SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

March 7 – 30, 2003 – Hey City Theater

Music and Lyrics – Stephen Sondheim
Book – James Lapine

From Stephen Sondheim, composer of Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along, comes this musical masterpiece.  French artist George Seurat’s famous painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” comes vibrantly to life in this Pulitzer Prize winning musical.  Through the fictionalized life of the famous painter, Sondheim merges past and present into basic, poignant truths about art, creation and emotion.  Filled with glorious music, including “Putting It Together,” “Finishing the Hat,” “Move On” and the rapturous “Sunday,” Sunday in the Park with George inspires us all to “…just keep moving on.”

Director – Steven Meerdink
Musical Director – Kevin Hansen

Costume Designer – Steven J. Meerdink
Light Designer – Jay Schueller
Set Construction – Alan Sorenson
Stage Manager – Joyce Norman

Cast
George – Christopher Zenner
Dot / Marie – Stacey Lindell
Old Lady / Blair Daniels – Kathleen Hardy
Nurse / Mrs. / Harriet Pawling – Robbie Mancina
Franz / Dennis – Aaron Gabriel
Jules / Bob Greenberg – Alan Sorenson
Yvonne / Naomi Eisen – Sara Truesdale
Soldier / Alex – Eric Mark Olson
Boatman / Charles Redmond – Marlin Rothe
Louis / Billy Webster – Andrew Nowak
Frieda / Betty – Lori Barrett-Pagano
Celeste #1 / Elaine – Suzanne Reyburn
Louise / Hostess – Erin Gargaro
Celeste #2 / Hostess – Sara Ochs
Mr. / Lee Randolph – Gregg Peterson

Musicians
Kevin Hansen (Keyboard 2)
Reid Hegland (Bass)
Corey Needleman (Percussion)
John Rump (Keyboard 1)

 “And there was chemistry between this George and Dot …  Christopher Zenner was an obsessive George … The revelation, though, was Stacey Lindell’s Dot.  Vulnerable and yet strong, she made you wonder why George would let her run off with Louis — which, of course, made you think about George’s obsession with his art.”  –  The Sondheim Review

“The Minneapolis Musical Theatre’s production of this difficult musical is a courageous and ultimately satisfying effort.  [Meerdink] has focused his energy on making the show musically solid, and he ends up pulling off a warm and often lovely production.  The cast is packed with solid singer-actors, but the clear standout is Stacey Lindell, who sings the role of the love-afflicted Dot beautifully.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Christopher Zenner plays an almost distractingly intense George as a kind of zealot so obsessed with his work that he loses Dot (Stacey Lindell), the woman he loves, in the process of painting his masterpiece.  Lindell is by far the strongest singer in the cast, and her performance of Sondheim’s often unconventional melodies is the glue that holds this production together.  The costuming is meticulous, conforming exactly to the image of each figure as Seurat has painted them.  The most original and entertaining number in this show comes right after intermission, in the humorous “It’s Hot Up Here,” sung by the entire company. The song turns our focus around, underscoring the artificial nature of the artist’s perspective as “truth” when we see the painting from the point of view of the subjects on the canvas.  In moments like these, we see a glimmer of what “Sunday in the Park with George” is really about — art as an interpretation of the world with the power to transfix an audience and make us think.”  – St. Paul Pioneer Press