Village Players Performing Arts Center presents the Stephen Sondheim classic, Sunday in the Park with George, August 14 - September 20, 2009.
From its debut in 1984 through several revivals and numerous regional productions, this landmark musical is one of the most debated shows in Broadway history. Nominated for ten Tony Awards, it won only two for design, yet it won Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Musical, Book, Lyrics, and Director. No small feat for a musical with no big dance numbers. It also won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. "Sunday in the Park with George" is a fictionalized account of the painter Georges Seraut and the creation of his masterpiece, "A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte." The painting, created with a method called pointillism, is comprised of thousands of tiny dots that, when viewed at just the right distance, are blended by the eye to create color, shape and movement. The same can be said of this Sondheim/Lapine creation. Using subtle, clever dialogue, inventive melodies, and creative visuals, blended in just the right way, the complex world of an artist and his relationship to his work is presented with extraordinary depth and beauty.
The show begins in 1884, at the park, where Seurat is consumed with finishing his masterpiece. His model and mistress, Dot, struggles to make a connection with the emotionally unavailable, obsessed artist, and leaves him for the staunch baker, Louis. George continues to work on his masterpiece, arranging the rest of the cast (a myriad of characters including a famous painter, servants and even Seurat's mother) as figures in his composition.
In Act Two, we jump to 1984 where another George, the grandson of the daughter Dot bore to George in Act One, has been commissioned to create a piece of mechanical performance art to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his great-grandfather's painting. This present-day George, however, is at a creative impasse. After completing his seventh "chromolume," he has begun to question whether he is finished as an artist--that is, until he receives an unexpected visit from the ghost of his great-grandmother who has a special message for him.
The Village Players' cast features Jeremy Cohn as George; Stephanie Herman as Dot;
Betty Scott Smith as Old Lady/Blair Daniels; Christine Ronna as the Nurse/Mrs.Harriet; Katharine Cikanek as Yvonne/Naomi Eisen; Fiore Barbini as Boatman/Charles; Brittany Townsley as Celeste #1/Waitress; Lara Mainier as Celeste #2/Elaine; Livvie Goble as Louise; Patrick Byrnes as Franz/Dennis; Andriana Pachella as Frieda/Betty; Scott Edward Mills as Soldier/Alex; and Kevin Wood as Louis/Billy Webster.
Sunday in the Park with George is being directed by Kevin Long, with a production team of Music Director, Kim Widmer; Stage Manager , Rebecca Miles-Steiner; Assist. Stage Manager, Michelle Springer Costume Designer, Suzanne Mann; Lighting Designer, Andrew Glasenhardt; Props Designer, Allison Schenker; Sound Designer, John List; Technical Director, Kevin Bunch.
Sunday in the Park with George performs August 14 - September 20, 2009. Fridays & Saturdays are at 8:00PM and Sundays are at 3:00PM. Tickets are $28 for General Admission, $22 for 65 or older/18 or younger. Reservations can be made by phone at Village Players Box Office Hotline 866-764-1010, in person, or online at www.village-players.org.
Presented on the Main Stage of the Village Players Performing Arts Center located at 1010 Madison St., Oak Park. Plenty of parking is available on the street. The theater is handicap accessible; please call ahead to arrange for special seating. More information is available at
www.village-players.org or 866-764-1010.
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