Red, red, red, red, red

[example22]

Sunday in the Park With George, now at the Wyndham's Theatre, is stereotypical Sondheim. By which I mean: very clever lyrics that are too intricate for their own good, barely a single song that you can whistle as you leave the theatre, and a plot that takes three or four listenings (buy the CD!) before it really sinks in.

It's fabulous, and I loved every second. The staging is a white box with projections (there are a few props, but the wow factor is entirely down to the projection and animation). This is appropriate, because it's all about Georges Seurat "painting with light". The first act is about the creation of art -- or, alternatively, about how hellish it is to live with an artist. Seurat's lover Dot (ho, ho) gets all the best songs, and we end with a live action recreation of Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte.

In the second act, we fast-forward a century or so, to consider what remains after we're gone. "Children and art" is Sondheim's conclusion, which is pretty depressing for those of us who are talentless and have no instinct to breed. Even so, it's a powerful and moving piece, well acted (especially by Jenna Russell as Dot) and impressively staged.

Comments

[example22.livejournal.com]

Did you see it, or just listen to the music? Because I can understand hating it if you're just faced with the CD, but the full production is a different proposition entirely...

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

In both cases, just the CD. Sondheim is my most polarised composer, and I always wonder how I stand on his more obscure work. Should I seek it out or distain it.