London's Sunday in the Park Extends Through Sept. 2

Sunday in the Park with George will be spending more time on the West End; the hit Menier Chocolate Factory revival of the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine classic is now set to run through September 2nd after a six-week extension was announced.

The award-winning production, which began performances at Wyndham's Theatre on May 13th, opened on May 23rd to very positive reviews and has also surpassed expectations of scoring with audiences.

Based on the pointillist masterpiece of Georges Seurat (which currently hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago), Sunday in the Park with George tells two mirroring stories through the course of two acts. In the first, George (Daniel Evans) struggles to complete "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" while his mistress and model Dot (Jenna Russell) attempts to keep him emotionally connected to her. In the second, George's grandson of the same name (again Evans), who creates art works called chromolumes, experiences some of the same concerns as his predecessor.

The musical, which has not been seen on the West End since 1990 (in a National Theatre production starring Maria Friedman and Philip Quast), is directed by Sam Buntrock. The Menier Chocolate Factory's Sunday features an abridged second act and a high-tech physical production with projections by Timothy Bird and sets by David Farley (both of who recently won the Critics Circle's Best Design Award). Bird's animations feature characters from the Seurat painting moving around the set.

Originally directed by Lapine, Sunday in the Park with George premiered at Playwrights Horizons. Expanded from one act to two, it opened at Broadway's Booth Theatre in 1984 and ran for 604 performances. While losing the Tony Award for Best Musical, it picked up the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical. Original stars Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin were also both nominated for Tonys. For the acclaimed London production, Quast won an Olivier Award and Friedman received a nomination.

Boyett Ostar, David Babani & Danielle Tarento for Chocolate Factory Productions, Caro Newling for Neal Street Productions and Mark Rubinstein produce the musical on the West End. Cameron Mackintosh owns Wyndham's Theatre.

For more on the Menier Chocolate Factory, visit www.menierchocolatefactory.com.