Don't Call It A Comeback

REVIEW: Arden Theatre Co.'s Sunday in the Park with George

by David Anthony Fox

Mark Garvin

If you think there are no second acts in American lives, Sunday in the Park with George will change your mind. This 1983 show followed the biggest professional disaster in Stephen Sondheim's career — Merrily We Roll Along, a Broadway fiasco that almost ended his collaboration with director Harold Prince. Merrily might have finished off a lesser artist. For Sondheim, it spawned a new collaboration, and a musical that takes on nothing less than the need to create art — whatever the cost. Sunday is more than a great comeback. It's one of the wonders of modern theater.

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In Act 1, the famous pointillist painter Georges Seurat finishes his masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, as his life crumbles. Ill health, the end of a love affair with his mistress, Dot, the jeering reception of his colleagues and the critical establishment — none of it will stand in his way. Act 2 brings us to a contemporary museum and a new artist named George (this one is fictional), who cannily achieves what Seurat couldn't — commercial success — but as with his namesake, happiness seems out of reach.

Sunday is a dazzling piece of work that's intellectually rigorous, deeply touching and full of glorious melody. Especially delightful is the clever interweaving of the two stories (where the same actors take on multiple roles), as well as the opportunity to see the artworks come to life.

There's a lot to admire in the Arden Theatre Co.'s visually elegant production, which uses video to revitalize the art. Jeff Coon (the Georges), always an appealing performer, is at his considerable best dramatically and vocally in the show's cathartic final moments. Elsewhere, the passion and dark introspection of Seurat's character don't fully register. Kristine Fraelich (Dot/Marie) sings superbly but misses some of the charm. The ensemble performers (especially Maureen Torsney-Weir) are excellent, and director Terry Nolen and musical director Eric Ebbenga are to be praised for re-creating the original orchestrations, and keeping amplification to a minimum.

Most of all, there's Sunday itself, a show to see and treasure again and again. Design. Composition. Balance. Light. Thank you, Mr. Sondheim.

Through July 4, $34-$48, Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. Second St., 215-922-1122, ardentheatre.org.