CROYDEN'S CORNER
by Margaret Croyden
|
|
| Margaret Croyden is a theater reviewer and essayist for the New York Theatre Wire. | |
Sunday In the Park With George, the musical
By Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine Directed by Sam Buntrock
The Roundabout Theatre Studio 54, 254 West 54st Street
Reviewed March 1, 2008 by Margaret Croyden
By now everyone knows the story of this famous Stephen Sondheim's musical(
for this its third revival) that deals with Georges Seurat's remarkable
pointillist painting of "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte." Using the painting as a background (actually the main subject),
Sondheim ingeniously attempts to dissect Seurat's egomaniacal obsession
with his art, an obsession that leads to the painter's neglect of mother,
lover, child, friend--anyone who may distract him from his all consuming,
passionate commitment to painting.
The most inventive aspect of this production is not so much its story (although
that is fascinating too) but the director's (Sam Buntrock) use of modern
technology: computerized images, digital projections, clever animations
that show the painting coming to life, its beginning, its progress and its
glorious end. (Seurat's beginning black line drawings appear on a scrim
timed exactly with the movement of his hands). The technique is also used
to show those who are dramatized in the story will become characters in
the painting.
George sits in the park and draws. There people arrive (who later will emerge
full blown on his canvas): his elderly mother, his lover (appropriately
named Dot), strolling aristocrats carrying their parasols, a woman with
a monkey, a woman and her child, a worker in his Sunday clothes, a couple
in their finery. Some recline on the grass lost in memory, or are cuddled
together side by side suggesting romantic love. Surrounding the group are
the gorgeous trees, its leaves swaying gently in the breeze, the the pale
blue river, and the brilliant sunlight that illuminates the entire picture
creating a spectacular color arrangement. Then at the end of the First Act,
in a brilliant Coup du Theatre, we see the completed masterpiece: a 72 square
foot freeze of Seurat's famous "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of
La Grande Jatte." Looking at that painting is worth the price of admission.
Sam Buntrock, the director, an experienced professional animator utilized
computerized images and animations (never used successfully on the Broadway
stage), and, to his credit, they were riveting: the movement of trees, the
river, the park in all its beauty. And the details: the stance, the color
and costumes of the people-- strolling, sitting, or lying on the grass--all
first appear as part of the fictionalized story and then we find them exactly
as they are on the canvass.
Besides the successful use of technology, the most important aspect of this
production is Sondheim's attempt to discover the mystery of the artist's
commitment to his art, how art is conceived, and the driving force behind
creation. Could one assume that "Sunday," was also about Sondheim's
own search for the mystery of his own art and the force that keeps it going?
One wonders what his thoughts are about that.
Though Sondheim's probe is imaginative his music is not. Admittedly his
librettos are ingenuous, the word rhythms are witty, and the irony bitter.
To his credit, he chooses important social and contemporary sensibilities
for his stories. But he has been short on melody, the basis for all music,
though some admire the composer for creating a new kind of musical, though
it is difficult to remember any of his songs that linger except "Bring
In the Clowns".
Nevertheless "Sunday In The Park" is an example of a serious musician
dealing with serious matters. Still the production's most resourceful technique
is the use of the technology which for all its inventiveness, in the end,
left me cold--even somewhat bored at times.
Daniel Evans as George did not help. He missed the vitality, the force,
the presence that this character demands. In fact, the entire company was
ordinary: actors postured, indicated their roles and virtually no one had
a good voice.
Still, Sondheim is to be admired. He has tried to delve into the mystery
of an artist's creation, a heroic search which in itself is a beautiful
thing. For that alone one should see this work.
Margaret Croyden's most recent book is "Conversations with Peter
Brook, 1970-2000" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
| museums | NYTW mail | recordings | coupons | publications | classified