an opening on February 21, 2008, running throu
gh June 29 (making this the 3rd extension).[12]
Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell (who starred in the 2005-6 London production) rep
rised their roles with Sam Buntrock directing. The cast included Michael Cumpsty
(Jules/Bob), Jessica Molaskey (Yvonne/Naomi), Ed Dixon (Mr./Charles Redmond), M
ary Beth Peil (Old Lady/Blair), and Alexander Gemignani (Boatman/Dennis).[13]
Reviewers praised the script and score as well as the innovative design, with pr
aise for the entire cast. Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times "The great gi
ft of this production, first staged in London two years ago, is its quiet insist
ence that looking is the art by which all people shape their lives. ...a familia
r show shimmers with a new humanity and clarity that make theatergoers see it wi
th virgin eyes. And while Sunday remains a lopsided piece pairing a near-perfect
, self-contained first act with a lumpier, less assured second half this product
ion goes further than any I ve seen in justifying the second act s existence."[14] A
s described in The New York Times "In his [Buntrock's] intimate production, live
actors talk to projections, scenery darkens as day turns into night, and animat
ion seamlessly blends into the background...In this new version, thanks to 3-D a
nimation, the painting, currently the crown jewel of the Art Institute of Chicag
o, slowly comes together onstage. A sketch emerges, then color is added, and the
rest gradually comes into focus, piece by piece."[15]
The Broadway production received five Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, th
ree Drama League Award nominations and seven Drama Desk Award nominations includ
ing Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Musical
and Outstanding Director of a Musical. Russell and Evans also received Tony Awa
rd nominations for their performances. At the Tony Awards, Russell and Evans per
formed the song "Move On."
2017 Broadway revival[edit]
A revival is presented on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre, starring Jake Gyllenha
al as George and Annaleigh Ashford as Dot/Marie. Previews began on February 11,
2017 with an official opening set for February 23, closing on April 23. This pro
duction is based on the October 2016 concert version which starred Gyllenhaal an
d Ashford. The production features Brooks Ashmanskas (Mr./Charles), Phillip Boyk
in (Boatman/Lee), Claybourne Elder (Soldier/Alex), Liz McCartney (Mrs./Harriet),
Ruthie Ann Miles (Frieda/Betty), Jordan Gelber (Louis/Billy), Erin Davie (Yvonn
e/Naomi), Penny Fuller (Old Lady/Blair), and Robert Sean Leonard (Jules/Bob),[16
] The producers have withdrawn this production from Tony Award consideration for
the 2016-17 season.[17]
Other productions[edit]
As part of the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration, the musical was presented in
the Eisenhower Theatre from May 31, 2002 to June 28, 2002. Directed by Eric D.
Schaeffer, the cast featured Ral Esparza and Melissa Errico.
This play is of special significance for Chicago in that Seurat's masterpiece, t
he backdrop of the play, hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. The Chicago Shak
espeare Theater presented the musical in 2002, directed by Gary Griffin in the m
ore intimate, 200 seat, Upstairs Theater. In September 2012, Griffin returned to
 direct the play in the larger downstairs Courtyard Theater. Notable in this pro
duction is the fact that in the final scene of the play, all of the cast appear
in white costumes; the music for the production is supplied by a live orchestra
seated above and to the rear of the actors where they can be seen by the audienc
e. Griffin also chose to have as background for the performance a full-stage rep
roduction of Seurat's work which changed in both content and color to match cert
ain moments in the play. The lead roles were played by Jason Danieley as George,
Carmen Cusack as Dot, and Linda Stephens as the Old Lady.[18]
The Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, presented a semi-staged product
ion for three shows from September 3 to 4, 2004, with Michael Cerveris, Audra Mc
Donald, Patti LuPone and direction by Lonny Price.[19] New Line Theatre in St. L
ouis produced the show in 2004.[20]
The team responsible for the London revival mounted a production in April 2009 a
t Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, featuring Hugh Panaro, Billie Wildrick, Patti Co
henour, Anne Allgood, Allen Fitzpatrick and Carol Swarbrick.[21]
The Dutch production company M-Lab presented a small-scale production of the mus
ical from June 9 through July 3, 2010.
From April 15 through 25, 2013, the musical was performed in the English languag
e at the Thtre du Chtelet in Paris, directed by Lee Blakeley featuring the Orchestr
e Philharmonique de Radio France led by David Charles Abell. George was played b
y Julian Ovenden. For this occasion, Michael Starobin reworked his musical arran
gements, which were originally tailored to an 11-piece chamber orchestra, to mat
ch a full orchestra.[22] The production was taped for radio and TV and has been
frequently broadcast in the French Mezzo HD channel which usually only rebroadca
sts in-house productions of classical music, opera and jazz that were first pres
ented live on its sister channel Mezzo Live HD.
In July 2013, Victorian Opera staged an acclaimed production in Melbourne, Austr
alia, starring Alexander Lewis as Georges and Christina O'Neill as Dot.[23] It w
as directed by Stuart Maunder and conducted by Phoebe Briggs. 11 members from th
e Orchestra Victoria performed the score with Michael Starobin's original orches
trations. Audience members were required to wear 3-D glasses to view the Chromol
ume in Act 2.
The show was performed in a four-performance concert version as part of New York
City Center's 2016 Gala on October 24 26, 2016. Jake Gyllenhaal starred as George
opposite Annaleigh Ashford as Dot/Marie.[24][25]