Learn about the production history of 'Sunday in the Park with George'

Ahead of a major revival starring Wicked's Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, revisit the Sondheim musical's Broadway and West End history.

Summary

• Sunday in the Park with George is coming to the Barbican in London in 2027
• The Sondheim musical will star Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey
• The show premiered on Broadway in 1984
• Learn about its production history on Broadway and in the West End

The Wickedly good news for musical theatre fans is that Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey will soon be reunited on stage. The pair are set to star in a major revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican in London in 2027, directed by Marianne Elliott, who previously directed Bailey in her acclaimed West End productions of Company and Cock.

Sunday in the Park with George was inspired by the great French pointillist artist Georges Seurat and his painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Known as “George” in the show, the story follows his obsessive work and how that impacts his personal life, including his relationship with his mistress, Dot. The moving second act also features the couple’s great-grandson, another artist named George.

Ahead of your trip to this keenly anticipated Barbican revival, learn more about the production history of Sunday in the Park with George.

Check back for Sunday in the Park with George tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

1983: Off Broadway beginnings

Sunday in the Park with George had its original production at Playwrights Horizons, running for just 25 performances in July 1983. It was very much a work-in-progress: only the first act was performed initially, and then the full show on the final few nights. However, it was immediately clear that this was a special piece. Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters starred, and the cast also featured Christine Baranski (who is soon to appear in Hay Fever in the West End).

1984: Sunday premieres on Broadway

Patinkin and Peters reprised their roles for the official Broadway opening at the Booth Theatre in May 1984, directed by Lapine. Sunday in the Park with George ran for 35 previews and 604 performances, until October 1985, with cast replacements over the run including Harry Groener, Robert Westenberg, Cris Groenendaal, Betsy Joslyn, and Maryann Plunkett.

1984: Sunday wins two Tony Awards

Sunday in the Park with George was nominated 10 awards in all, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor and Best Actress. It won two prizes recognising its beautiful and innovative design: Best Scenic Design for Tony Straiges and Best Lighting Design for Richard Nelson. Sunday also won eight Drama Desk Awards, and Sondheim and Lapine won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

1990: Sunday comes to London

Sunday in the Park with George had its UK premiere in March 1990 at London’s National Theatre. Philip Quast starred as George and Maria Friedman as Dot, and the well-received production, which was directed by Steven Pimlott, ran for 117 performances.

1991: Sunday wins two Olivier Awards

The UK production of Sunday in the Park with George was nominated for six Oliviers altogether, including for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Set Design. It won the 1991 Best New Musical Olivier Award, and Quast also won the Best Actor award.

2002: Sunday plays the Kennedy Center

The show was presented in May 2002 as part of a celebration of Sondheim’s work. It was directed by Eric D. Schaeffer and led by Raúl Esparza and Melissa Errico, plus original Broadway cast member Cris Groenendaal joined the company to play a supporting role.

2002: Sunday heads to Illinois

This was a homecoming of sorts since the Seurat painting which inspired Sunday in the Park with George hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. The musical played at Chicago’s Shakespeare Theater in 2002, and then at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park in 2004 starring Michael Cerveris, Audra McDonald, and Patti LuPone.

2005: Sunday returns to London

Sunday in the Park with George made a triumphant return to London with a strong revival at the Menier Chocolate Factory, starring Daniel Evans and Anna-Jane Casey, and directed by Sam Buntrock. The production then transferred to the West End, playing at the Wyndham’s Theatre, with Jenna Russell taking over the role of Dot. The production was nominated for six Oliviers and won five, including Outstanding Musical Production, Best Actor and Best Actress.

2008: Sunday goes to Broadway

The hit London revival crossed over the pond in January 2008 and played on Broadway in a co-production between the Roundabout Theatre Company and Studio 54. It extended three times, playing until the end of June. Evans and Russell reprised their roles, and Buntrock once again directed. This production of Sunday in the Park with George was critically acclaimed; it won two Drama Desk Awards, and was nominated for nine Tony Awards.

2013: Sunday visits Paris

Sunday in the Park with George had its first French jaunt in April 2013, playing at the Théâtre du Châtelet. It was directed by Lee Blakeley and led by two British musical theatre stars, Julian Ovenden and Sophie-Louise Dann. The score was reworked for a full orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and it was taped for TV and radio.

2017: Sunday returns to Broadway

Following a successful concert version for New York City Center in 2016, Sunday in the Park with George came to the Hudson Theatre on Broadway in February 2017 starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford, and with a cast also featuring Brooks Ashmanskas, Ruthie Ann Miles, and Robert Sean Leonard. It was directed by James Lapine’s niece, Sarna Lapine.

This production was due to transfer to the West End, however the pandemic delayed the transfer and sadly it never took place.

2027: Sunday comes back to London

That lost transfer is part of why London audiences are so thrilled about the long-awaited return of this remarkable musical. In 2027, we will see the Olivier Award-winning Jonathan Bailey (Company) and his Grammy-winning Wicked movie co-star Ariana Grande (Hairspray Live!) reunite, with Grande making her London theatre debut.

Marianne Elliott directs this major revival of Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican. The Olivier and Tony Award-winning director, whose work includes War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Angels in America, previously worked with Bailey on West End productions of COCK and Sondheim musical Company.

Main photo credit: Jake Gyllenhaal (Photo by Matthew Murphy). Inset: Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Jenna Russell and Daniel Evans, Annaleigh Ashford and Jake Gyllenhaal (Photo courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, photos by Tristram Kenton, Matthew Murphy)