BWW Previews: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at City-Theater

From 1957's WEST SIDE STORY Stephen Sondheim's genius changed Broadway. FORUM, LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (all songs done in waltz time), COMPANY, ASSASSINS, SWEENEY TODD, the list is towering and it is treasured.

After the success of GYPSY, Sondheim was inundated with scripts for similarly themed 'backstage' musicals. He demurred. He said then that he would never fall into the rabbit hole of repetition. His mantra was 'surprise' and it was he who challenged himself for originality. (Note: he is mortal. The Bard of Broadway uses a rhyming dictionary).

Theater geeks such as myself have poured through his two show books: "Look, I Made A Hat" and "Finishing The Hat". Not coincidentally, the titles are from what is Sondheim's favorite musical and perhaps favorite song, "Finishing The Hat" from SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE.

The composer/lyricist writes about that tune: "...it reflects an emotional experience shared by everybody, but more often by creative artists". He goes on to make fun of himself "...I have a fondness for the word 'hat'. In GYPSY there is the line "Hey, here's your hat"; in COMPANY "does anybody still wear a hat"?; in PACIFIC OVERTURES "it's called a bowler hat" and in FOLLIES "Hat's Off". Truth be told, it is a jaunty word and better yet, easily rhymed.

In the hands of the creative team of City-Theatre and the outstanding work Aisle Say has seen of Brendan Sheehan, this show will be quite the experience.

City Theater Company finishes the hat in its 24th season this December with Sunday in the Park with George, the quintessential Stephen Sondheim musical about the art of creation and the creation of art.

CTC Founder Tom Shade returns to co-direct with Michael Gray, CTC's Producing Artistic Director. They worked on Sunday 25 years ago for Upper Darby Performing Arts Center. That collaboration became the impetus for the two, along with fellow University of Delaware alumnus Jon Cooper, to create City Theater Company. CTC's signature "in your face" style was born out of a very specific intention to create art for everyone, with audiences being as much a part of the experience as the performers.

Says Shade, "Sunday is about the seeming impossibility, for some of us, of learning how to connect with other human beings. Specifically, it's about an artist who obsessively paints the world around him, because he's trying to revise it-to remake it into a world that he can connect with."

Brendan Sheehan (Hair, American Idiot) stars as George. He accepted the role immediately, having grown up with the soundtrack and having seen the latest revival in NYC. "A show that is traditionally so grandiose being placed in the hands of Michael and Tom, in an 80-seat black box theater, was far too intriguing to pass up.

"So much of the artistic experience bypasses the audience, who see only the polished final product. We want to make the audience a part of this creative process, to share in the development of artistic creation and the sacrifices necessary to create art."

Shade echoes these sentiments. "One of the really interesting things for me is the way George's painting process parallels the process of making theater. Or at least our process of making theater. There's no barrier, physically or emotionally, between us and our audience. That's exciting.

Sunday in the Park with George stars Layla Baynes, Tonya Baynes, Dylan Geringer, Jeff Hunsicker, Mary Catherine Kelley, Jenna Kuerzi, Kerry Kristine McElrone, Paul McElwee, Patrick O'Hara, Dominic Santos, Brendan Sheehan, Grace Tarves, and George Tietze. The orchestra is conducted by Christopher Tolomeo.

Photos by Joe Del Tufo

AISLE SAY: a/k/a Greer Firestone

Dec 1 -17. City-Theater.org Best to buy tickets online although available at the door.