Rest in peace to a master the likes of which we'll never see again. A perfect expression of the synesthesia of art and music: Order. Design. Tension. Balance. Harmony. And in Sondheim's case, Beauty.
One detail I never noticed until my tenth rewatch of this proshot is at 3:32. At the top of the show, while George busily sketches Dot and the surrounding background, George says “I hate this tree”, erasing it from both his sketch and the stage. Moments later, George’s mother says to the nurse “Where is the tree, the tree we always sit near.” During this number, George puts the tree back in its spot, so his mother can sit in its shade “forever.” The moment I realized that, I legit shed a tear.
I absolutely love this moment, too. George had the power to shape the park in any way he liked...and he took the time to give his mother her tree back. Such a small detail, but it always makes me cry, too. :)
I will go to my grave saying that this is the best Act One finale of any Broadway musical ever. The way every moment from the previous scenes comes together, the relationships between the characters, the precision of the harmonies, the subtle staging…and then that final moment when you realize the painting has literally been assembled before your eyes. It’s all unmatched. I saw a single clip of this scene at age twelve in PBS’s “History of Broadway” documentary; it stuck with me so much that I looked for it in high school (Googled “musical based on painting”). Now the piece is my favorite musical. Thank you, Mr. Sondheim. Thank you.
It is close to the Act I Finale of Les Miserables but is better. It is by far the best Act ! finale ever - I saw the it about 30 times while working for the Shubert Organization.
One of the few times I've felt privileged to fork over an outrageous amount of money for the honor of hearing a great masterpiece of musical art performed live.
And moments of television history such as this so why we need PBS. American Playhouse brought so many masterpieces from the stage to the screen. And while it’s not the same as being in the audience by any measure, it allows those who cannot afford to go to New York to see what theater has the power to do.
I can only imagine. Those genius, seemingly simple, moments of theatrical brilliance are rare. The only thing recently that comes close is the Part 1 finale of The Inheritance.
@@MS-df2fk Just read your comment about 'SUNDAY' and the ending of Part 1 of 'THE INHERITANCE' . . . I couldn't agree more. That ending reduced me to a puddle of tears! I was just as overwhelmed as they handed the 'Program Insert' to us as we left the theatre with the names of all the actors. I'm crying just thinking about it as I type this.
I saw the Sunday matinee before Christmas in 1984. Fourth row center. Mandy had left by then and Robert Westenberg had replaced him. It’s an afternoon I will never forget.
My favorite line, the one that chokes me up a bit, is "...on an ordinary Sunday." Because it's true. This was an ordinary Sunday. And Georges Seurat made it extraordinary. That is the gift the artist gives the world...to find the extraordinary in the most ordinary of times and places.
SJ Cohen You are so lucky. I wish that I was alive to have seen this show in person, because Sunday in the Park With George is such a masterful work of art.
David S. Cohen here, SJ! Yes! and how lucky you are to live in or close enough to New York to be able to have taken such wonderful advantage of it! Blessings, lountsman!
"Towards the verticals of trees/Forever" may be the greatest creative "ultimo" anyone ever wrote for the theater. It works on about 45 different levels. Brilliance unquestioned.
I can't watch Mandy hand the monkeys leash to Bernadette without tearing up. After all her questioning and concern about his whereabouts to have it all summed up in a single moment, as the music builds and that look... that final understanding when he presents her with the monkey... it's one of the best exchanges I've ever seen on stage and I'm so grateful this original production was preserved so nicely on film for those of us too young or far away to have experienced it otherwise. There's a lot of chilling moments in this show, but that one takes the cake. He really was studying the monkeys. 🐒
In the first scene she ridicules him for being seen at the zoo, drawing the monkey cage. "Why draw monkeys?" she asks. And we finally see why. It might not have been his original intention but Georges knew a monkey would come in handy in a picture sometime. Giving Dot a hat and putting her in the shade are more obvious tributes. But giving her a monkey seems more touching.
