By GEORGE HOOVER
A play about a painting, and oh so much more!
When neo-impressionist artist Georges Seurat’s monumental painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte was first exhibited, people were fascinated by his technique, pointillism, and yet felt the painting lacked life.
(Chicago Museum of Art)
In Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s musical Sunday in the Park with George, the two musical theatre legends bring the painting to life by creating fictional backstories for the individuals in the painting.
In the process, Sunday in the Park becomes a Master Class in the “Art of Making Art.”
Like so many of Sondheim’s musicals, the story is simple and yet complex.
Act I Set in Paris in 1884, George, Aaron Galligan-Stierle, is in the park on one of many Sundays, sketching his mistress, Dot, instructing her to hold still while he captures the light and her pose. Galligan-Stierle’s George is an intense, meticulous painter working on the canvas to the point of obsession.
Dot, played by Saige Smith, complains about the heat, her tight corset, and George’s lack of attention, but she stays because she loves him. His dedication to “Finishing the Hat” leaves little room for personal connection, straining his relationship with her.
Through a series of vignettes, Sondheim and Lapine bring the painting to life by introducing the various figures who will become the painting’s subjects: the Boatman, the Old Lady (George’s mother), a Nurse, shop girls, soldiers, and a baker. Their lives and small dramas are woven into the composition of the painting.
Eventually, Dot, pregnant with George’s child, leaves him for Louis, Robert Frankenberry, a kind but unexciting baker who can provide stability. Act I ends with George alone, having completed his great work—but having lost Dot.
Act II Chicago, 1984 – We meet George, a contemporary American artist and the great-grandson of Seurat and Dot. This George is unveiling an electronic art installation called Chromolume #7. Like his ancestor, he struggles with balancing artistic integrity, innovation, and the pressures of the art market. He also faces burnout and creative doubt.
Through conversations with his grandmother Marie (Dot and Seurat’s daughter), George learns more about his family’s history and the personal cost of his great-grandfather’s genius.
When Marie dies, George travels to the island in Paris where Seurat painted his masterpiece.
In the musical’s final moments, the 20th-century George connects spiritually with the 19th-century Dot, who encourages him to “Move On,” both in art and life. The play closes with George reading the last page of Seurat’s sketchbook—blank—symbolizing the open possibilities ahead.
“Putting it all together, bit by bit, part by part.”
Front Porch’s Sunday in the Park with George is one of the company’s best efforts to date. The production applies Seurat’s tenets for a good painting to their rendering of the musical: Order… design… tension… balance…and harmony.
Rob James’ direction brings order to the large cast, often together on stage all at once. While there are no dance numbers, choreographing the movement of the cast and set pieces gives a smooth flow to the production. Dialog is delivered naturally, no overacting here.
Designing Sunday in the Park is a challenge regardless of budget. George’s painting is essential, but how do you let us see his face and the painting? The design team of John Michael Bohach (set), Forrest Trimble (lights), and Joe Spunogatti (projections) has come up with a brilliant solution. The painting is hanging in George’s studio, on a wall which we can see through, revealing the painting and George, looking at the work as he paints. For the audience, George effectively becomes one with the painting, and at the same time, trapped inside it. The New Hazlett Theater‘s intimate performance space is the perfect counterpoint to the huge monumental painting.
Saige Smith as Dot quickly endears the audience with her facial expressions and gestures, up close and personal for all to see, as Dot attempts unsuccessfully to get George to communicate with her in the show’s opening scenes. She makes a pretty spunky and funny Marie, young George’s grandmother in Act II.
In addition to Smith, Front Porch has brought together an experienced and well-rounded cast led by Aaron Galligan-Stierle as George, the brilliant, self-absorbed, and intensely obsessed painter. Pretty unlikable as characters go. The 1984 Chicago George is a personable and accessible artist, a necessity in the modern-day financial model for artists pitching potential donors. (Galligan-Stierle is the Head of Acting and Musical Theatre at Slippery Rock University.)
The cast is rounded out by a group of talented actors, with some new and some returning members of the Front Porch family. All perfect for their quirky characters in costumes matching the painting created by Costume Designer Michelle Nowakowski.
Vocally, the cast is first-rate; Galligan-Stierle and Smith carry the bulk of the load. Music Director Camille Villalpando Rolla leads a group of twelve musicians that beautifully render Sondheim’s songs while helping the cast navigate the complexities of Sondheim’s music. Finally, a shout out to the Sound Designers Angela Baugnman and Josh Bruton, flawless is the word, there but not in your face, every word with every song, perfectly balanced with the orchestra.
Front Porch Theatricals’ production of Sunday in the Park with George is an absolute must-see. All the elements work together in perfect harmony- Sondheim’s music, Lapine’s book, great story, brilliant casting, fabulous voices, superb design, and a full orchestra.
Plus, you get to see Saige Smith in the role that made her a star!
Read Sharon Eberson’s interview on the art of Sunday in the Park with Aaron Galligan-Stierle and Saige Smith here.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Front Porch Theatrical’s production of Sunday in the Park with George is at the New Hazlett Theater, North Side, August 15-24, 2025. Tickets: Visit https://ci.ovationtix.com/36406/production/1223326.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Reviews
Leave a Reply Cancel reply