Finishing the Hat

DVD of the Month: Sunday in the Park with George.
Sunday in the Park with George is Stephen Sondheim at his best and was inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat. It tells a fictional yet complex story about Seurat while painting the masterpiece and about his grandson as searches to find himself as an artist. The filmed musical features original cast members Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters as Georges/George and Dot/Marie. It is a play were you must really listen to fully understand the painful yet hopeful storyline told so beautifully through the music and lyrics of Sondheim. It also won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

If you have never heard of the show before then a great way to be introduce to the story is through the cast recording. I recommend the 2006 revival Cast Recording rather than the original cast. I prefer Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell who played Georges/George and Dot/Marie because they are so much more moving in their presentation of these characters. Also they were the cast I saw on Broadway, in a production that was breathtaking from start to finish. Watch the YouTube clip from the Tony Awards 2008 below to see why they were SO good.

"Finishing the Hat"-song from Sunday in the Park with George