Sunday in the Park With George to Bow at Studio 54 in January 2008

The Roundabout Theatre Company will present the Menier Chocolate Factory’s award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Sunday in the Park With George at Studio 54. The production, which will be directed by Sam Buntrock, will begin performances on January 18, 2008 and will open officially on February 14. No casting has yet been announced.

On Sunday, the show won five Olivier Awards, including Outstanding Musical Production and Best Actor and Actress for stars Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell. Buntrock directed the London production as well; his other credits include a London revival of Sondheim’s Assassins.

Sunday in the Park With George was inspired by Georges Seurat’s famous painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” The first half of the musical, set in 1884, focuses on the creation of the painting and Seurat’s relationship with a woman named Dot. In the second half, set approximately 100 years later, the focus is on Seurat’s great grandson, George, an acclaimed but unhappy artist.

The 1984 Broadway production of Sunday in the Park With George, directed by Lapine, starred Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. It received 10 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and won for Best Sets and Best Lighting. The musical also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.