Sunday in the Park with George (1986)

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte by Georges Seurat is one of the great paintings of the world, and in 'Sunday in the Park with George,' book writer James Lapine and composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim bring a story based on the work brilliantly to life. While the painting depicts people gathered on an island in the Seine, the musical goes beyond simply describing their lives. It is an exploration of art, of love, of commitment. Seurat connected dots to create images; Lapine and Sondheim use connection as the heart of all our relationships. Winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Broadway production opened at the Booth Theatre on May 2, 1984 and was filmed during an invite-only performance after the show has already closed. The filming featured the original Broadway cast, which included Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters which returned to the production for the filming.

The musical originally aired on Showtime in February 1986 and was later shown on PBS' American Playhouse.

That same year, the show was released on VHS - and almost 15 years later was re-released on DVD which contained a special commentary track featuring Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine, Mandy Patinkin, and Bernadette Peters.

Years later James Lapine released 'Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created 'Sunday in the Park with George'', a book which details the creation of the Broadway production.

Directing:

• James Lapine

Writing:

• Stephen Sondheim
• Michael Starobin

Stars:

• Mandy Patinkin
• Bernadette Peters
• Barbara Bryne

Release Date: 1986-06-16

6.6/10

• Country: US
• Runtime: 146