Great Lake’s ‘Sunday in the Park With George’ is a masterpiece

It is interesting to note that following the commercial and critical disaster of “Merrily We Roll Along” Stephen Sondheim decided to leave musical theater all together. It was only through the urging of James Lapine that Sondheim agreed to give it one more try. The composer and the book writer were inspired by a painting by Georges Seurat “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” that was housed in the Art Institute of Chicago.

They observed that one obvious omission was a figure of the artist himself. Soon, Lapine was busy at work on the show’s book while Sondheim began writing the music. Thus a fictional version of Seurat’s life was created with a healthy dose of creative license. Truth is, Seurat had no heirs since neither of his children survived infancy and his common law wife, Madeleine Knobloch, did not emigrate to America.

The show opened Off-Broadway in July of 1983 at Playwrights Horizons starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters running for 25 performances as a one act musical. The completed two acts premiered during the last three performances. The show opened in the Booth Theatre on Broadway on May 2, 1984 to mixed critical responses. Frank Rich of the New York Times noted the creation of an “audacious, haunting and touching work” that while flawed seemed to set the stage for future theater innovations yet to come.

The show closed on October 13, 1985 after 604 performances and 35 previews. Although it lost money it was nominated for ten Tony Awards winning two (both for design). At the Tony Awards ceremony Jerry Herman’s “La Cage aux Folles” won the lion’s share of prizes noting that his work featured “simple, hummable tunes” and that Sondheim’s “pointillistic score” resembled Seurat’s paint by dot’s technique.

It is 1884 and Georges Seurat (aka George) is sketching in the park. These treatments would later be used for the masterpiece “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. Seurat is experimenting with a new scientific painting technique known as chromoluminarism and pointillism where solid dots of color are painstakingly applied to the canvas and when viewed from a distance allows the eyes to blend the various hues. George (Alex Syiek) notes “White, a blank page or canvas. The challenge: bring order to the whole through design, composition, tension, balance, light and harmony.” In short his works combined art with science.

As with most artists he controls what is reality and what ends up in his paintings. It is early Sunday morning and George is sketching Dot (Jillian Kates), his mistress. She is bored, it is way to early to be standing this still and her clothes feel too tight. Other unaware subjects of the painting soon arrive: a contentious old lady (Laura Perrotta) and her nurse (Jessie Cope Miller), a German coachman for Jules family (Brian Sutherland), the town baker, Louis (Elliot Block), a boatman (Elijah Dawson), two shop girls, Celeste #1 (Amber Hurst Martin) and Celeste #2 (Kinza Surani), a Soldier (Ethan Flanagan), an artist, Jules (Ben Senneff), his wife Yvonne (Jodi Dominick) and their daughter Louise (Mia Cabrera). The crowd drifts off and we find ourselves at a gallery as Jules and Yvonne view George’s work finding it has no life. Dot is released from posing getting a promise of a date that night at the Follies. George approaches the old lady (who is his mother) asking to sketch her but she refuses.

Back at the studio George is painting obsessively as Dot prepares for their date while fantasizing about being a Follies girl. George stops to clean his brushes as he and Dot reflect on their fascination with each other. It is time for the date but George continues to paint, upsetting Dot.

On a later Sunday in the park George sketches an angry Boatman as Dot enters on the arm of Louis, a baker. The two shop girls named Celeste enter and gossip about Dot and her new boy friend. Young Louise tries to pet the boatman’s dog who yells at her. George has a strained conversation with Dot as she works on a grammar book. The two Celeste's attempt to woo a soldier and his friend, nurse hides from old lady while attempting to attract Franz’s attention, a pair of wealthy Americans arrive complaining about Paris except for the pastries. They plan to bring Louis back to America with them. Dot has found that she is pregnant and while she loves George (who is the father) has decided to marry Louis and go with him to America.

Time has passed and a heavily pregnant Dot comes to visit George asking for a painting she had posed for but he refuses. Jules and Yvonne arrive to view the nearly finished painting and as the two artists go off to view the work Yvonne and Dot are left to hold a guarded conversation. They soon realize that they are neglected by artists and they become friends. Jules is puzzled by this new painting technique and concerned that George's obsession to paint has alienated him with the world. Jules refuses to support George and leaves. George goes back to work oblivious to Dot being still there. Dot tells him that he is the father but she is marrying Louis and leaving for America. George redoubles his painting as Dot begs him to react in some way to the news.

In the park, the old lady (his mother) agrees to finally sit for George as she loses herself in fond memories of his childhood. The Americans return with Louis and Dot (now holding an infant). George refuses to acknowledge the child as his own and that Louis is better suited to raise her. George offers a feeble apology to Dot as they depart.

The park grows crowded as the two Celestes argue with their soldier boy friends over their breakups, Jules and Frieda sneak away for a tryst, Louise tells he mother about Jules infidelity. The noise and tension builds until the old lady shouts “Remember George!” who with a gesture stops the action as they arrange into the final tableau of his finished painting.

This is the challenging type of productions that Great Lakes Theater thrives on. Locating the very best of actors and technicians they once again have created a masterpeice of theater. Standouts include Alex Syiek as George and George, Jillian Kates as Dot and Marie, Laura Perrotta as Old Lady and Blair Daniels and Mia Cabrera as Louise and the photographer. Fact is everyone in the cast is superb. There are times when the sound gets a bit out of control and is rather jarring so be forewarned.

To understand this show one must attempt to understand Seurat’s painting technique of using small dots that when viewed at a distance blend into an image. The songs, choreography, costumes, stage, actors, lighting and sound are all the dots and it is up to us to step back far enough to see a clear image. Luckily the precision of this production makes that easy.

The Great Lakes Theater production of “Sunday in the Park With George” will be on stage in the Hanna Theatre at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio through October 12, 2025. For more information and to purchase tickets go to http://www.greatlakestheater.org or call (216) 241-6000.