A MOST PLEASURABLE STROLL THROUGH THE `PARK'.Byline: - Evan Henerson If anyone could attest to how far the Reprise re·prise n. 1. Music a. A repetition of a phrase or verse. b. A return to an original theme. 2. A recurrence or resumption of an action. tr.v. ! series has traveled in its 10 years of existence, that person figures to be Jason Alexander. Alexander headlined the company's first offering, ``Promises, Promises,'' back when scenery was sparse, the artists carried scripts, and the series was known as ``Broadway's Best Broadway's Best is a Showtunes radio station on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 77 and DISH Network channel 6077. See Also
Here's betting Alexander harkened back to the company's lean and mean times while assembling ``Sunday in the Park With George.'' Rather astonishingly a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. , this is a production that frequently looks as sumptuous as it sounds. ``Sunday,'' Stephen Sondheim Noun 1. Stephen Sondheim - United States composer of musicals (born in 1930) Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize Pulitzer Prize Any of a series of annual prizes awarded by Columbia University for outstanding public service and achievement in American journalism, letters, and music. Fellowships are also awarded. winner about the loves and artistic passions of French painter Georges Seurat, has bested companies with far greater technical capabilities than Reprise! A musical that demands the re-creation of ``A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'' is not -- frankly -- the best option for anybody with a representational approach. Plus, for this score, you need mega voices. Available musical performance talent is seldom Reprise's concern. For Alexander's ``Sunday,'' the painting is in no way defeating either. In Bradley Kaye's scenic design Scenic design (also known as stage design, set design or production design) is the creation of theatrical scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A. , a series of painted triangular flats are rolled and spun to depict the park, its inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. and Seurat's blank canvas. Bethany Jane Bohatila and Heather Carleton's costumes favor lush, creamy tones until the opening of the second act when the ``Grand Jatte'' inhabitants re-emerge, decked out in the painting-specific costumes that a pointillist poin·til·lism n. A postimpressionist school of painting exemplified by Georges Seurat and his followers in late 19th-century France, characterized by the application of paint in small dots and brush strokes. like Seurat would depict. That reappearance is spectacular. As are the colorful swirls of dotted light created and mixed by lighting designer Jason H. Thompson. You won't soon find a ``Sunday'' that takes the anthem ``Color and Light'' so effectively to heart. Broadway star Kelli O'Hara is affectless and lovely as Seurat's neglected mistress Dot. O'Hara's longing, nascent wisdom and inability to connect with -- or even touch -- Manoel Felciano's Seurat is palpable and heartbreaking, and in songs like ``Move On'' and ``Children and Art,'' the actress sings like an angel. Felciano's Seurat (he also plays the artist's great-grandson, another struggling artist) encountered a few stumbling blocks within the score opening night. The character's self-disgust plays more smoothly than his cruelty. Alexander, who directed the political parable ``The God of Hell'' at the Geffen Playhouse last year, proves himself just as adept within the meditative landscape of a nontraditional musical. He clearly loves this work, this composition. That affection is more than apparent in the output. SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE - Three and one half stars Where: Freud Playhouse, in Magowan Hall on the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX campus, Westwood. When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through Feb. 11. Tickets: $70 to $75. (310) 825-2101 In a nutshell: Color, light, deft direction and amazing voices. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion