Sunday In The Park With George

Sunday In The Park With George is a musical, words and music by Stephen Sondheim  inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat.  It is one of Georges Seurat's most famous works, and is an example of pointillism, a technique of neo-impressionist painting using tiny dots of various pure colors, which become blended in the viewer's eye. It was developed by Georges Seurat with the aim of producing a greater degree of luminosity and brilliance of color.

Wikipedia says Sondheim has received an Academy Award; eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer, including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre); eight Grammy Awards; a Pulitzer Prize, the Laurence Olivier Award, and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Described by Frank Rich of The New York Times as "now the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theater." His best-known works as composer and lyricist include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. He wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy. Clearly his resume is substantial.

I've been a fan of Broadway Musicals since the first time I heard the soundtrack to Music Man. I'm a big fan of West Side Story, Camelot, The Fantastiks, Fiddler on the Roof, Paint Your Wagon and many many more.

One thing every musical I love includes is great music. Imagine that. Some good songs, like these from other shows

That said, while I find the painting that inspired Sondheim's work very interesting and  quite beautiful I find the musical Sondheim created wholly lacking. But, I see how it would appeal to hard-core musical fans. I suppose that makes me a fan of "popular" musicals - much as I am fond of certain classical music - the popular classics. Popular that is to more common fans as opposed to hard-core fans. And I do not like opera in any way, shape or form though I do appreciate it's place in this world. And while I enjoy stage productions in general, I need a better reason (reward) for the price (risk) of a Broadway ticket these days than is offered by this weeks LBC topic.

That's it for this week. See ya next week with  anew LBC topic.