Thanks for joining BroadwaySpace, Liz!

"but fear that my high school drama club has too much drama for it to be fun."

What? What are you talking about 'too much drama'?
Even if there is drama we make up for it with love.
*sticks tongue out*

hi Liz,

Thanks so much for your note! I adored Sunday in the Park With George. I find it to be a brilliant and challengin Sondheim musical. I hope that you won't mind if I paste a blog that I wrote about it here:

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, written on opening night, February 21, 2008

By Beth Mandelbaum

As George said more than once when asked about his feelings was that he didn’t have the words. When Sunday in the Park with George was over, I, too, did not have the words, only tears.

To me, the Roundabout revival ranks among the most profoundly beautiful theatrical experiences that I have had. I would like to share that I am writing from the perspective of a “die hard” Sondheim fan, who has been extremely fortunate to have seen nearly all of his musicals (and revivals) since 1970, when the groundbreaking landmark musicals such as Company and Follies changed the landscape and direction of the American musical theater.

I would have to say that for me Sunday in the Park may be his most difficult musical, in terms of its concept and its score. I strongly agree with other Broadwaybox reviewers who mentioned how helpful it is to listen to the score and also to take a look at the video/DVD of the original cast production as preparation. It will be well worth your time and effort. I saw the original production but that was years ago. I rented the video and watching it made a world of difference.


Sondheim is known for breaking away from the so called “traditional book musical” (not that these aren’t wonderful and brilliant, they are just different), which tends to focus on a narrative plot that moves forwards naturally, carried along by songs which are generally very tuneful and accessible, and also by energetic choreography with wonderful dancers.

Sondheim’s musicals tend to be different, with plots that move in tricky and curious ways, sometimes moving in and out of time and space (in ways that are different from flashbacks), with music that is often non traditional as well. Sometimes his songs can seem a bit jarring, with lyrics that can feel unusual in the way they are put together and music that often defies tradition and can sometimes seem inaccessible on first hearing, which is why it feels so important to study it in advance.

When you walk into Studio 54 what you see are bare white walls, doors and some white curtains, bringing to mind the way George describes an unpainted canvas, as a” blank page,” which allows the artist many ”possibilities.” To some extent, this musical is a living testament to watching the artistic process at work. And the evolution of the painting, “A Sunday on La Grand Jatte” (an island in Paris’ River Seine which was a place where many people actually spent their leisure time), painted in a two year period in the late 19th century, is brilliantly conveyed by an amazing use of animation and imagery that is generated by computer and projected on to the stage.

To me, Sunday in the Park With George is about the intensity of the creative process, in this case, the work of an artist, though it could just as easily apply to other art forms, and to just about anything that deeply enmeshes one in their work as they move towards perfecting it. With George, the artistic/creative process is at a point of obsession, a word that is used in the musical, in which much of the rest of the world seems at times to fall away, sadly, including his mistress Dot, who loves him deeply but at the same time feels neglected, ignored and even insulted. For all of George’s brilliance as an artist, he seems to fail in maintaining and nurturing significant relationships, because his art always comes first. And while many of the figures in George’s painting come to life in humorous and clever ways, for me, Dot, whose emotional heart-on-her-sleeve honesty about her love for George and her deep frustration over this seeming inability to reciprocate, is the most human character in the show.

The musical’s first act is about the artist’s desire to create an innovative style, to move beyond what has been done, and take it to new heights. It is also about being criticized, misunderstood, and being rejected, but also having the courage to go on. And in act two, we meet a different George, (here the grandson of Dot’s daughter Marie, who is born out of wedlock at the end of the first act), who is trying to make his way in the New York art scene of the late 20th century. This George is “stuck” in an artistic style that has become outworn. He seems unable to reach his full innovative potential, and struggles to discover what that should be. These experiences certainly are very human and very universal.

Sunday in the Park with George has always been, and probably will always continue to be, a controversial musical engendering many different responses. To me, this production is an extremely moving and luminous (in more than one sense of the word) musical, visually beautiful, with a wonderful cast of singers who can also act.

More soon and best from Beth

Hi Liz,

I am so happy that you are my friend!

And we seem to have quite a number of favorites in common.

I look forward to more sharing with you.

With my best regards, Beth