Review: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Opens Huntington Theatre Company Season

Sunday in the Park with George

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine, Originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine; Directed by Peter DuBois; Choreographer, Daniel Pelzig; Music Director, Eric Stern; Scenic Design, Derek McLane; Costume Design, Robert Morgan; Lighting Design, Christopher Akerlind; Sound Design, Jon Watson; Projection Design, Zachary G. Borovay; Orchestrations & New Chromolume Music, Michael Starobin; Production Stage Manager, Emily F. McMullen; Stage Manager, Kevin Schlagle

CAST (in order of appearance): Adam Chanler-Berat, Jenni Barber, Bobbie Steinbach, Amy Barker, Josh Breckenridge, Aimee Doherty, Todd A. Horman, Morgan Kirner, Sarah Oakes Muirhead, Bailey MacNeal, Margot Anderson-Song, Patrick Varner, Melody Butiu, Andrew O'Shanick, James Andrew Walsh, Nick Sulfaro, Jessica Kundla, Jordan McLaughlin

Performances through October 16 at Huntington Theatre Company, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-266-0800 or www.huntingtontheatre.org

French Neo-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat (1859-1891), the pioneer in the pointillism technique, did not live a long life, but his masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, hangs with distinction in a gallery at the venerable Art Institute of Chicago. When composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and writer/director James Lapine came across the painting, they envisioned the scene as the setting of a play and were inspired to create Sunday in the Park with George, the 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that has immortalized Seurat and his work. As part of its long-term commitment to explore Sondheim's canon, the Huntington Theatre Company opens its 2016-2017 season with their classy production of the show that is considered by many to be his masterpiece.

Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois directs a large and talented ensemble, comprised of a mix of Boston theater artists and actors with Broadway credits. Among the latter are the leading players, Adam Chanler-Berat as George and Jenni Barber as Dot/Marie, and Josh Breckenridge (Jules/Billy Webster), Melody Butiu (Frieda, Man/Elaine), and Todd A. Horman (Boatman/Charles Redmond). Several of the locals also appeared in the Huntington's last Sondheim production, A Little Night Music, including Amy Barker, Aimee Doherty, Morgan Kirner, Sarah Oakes Muirhead, Bobbie Steinbach, Nick Sulfaro, and Patrick Varner. Suffice it to say that the company's previous experience stands them in good stead when it comes to their ability to vocalize Sondheim's score, producing a glorious choral sound, especially in "Sunday" at the end of each act.

While the book sections bleed into the musical numbers, and the lyrics maintain the narrative and further develop the characters, it is the score that most often elevates Sunday in the Park with George to a rarified level. Music Director Eric Stern conducts eleven musicians in the pit; unfortunately, their volume often overpowers the voices on stage. There are about half a dozen songs that stand out, primarily from an emotional perspective, and they happen to be the ones that this production gets right. In the first act, Barber portrays many sides of Dot, Seurat's mistress and model; she is bored, yet playful ("Sunday in the Park with George"), supplicatory and angry ("We Do Not Belong Together"). In the second act, as George's grandmother Marie, she poignantly encapsulates one of the lessons of the show ("Children and Art"), and she reappears as Dot for the penultimate song ("Move On"), one of the most moving moments. As George's mother, Steinbach (Old Lady) encourages him to capture the beauty of the scene before it disappears ("Beautiful"). Seated under a tree, she barely moves a muscle, conveying the wistfulness in her voice.

Chanler-Berat does not match Barber's intensity, appearing more lost than inspired as Seurat, and more enervated than lost as George's grandson in act two. He comes alive in the final scene between the artist and Dot when she is leaving, but the physical distance between the two actors on the stage as they argue and sing the breakup song is a metaphor for the lack of closeness they project as a couple. The absence of any real chemistry between them robs the show of much of its emotional power. Members of the ensemble who perform dual roles with distinction include Breckenridge, Doherty, Barker, and Horman.

As one expects at the Huntington, SitPwG looks great, thanks to the impeccable scenic design (Derek McLane), lighting (Christopher Akerlind), projections (Zachary G. Borovay), and spectacular period costumes (Robert Morgan). Having seen the actual Seurat painting in Chicago this summer, I can vouch for the authenticity of the tableau created before our eyes. Aside from the volume battle, it sounds wonderful whenever the actors open their mouths to sing the rich Sondheim score. However, the important third component of how it all feels falls short. In the end, Sunday in the Park with George engaged me, but it did not move me.

Photo credit: Paul Marotta (Company of Sunday in the Park with George)

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