'Sunday in the Park' Opens at Studio 54 in Feb. '08

Roundabout Theatre Company, by arrangement with Boyett Ostar and David Babani, will present The Menier Chocolate Factory's Olivier Award winning production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize winning musical Sunday in the Park with George, directed by Sam Buntrock.

Sunday in the Park with George will begin previews on January 18, 2008 and open officially February 14, 2008 at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th Street).  This will be a limited engagement.

The design team and cast members will be announced shortly.

"The Georges Seurat painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jette, is the inspiration for this compelling musical fantasy which celebrates the art of creation and the creation of art.  The first half of Sunday in the Park with George, set in 1884, sees the painting and its rich comic tapestry come to life in a world where, for Georges, art comes before love, before everything.  In the second half, set in 1980s New York, we see the great grandson of Georges and his search for inspiration amongst the unfolding world of contemporary art," according to press materials.

Roundabout has a long relationship with Stephen Sondheim, having produced four Tony Award nominated Sondheim revivals including Company (1995), Follies (2001), Tony Award winning Assassins (2004) and Pacific Overtures (2004).  This production of Sunday in the Park with George marks the third Sondheim musical produced by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54, where Assassins and Pacific Overtures both played in 2004.  In 2005, Roundabout honored Sondheim with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre for the indelible impact his life's work has made on the theatre world.

Sunday in the Park with George premiered at the Booth Theatre on Broadway in 1984 starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, directed by James Lapine.  The Tony nominated production won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (one of only six musicals in history) and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. 

This past Sunday, February 18th, The Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Sunday in the Park with George won five Olivier Awards including Outstanding Musical Production.  This production originally opened in London on November 29, 2005 and extended its sold-out limited run before playing its final performance on March 12, 2006.  The acclaimed production moved to Wyndham's Theatre in London on May 13, 2006.

Tickets will be available in September 2007, by phone at (212) 719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the Studio 54 Box Office (254 West 54th Street). 

Sunday in the Park with George will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM.