Annaleigh Ashford Joins Jake Gyllenhaal in Sunday in the Park With George

New York City Center announced today that Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford (You Can't Take It With You) will join Jake Gyllenhaal in the previously announced gala performance of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park With George. She will play Dot opposite Gyllenhaal who take on the title role of painter Georges Seurat.

Ashford has starred on Broadway in Sylvia, You Can’t Take It With You, Kinky Boots, Wicked, Hair, and Legally Blonde. She is a series regular on Showtime's Masters of Sex and recently completed work on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which will air on Fox in October.

City Center has also announced two additional benefit performances on October 25 and October 26, following the originally announced October 24 performance.

The special event will honor business leader and philanthropist Adrienne Arsht. Funds raised will go toward subsidizing affordable tickets throughout the year to programs such as Fall for Dance and Encores! Off-Center.

Sunday in the Park With George follows painter Georges Seurat in the months leading up to the completion of his most famous painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Consumed by his need to "finish the hat," Seurat alienates the French bourgeoisie, spurns his fellow artists, and neglects his lover Dot, not realizing that his actions will reverberate over the next 100 years.

Gyllenhaal returns to City Center, following his starring role in last summer's Encores! Off-Center production of Little Shop of Horrors. He appeared on Broadway in Constellations opposite Ruth Wilson and off-Broadway in If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet. His many films include Nightcrawler, Brokeback Mountain, Southpaw, and others.