Sunday in the Park with George...

[StageManager2]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 2:06am

I love the story, the characters, and the staging of the original, but the music leaves a lot to be desired IMO. I have tried several times, but it still hasn't grown on me. The lyrics, on the other hand, are sheer poetry.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 2:37am

I think I felt the same way when I first heard the Lp (it was July 1984: No CD's as yet) but the song at the end of side one tore through me: "We Do Not Belong Together" and then came the glorious Act One Finale. Those two tracks turned the key..soon the rest fell into place. But it does take a few listens to get it all.

[Paulyd]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 2:57am

i agree with stagemanager2. I'm a huge Sondheim fan,and i saw this recently in London. The production was amazing but i still have a problem with the score. It just dosent do it for me.

[Color and Light]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 6:18am

I fell in love with Sunday in the Park with George several years ago, after having it recommended to me. With most Sondheim shows, I have to give them several go-arounds before I form an opinion, but something about that show clicked with me immediately.

I think it was the first time I heard the "Your eyes, George. I love your eyes, George" motif in the music that did me in. There was something so sad about it.

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 6:59am

I love this show... esp after watching it live in Ldn! I loved it more than the original Broadway show on DVD. I sat first row and the picture was ... I WAS in the picture! Amazing!

[camp_actor]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 7:07am

Ruthiefan: "Ldn" - are you Lily Allen?

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 7:15am

soz... Ldn = London and I didnt get the Lily Allen comment... who's she?

[algy]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 7:20am

I heard the score, didn't like it. Saw the London Production and loved it. I've got the London CD, and whilst I've listened to it all the way through a couple of times, the one (well two) tracks that I love the most are "Sunday" (and it's reprise) - it just seems so rich and textured, with proper layers and feeling and everything. I'm not much with the describing of music, but it gets to me.

[Johnnytoc]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 7:30am

I love this show. The score and lyrics are just so beautiful.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 7:36am

Lily Allan - latest Pop moppet in the UK, also feels the need to needlessly remove perfectly good vowels from words.

On topic - saw the London production three times having loved the score for years and was blown away by things I'd never noticed whilst listening to the CD. It's the one Sondheim show that I really want to buy the score for...

[GClef2]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 7:41am

Move on is the best song from this show. Color and Light is a masterpeice. Although the Broadway Orchestrations were a bit too heavy, the new, lighter ones work much better. The London cast is fabulous, but the thing about this show that stands out most for me is it'sl concept. I have never seen anything like it. It is so ingenious.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 7:55am

LOL -- I took a friend to see this when it first opened. I thought he'd enjoy it because he's a long-time Broadway theatre queen. At intermission he was singularly quiet, which I thought meant he was enjoying it (Richard usually gets very quiet when he's enjoying something.), but after it was over with, he finally says, "I hated it."

Me (mildly surprised): "Really? Why is that?"

Richard: "I just couldnt see Ethel Merman singing this."

True story.

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 8:24am

I think Sondheim's works are mostly so very well written and layered that you can just keep on reviving it with new ideas and productions comes out incredibly well.
Like ITW, each time I see a new production I go 'ah! you can see it THAT way!'
Unlike some composers hint hint ALW cant even get his original productions good enough!

[StageManager2]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 8:59am

ruthiefan = theater snob

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 9:01am

took me over 5 years, but now I love it!

[Maile]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 9:22am

I will have to get this CD now. My first run-in with Sondheim was when Passion came out. It took me a couple of YEARS to really get that music under my skin. I thought that might be the case with Sweeney, but that one I loved immediately.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who takes a while to come around with his music. It seems so intricate and layered you really do need to give it multiple chances.

[gustof777]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 9:30am

slightly off topic! Caroline- I love your new avatar!!

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 9:53am

It sounds as though I had sort of the opposite experience of some here... I watched the DVD for the first time and was extremely bored by the book and thought that the score was pretty enough but it didn't really click. A few months later, I listened to the OBCR and, slowly at first, it grew on me. Until one point it just....did click. The score and lyrics are so beautiful when you listen to them in depth. The next time I watched the show, I appreciated it much more hearing the score in context.

[Patronus]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 9:59am

I recently jumped into SITPWG head first and absolutely loved it. From the first viewing of the DVD I was absolutely hooked. It's been a long time since I have had such a personal connection with a musical right from the beginning.

The layers of the painting, the multiple meanings of the show, the music the book it all just connected for me.

It automatically became one of my favorites.
Updated On: 9/12/06 at 09:59 AM

[sideshow13]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 10:06am

"Children and Art"=GENIUS

[Maile]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 10:25am

Sorry, but "It took me awhile to get into Sondheim" didn't seem worthy of it's own topic.

To bring it back **TO TOPIC**: I have not been able to get the DVD from Blockbuster online. It sounds like I should just buy it since everyone seems to love it.

[JoizeyActor]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 10:58am

I haven't seen the show, but my friend has told me several times that she has tried to get through the DVD recording of the show but without much success.

I love Stephen Sondheim and respect him but some of his stuff I just can't get into. Maybe if Sunday in the Park comes to Broadway I'll see it and decide for myself.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 11:10am

It probably is worth just buying it, Maile.

This seems like a musical that bears discussing, but I haven't seen very much, at least here (though could be that I've just missed it). What do people see as the overall themes of the show? Favorite or most important parts? If you don't like the score, what do you think it is about it?

I get the impression that the generally held opinion is that it's about struggling with artistic vision and the the balance between compulsion to create art and living life/experiencing relationships, which is out of whack in either direction with the two Georges. There's a lot about legacy and what you leave behind in the world. It isn't my favorite song, but I've always felt that "Beautiful" was such an interesting song thematically, although I'm not sure about my interpretation.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 1:37pm

but after it was over with, he finally says, "I hated it."

Me (mildly surprised): "Really? Why is that?"

Richard: "I just couldnt see Ethel Merman singing this."

Thanks Sean for the laugh of the day.

Although I always felt that had she been 20 years younger Merman would have made a fantastic Mrs. Lovett!

[little_sally]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 1:41pm

This is one of my favorite musicals, and of course, one of my favorite scores. I came upon a few of the songs randomly and fell head-over-heels in love with it. I really hope the London revival transfers to NYC soon.