Sunday in the park with george
Musical: “Sunday in the Park with George” Source: “Un Dimanche d’Ete a L’ Ile de la Grande Jatte”, a painting by Georges Seurat (1859-1891) In this paper I will try to examine the relationship between Georges Seurat’s painting “Un Dimanche d’Ete a L’ Ile de la Grande Jatte” - and Sondheim and Lapin’s musical “Sunday in the park with George”, which is inspired by this painting. ... “Sunday in the park with George” is a show about the French artist, Georges Seurat. ... Just like no one before Saurat had thought of combining countless tiny dots of colour into one ordered image, Sondheim and his librettist James Lapine created a similar revolution in theatre with “Sunday in the park with George”. ... George Seurat work was not a hit in any way – as long as he lived. ... George is working on his future masterpiece, “Un Dimanche d’Ete a L’ Ile de la Grande Jatte”, as he struggles for recognition among his fellow artists and tries to keep his relationship with his mistress, aptly named Dot, from falling apart. Dot eventually leaves him, realising that for George, his art will always come first. George loves Dot, but she is a bit difficult – he prefers the Dots in his painting where he is in control and can create the perfect harmony. ... In the show this is portrayed by freezing the action on stage allowing George to re-arrange the characters into a peaceful, perfect Sunday in the park. In the second act we jump a whole century to learn about George and Dot’s grandson, also named George. ... And “Sunday in the park with George” is very much about depicting that art is hard work. ... In “Sunday in the park with George”, Jules is a archetypal, annoying example on narrow-minded critics as he disdains Georges artwork. ... In the show it is also emphasized how George sacrifices his relationship with Dot in favour of his art. ... Sondheim and Lapine teas us with their characters private lives, only to dissolve them as soon as George’s painting have found its final shape. ... As George performs “The Day Off” in the show, I get the impression that George feels more in relation to the dogs than to humans, and maybe that was what Seurat felt – since he painted them somewhat distinctively form the rest of the painting.