"Sunday in the Park with George," presented yesterday in Center Theater by Circa '21 productions, is a moving look into the lives of two artists and the various conflicts that love and art create in their lives.
Loosely based on the life of the great 19th century painter Georges Seurat, "Sunday in the Park with George" depicts the life and painting of George, a passionate and unconventional artist in Paris in the late nineteenth century. The play then jumps in the second act to a new George, this time a discontented modern artist searching for the truth of his relation to the great artist and the purpose of his art.
Filled with captivating representations of Seurat's art, specifically his masterpiece "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," Steven Sondheim's musical provides a thought provoking portrayal of an artist who is obsessed with breaking new ground with his art, even at the expense of personal happiness.
Framed against Sondheim's distinctively attractive music, the play moves through the internal conflicts of the human condition and the overwhelming demands of the artist but ultimately leaves the audience with a hopeful message: to thine own self be true.
The cast, under the clever direction of M. Seth Reines, effectively presents James Lapine's drama, providing a believable glimpse into the life of a committed yet despondent artist, while competently rendering Sondheim's compelling score and melodies.
Adam Karsten, who plays George, while convincing in his dramatic portrayal of the two complex artists, fails to fill the lyrical requirements of Sondheim's music.
Wendy Brown, who plays George's mistress and model, as well as his contemporary daughter (at the age of 98), lacks in certain dramatic capacities but sings Sondheim artfully and confidently, perfectly upholding the demands of the genre.
Both dramatically and vocally sound, the rest of the cast creates both distinctive character types in both acts and set the background scenes quite convincingly. The end result is a warm and moving rendering of Sondheim's musical.
