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SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE


Musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.

Lyttelton Theatre National Theatre London
Previewed 3 March 1990
Opened 15 March 1990
Closed 16 June 1990
Straight run

This was the show's London West End premiere.

In nineteenth-century France, Georges (Philip Quast) struggles with his art and his personal life. George is completely engrossed in his artwork - in particular A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - when his pregnant girlfriend, Dot (Maria Friedman), leaves him to find a more supportive man. Meanwhile, Georges continues on with life, repainting anything he finds unpleasant. In Act Two, the musical takes places in America in 1984. Now, Georges' great-grandson, George (Philip Quast), is struggling to find inspiration in his artwork. He is helped when the spirit of Dot returns with some wise words.


Cast
ACT ONE 
GeorgePHILIP QUAST
DotMARIA FRIEDMAN
An Old LadySHELIA BALLANTINE
Her NurseNUALA WILLIS
FranzMICHAEL O'CONNOR
Boy BatherKEIR CHARLES or
SAMUEL WOODWARD SMALL
Boy BathersCHRISTOPHER LINE
MARC BELLAMY or
MARCO WILLIAMSON
JAMES NYMAN
JulesGARY RAYMOND
YvonneNYREE DAWN PORTER
A BoatmanMICHAEL ATWELL
Celeste #1MEGAN KELLY
Celeste #2CLARE BURT
LouisANEIRIN HUWS
A SoldierNICOLAS COLICOS
LouiseNAOMI KERBAL or
ANN GOSLING
FriedaDI BOTCHER
Man Playing the HornBARRY ATKINSON
Dancing GirlANTONIO BOYD or
EMILY SAULT
Woman Looking for a GloveELLEN van SCHUYLENBURCH
Mr.MATT ZIMMERMAN
Mrs.VIVIENNE MARTIN
ACT TWO 
GeorgePHILIP QUAST
MarieMARIA FRIEDMAN
DennisMICHAEL O'CONNOR
Bob GreenbergGARY RAYMOND
Naomi EisenNYREE DAWN PORTER
Harriet PawlingNUALA WILLIS
Billie WebsterVIVIENNE MARTIN
Charles RedmondMATT ZIMMERMAN
AlexNICOLAS COLICOS
BettyCLARE BURT
Lee RandolphMICHAEL ATTWELL
Blair DanielsSHELIA BELLANTINE
ElaineDI BOTCHER
Chromalume PerformersBARRY ATKINSON
ANEIRIN HUWS
MEGAN KELLY
ELLEN van SCHUYLENBURCH
A WaitressBUFFY DAVIS
A PhotographerSIMON FIELDER
GuestsSTEPHEN HANLEY
ERIKA VINCENT

Production Team
DirectorScott Pimlott
DesignsTom Cairns
LightingWolfgang Gobbel
OrchestratorMichael Starobin
Musical DirectorJeremy Sams
ChoreographerAletta Collins
Chromolume #7Martin Duncan

Musical Numbers
ACT ONE 
Sunday in the Park with GeorgeDot
No LifeJules
Yvonne
Color and LightDot, George
GossipCeleste #1, Celeste #2, Boatman, Nurse, Old Lady, Jules, Yvonne
The Day OffGeorge, Nurse, Franz, Frieda, Boatman, Soldier, Celeste #1, Celeste #2, Yvonne, Louise, Jules, Louis
Everybody Loves LouisDot
Finishing the HatGeorge
We Do Not Belong TogetherDot, George
BeautifulOld Lady, George
SundayCompany
ACT TWO 
It's Hot Up HereCompany
Chromolume #7George, Marie
Putting It TogetherGeorge, Company
Children and ArtMarie
Lesson #8George
Move OnGeorge, Dot
Sunday (reprise)Company

Notes

Sunday in the Park with George was the first of three musicals created by Stephen Sondheim with writer and director James Lapine. The other ones being Into the Woods and Passion. (The London West End production of Passion also featured Maria Friedman).

The performance on Wednesday 14 March 1990 was a Royal Gala performance.

At the 1991 Olivier Awards Sunday in the Park with George won two awards and was nominated for another four:

  • Maria Friedman received her first Olivier Award nomination, for the 'Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actress in a Musical Award', the award was won by Imelda Staunton for Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods.
  • Sunday in the Park with George won the 'American Express Award for Best New Musical Award' and Philip Quast won the 'Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actor in a Musical'.
  • The other nominations were: Sue Blane for 'Best Costume Designer' (won by Jasper Conran for The Rehearsal), Steven Pimlott for 'Best Director of a Musical' (won by Richard Jones for Into The Woods) and Tom Cairns for 'Best Set Designer' (won by Mark Thompson for The Wind In The Willows).


Quotes From The Press

"...The concept is more than worthy of its Pultizer Prize. The music, like the painting, comes in sharp, precise points with sounds replacing colour. And if nothing of this fires your imagination or thrills your admiration as it does mine, then go and see the iridescent Maria Friedman give glorious life to Dot, the downtrodden semi-literate mistress Seurat immortalised with gaint perspective in the forefront of his painting..." Jack Tinker, The Daily Mail (16 March 1990)

"...Maria Friedman, doubling as the artist's mistress and daughter, combines a powerful voice with accessible wit." Tessa Finch, The Daily Expres (19 March 1990)

"...Maria Friedman (as Dot) doesn't always give Sondheim's dazzling lyrics their due, but she has a splendid voice and launched the evening in bracing style with the title number..." Clive Hirschhorn, The Sunday Express (18 March 1990)

"...Friedman's spirited Dot is the only principal whose voice and personality both come strongly over the footlights..." Benedict Nightingale, The Times (16 March 1990)

"...Maria Friedman, as both Dot and her 98 year old daughter Marie, also confirms she is an authentic star: she brings an earthy comedy to the chafing restrictions of Dot's existence, sings with note-true poignancy and has the gift of what Stanislavski called 'public solitude'..." David Billington, The Guardian (17 March 1990)

"...Maria Friedman acts hauntingly and sings beautifully as the mistress..." Kenneth Hurren, The Mail on Sunday (18 March 1990)

"...Maria Friedman is perky and delightful as Seurat's mistress, but as a squealing bent grandmother she makes a grating, unlikely old lady..." Milton Shulman, The London Evening Standard (16 March 1990)

"...There is also a very strong performance from Maria Friedman as Seurat's mistress, Dot, an uneducated girl who is shamelessly exploited by him but remains humorous and resilient to the last..." John Gross, The Sunday Telegraph (18 March 1990)

"...Maria Friedman's marvellous performance as Dot, which manages to suggest (sometimes simultaneously) the earthy, grumpily frustrated girl who would rather be at the Folies and the sensitive young woman who has been spiritually awakened by the beauty of her lover's art..." Irving Wardle, The Independent on Sunday (18 March 1990)


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