Rialto Chatter: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Producers Hope to Extend Show's Run?

Jake Gyllenhaal is currently making his musical Broadway debut in the acclaimed revival of Sunday in the Park with George. The production is currently playing its limited 10-week engagement at the newly restored Hudson Theatre and is scheduled to close on Sunday, April 23rd.

According to today's New York Post however, after strong reviews and a healthy box office return, producers are hoping to extend the show's run by a few extra weeks. Unfortunately, as previously announced, Scott Rudin's '1984', starring Olivia Wilde and Tom Sturridge, is set to begin previews at the Hudson on May 18th.

A source tells the Post, "They have been trying to persuade Scott to take his show to a different house." However, another source reveals that the George Orwell adaptation is not able to accommodate their wishes. "They have a contract," says the source. "'1984' has been booked and designed and is in rehearsal, all with [the] Hudson in mind. It's too late to make changes."

Adam Speers, a producer of Sunday in the Park with George for Ambassador Theatre Group, owner of the Hudson Theatre, commented, "We are thrilled with the run 'Sunday' has had on Broadway and that it opened the historic Hudson Theatre. We know that the next show will have as good a time there as we have, and '1984' will be nothing less than a sensation."

Directed by Sarna Lapine, Sunday in the Park with George began performances on February 11 and officially opened on February 23rd. Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (in his Broadway musical debut) and Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford will be joined by Tony Award nominee Brooks Ashmanskas, Jenni Barber, Tony Award nominee Phillip Boykin, Mattea Marie Conforti, Erin Davie, Claybourne Elder, Tony Award nominee Penny Fuller, Jordan Gelber, Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard, Liz McCartney, Tony Award winner Ruthie Ann Miles, Ashley Park, Jennifer Sanchez, David Turner, Max Chernin, MaryAnn Hu, Tony Award nominee Michael McElroy, Jaime Rosenstein, Julie Foldesi, and Andrew Kober.

Sondheim and Lapine's masterpiece follows painter Georges Seurat (Jake Gyllenhaal) in the months leading up to the completion of his most famous painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Consumed by his need to "finish the hat," Seurat alienates the French bourgeoisie, spurns his fellow artists, and neglects his lover Dot (Annaleigh Ashford), not realizing that his actions will reverberate over the next 100 years.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy