Off-Broadway musical Sunday in the Park with George made its Boston debut on Sept. 14. Written by James Lapine, this offbeat show won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985, yet failed to make it to Boston...until now. Using 19th century painter George Seurat's brilliant masterwork A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte as a centerpiece, this show struggles to link Seurat's life, thoughts, and work into a somewhat less-than-brilliant musical comedy.
Sunday in the Park with George runs in two acts. The first act centers on the life of George Seurat, played by Christopher Chew, in the late nineteenth century. He is a lonely artist striving for order in a disorderly world. Seurat's mistress Dot, played by Maryann Zschau, feels alienated from George because he is too caught up in his work, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. After he cancels one too many of their plans to stay at home with his canvas and paint, Dot leaves him for the town baker. Unbeknownst to the lovers, Dot is pregnant with George's child. The act concludes when Dot and the Baker move to America to make a better life, leaving George in Paris with his painting.
The second act, set one hundred years later, features Seurat's great grandson, also named George, struggling with his career as an artist. He follows in his great grandfather's tradition of being obsessed with his art and oblivious to reality, as he tries desperately to find funding for his work. However, his grandmother Marie, the illegitimate child of George Seurat and Dot, teaches him that family means more than anything else.
Sunday in the Park with George throws its themes wildly at the audience. George Seurat wants desperately to have real connections with people, especially Dot, but he can only experience the world through painting. He is alienated from his love because he is too obsessive about his work. The community around George views him as the very strange artist who spends his days drawing people in the park.
The end of act one wonderfully shows his view of the world by recreating A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte with the characters in the park. George is finally able to be a part of society, albeit in a non-conventional way.
This theme carries over to the second act where Seurat's great grandson tries desperately to find funding for his work. Here, the connection is based less on a romantic relationship and focuses more on family. As his grandmother Marie says, "Family is all you really have."
Musically, Sunday in the Park with George lacks passion and interesting lyrics. One song's verse states over and over, "Sunday in the park with George, Sunday in the park with George." The repetitious lyrics lack sophistication, but still there are notably well-written songs such as "Color and Light" and "Beautiful." In "Beautiful", George states, "Change is beautiful," and beauty is how one perceives the world. For George, this means order and harmony in color.
Despite having a good idea for its main focus, this show lets down the audience with its trivial love triangle and overall lack of passion. Although entertaining, it still leaves the viewer wanting something more. Sunday in the Park with George is a good show to see if you want colored lights, music, and an easy-to-follow theme. For those wanting something more profound, you may be in the wrong theatre.
Sunday in the Park with George will run at the Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon St., thru October20. Call (617) 437-7172 for ticket information and showtimes.
