Sunday In The Park With George

Act 1 is a succession of Sundays on an small island in the Seine in Paris where the pointillist painter George Seurat prepares his monumental painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Act 2 covers his great-grandson's work on his own sound and light installations.

Work this material as they might - and I get the feeling they worked it a lot - it doesn't look as if Lapine and Sondheim had quite enough for a full-length musical. That said, for thought-provoking themes and terrific insight into the sheer slog and single-minded dedication necessary to the creative process, this show is unbeatable. Seurat, played by the actor Mandy Patinkin with gimlet-eyed obsession is finely counterbalanced by Bernadette Peters' witty sparkling Dot.

Well worth a look, as Sondheim's near-misses are worth ten of anyone else's bullseyes, and the finale of Act 1 has a simple beauty that's intensely moving.

The stage show has been filmed with a lot of close-up work that draws you unobrusively into the action; the sound recording quality is perfectly acceptable.

This is not the most immediately accessible of Sondheim's work. its more 'a play with music' than a musical, and what music there is, is in difficult-to-get-your-head-around Sondeim style at its worst (ie too clever for its own good and certainly very little you can hum)

But the premise is very interesting, even if the subject matter is a little obscure (based around a painting, perhaps Sondheim would have been better advised to have chosen a rather more well known painting). The first half is very clever and witty, and in fact in the 'try out' of the show before it went to Broadway, only the first half ever existed). I can't help but be of the opinion that, had Sondheim left it this way,or expanded the story covered in Act 1 into two complete acts, the piece would have been more popular. The second half of the piece just doesnt work - it tried to be 'modern' in its time and now just looks horribly dated. The 2007 London Production scored far higher in terms of accessibility of the second act, and its a shame this production wasnt recorded.

Honours from this production go to Bernadette Peters, who makes a lively and sympathetic Dot. I never could stand Mandy Patinkin and I never will.

I've known the music for quite a while and to finally see it, as it was, on stage, is a delight. As a Sondheim fan, I would recommend it, as a musical, I don't think it would be to everyones taste.

This is a recording of the 1984 Broadway show - yep the Pulitzer prize winning musical starring the Tony nominee Bernadette Peters - and presents a wonderful opportunity to witness this piece as an audience member.

Peters & Patinkin are a fantastic partnership, portraying Dot & Serat's passionate yet doomed relationship. Both characters sing from the heart as we witness George's struggle in his love for Dot and his obsession with art. Art wins and Dot runs into the stable arms of Louis.

'Art isn't easy' Serat sings, although one can't help thinking could this be the voice of Sondheim? There is indeed a connection here; two highly talented creatives taking art to a new level and not without struggle.

This DVD is definitely worth a watch for any avid musical theatre goer. Taking in mind the other reviews here, it is worth noting that the fantastic, humorous & heartbreaking book by James Lapine is not included on the CD recording, and it would be hard for any other Dot & George to measure up to Peters & Patinkin. So, it's 4 stars in my book. A bit dated, yes, but a theatre performance I wouldn't want to miss.

A strong cast and wonderful production are woefully let down by a very poor quality dvd. This is a bad and amateurish recording of a live performance and I don't think it should be available to rent in its present form - a huge diappointment.