Sunday in the Park with George May Receive West End Transfer

By: Dec. 29, 2005
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The West End might be spending Sunday in the Park with George in 2006.

The London revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine classic is a current hit at the Menier Chocolate Factory. While David Babani, one of the show's producers will not know for sure for a few more weeks, he stated that he is in "advanced discussions" about the possibility of a commericAl West End transfer.

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 struggles to complete "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" while his mistress and model Dot attempts to keep him emotionally connected to her. In the second, George's grandson of the same name, 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), has drawn praise in its current incarnation. 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. Bird's animations feature characters from the Seurat painting moving around the set. Daniel Evans appears as George in the production, while Anna-Jane Casey plays Dot.

"It would be in my wildest dreams. We're in discussions with three different theatre owners and various co-producers on both sides of the Atlantic. We're not there yet, but it's looking very likely. We're looking at mid-to-small sized theatres. Six to eight hundred seats, that sort of thing," stated Babani on the prospective transfer. Babani, who also serves as the Menier's artistic director and co-produces with Danielle Tarento, also stated that composer-lyricist Sondheim and librettist Lapine approved of the textual changes.

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.

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


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