How did he not win the Tony award for this? He gave a phenomenal performance. Ok they all did. But Mandy's acting and singing were so good. This must have been a challenging role. The director deserves credit for the perfect casting in this. You know it's a great show when you totally forget it is a show. That moment when you totally forget you are watching actors on stage. My 12 year old son had to perform "Sunday" for his voice class. He has been doing musical theatre since he was 8 and can memorize a song in an hour with no problem. But he struggled with the words on this one. It took him several days to get the lines right. Then a little more time to get the emotion right. Of course, I made him watch act 1 of this show. He would not have really appreciated this song without watching from the beginning. He knew the musical was inspired by a real painting and we had looked at the painting on the internet. So when Mandy said "order" and the music started he got that look on his face. He was totally into the moment. It really helped him understand the emotion in the song.
@@bobbywise2313 that's awesome... the way he calls out those components at the beginning... best beginning to a song ever... still gives me chills every time.
I am here for Stephen Sondheim, after having watched videos of the Broadway theater community singing "Sunday" in his honor. Rest in peace, dear genius Titan of the musical theater.
The tableau of a classic painting being recreated onstage is beyond words. This is the part of the show where the artist receives his crowning glory. Magnificent.
I watched this for the first time when I was 16 or 17, and both then and in the 20+ years since, when I've watched it at least dozens of times, I've still never made it to the end of this without crying. Marianne Elliott said it best: "We have lost the Shakespeare of musical theatre."
This is one of those bucket list Broadway numbers. I desperately want to perform this with a big group sometime. Not even the rest of the show necessarily, but this number.
Apparently it's a popular number with both professional and amateur choirs who do a lot of musical theatre arrangements in their concerts, especially as a show ender.
“Sunday”, the second act finale is probably one of the shortest, yet most beautiful pieces ever written for the Broadway stage, by one of the most prolific artists stage & screen have ever known…… …..STEPHEN SONDHEIM! And of the vast catalog of pieces he has let’s behind to treasure, no more fitting number could have been chosen in tribute, memory & honor of one of musical theatre’s greatest writers of all time! My heart is truly broken over his passing. God speed, Stephen Sondheim. You are most definitely loved, and will be greatly missed! And, …..George has finished the hat!
Unfortunately I wasn't able to see Patinkin in this role when I saw it on Broadway. I was an avid fan of Sondheim and as a cabaret singer in San Francisco, I used to sing so many of his songs. I got shivers /goose bumps and everything else when I heard this number. Sheer beauty of composition, choral arrangement and scenery Just stupendously gorgeous. It had so many beautiful song and the message for what it is to be an artist including on living as an art. That's what Sondheim writes.
5:03 Watch as Both Celestes grip their hands together before separating. I have no idea if this was planned by James Lapine or the actresses themselves, but it is a haunting (albeit very subtle) final exchange between these two friends before they assume their solitary stations on the painting, never to be paired up again.
I never noticed that! Great eyes. :) I am confused about it, though-at the end of the first act, the two Celestes separate, one fishing and one holding her flowers…but at the beginning of Act II in “It’s Hot Up Here,” the “one in the light hat” has replaced the cutout sitting in front of the blonde, and they’re together. I’ve always wondered about why the director chose to do that.
You should read Lapine's book "Putting it Together". A lot of his direction for the actors, especially during the workshop stages of this show, were done through improv and theater games. Much of what you see here is more than likely completely organic. Lapine just wanted them to make the tableau of the picture, however they got there was basically an open discussion between actor and director/writer
Has anyone else paused this at the end of "Sunday" to see how much it looks like the painting? Ok that is probably just me, but it really is pretty close. I am amazed how a painting could be brought to life in the minds of the writer's of this show. Great painting and an incredible performance brought it to life.
How incredible that Sondheim passed away so near to Georges Seurat's birthday! Both were fantastic artists and to see this collaboration of their work warms my heart.
This show is my favorite work of art in all of existence! It is stunning, compelling, and endlessly magnificent! Thank you Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine for all of the beautiful gifts you have given to the world. May we all aspire to move through this world embodying the gentleness, empathy, and care that is conveyed through this show ❤️
This song is a perfect Act 1 ending. Absolutely wonderful. It ends the conflict and it shows George bringing the classing painting together in a beautiful chorus. Sondheim should be proud.
