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[[Image:pp cast.jpg|thumb|right|600px|Ponca Playhouse Cast.]] [[Image:Painting.jpg|thumb|right|600px|Original Painting.]] Eight Reasons to see "Sunday in the Park with George" at Ponca Playhouse by Hugh Pickens published in the Ponca City News on May 31, 2024 Fans of live theater are in for a special treat for the next two weekends, as Ponca Playhouse presents their annual musical which this year is "Sunday in the Park with George" by Stephen Sondheim. Here are eight reasons why you don't want to miss this show. ==Stephen Sondheim. == Stephen Sondheim is a giant on Broadway. The late American composer and lyricist is regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater and is credited with reinventing the American musical. Sondheim began his career by writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959) and transitioned to writing both music and lyrics for the theater, with his best-known works including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Into the Woods (1987), and Passion (1994). I was a little surprised to learn that this is the first time that a Sondheim musical has been presented in Ponca City perhaps because Sondheim's music and lyrics are somewhat challenging and the production requires a large cast. (Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd was presented last year by NOC in Tonkawa). However Ponca Playhouse was up to the task and presented a musical that holds its own even compared to a professional production. As an aside if you really want to enjoy this show as much as possible I recommend that before you see the musical you go to YouTube and watch the original Broadway production of "Sunday in the Park with George" with original cast members Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters on "Great Performances" on PBS. You can find the show by doing a google search on the following terms: youtube pbs. Sunday in the Park. ==The story. == Don't come to this musical expecting a plot driven story like "The Sound of Music" or "Oklahoma!" Sunday in the Park is primarily character driven and was inspired by French painter Georges Seurat and his painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", considered one of the half dozen most popular paintings in the world and part of the permanent collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. The painting is a leading example of pointillist technique and is a founding work of the neo-impressionist movement. The painting is composed of hundreds of thousands of daubs of color. The musical tells the story of Seurat as he immerses himself deeply in painting his masterpiece and examines the creative process and reflecting the attention to detail Sondheim himself goes through creating a musical, something he calls "Finishing the Hat" which is also the title of the song Seurat performs while working on his masterpiece in his studio near the end of Act 1. Not surprisingly Sondheim says that "Sunday in the Park with George" is his most autobiographical musical. Act one concerns the French painter in 19th century France and his creation of the painting , which took more than two years to complete. Act Two skips 100 years into the future and deals with an artistic crisis experienced by Seurat’s great grandson, an American conceptual artist in his 40s also named George. ==The Director.== The Director Ryan Brown grew up in the Playhouse and has been performing there since 2007. He has appeared in over 20 productions in the past 10 years and has directed half a dozen plays most recently the 2021 production of "Man of La Mancha:. Ryan fell in love with "Sunday in the Park with George" during college, and immediately started thinking of how to accomplish this beautiful and complex piece in the Playhouse. “This show speaks to the artist in all of us. Wanting to leave behind something that is bigger than us. I hope everyone comes out to see this overwhelmingly talented cast put on one of Stephen Sondheim's greatest works.” ==The Leading Man.== The role of George Seurat is a challenging one. The leading man is onstage almost every second of the musical and requires a singer with the strength, stamina and talent to sing the lead in half a dozen songs. Chad Anderson, the Director of Theatre at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa is a wonderfully talented actor and director whose past Playhouse appearances include Jinx in "Forever Plaid", Miguel de Cervantes/Don Quixote in "Man of La Mancha", and Dexter Haven in "High Scoiety", among many others. ==The Leading Lady. == Emily Rose Parman plays Dot, Seurat's model, mistress, and muse. Emily provides the perfect complement to Chad Anderson's performance. Emily is a freelance theatre director, designer, and performer, and serves as the Department Specialist for Visual and Performing Arts at Cowley College. She recently made her Playhouse stage debut as Alonso in Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST, which she also directed. Emily spent the bulk of her career as a theatre professional in New York City before returning to the Midwest in 2021. Emily provides the perfect counterpoint to Chad's performance and Emily's interpretation of Dot provides just the right amount of sass as she verbally spars with Chad in the opening number of the play as she asks "George. Why is it you always get to sit in the shade while I have to stand in the sun? Hello, George? There is someone in this dress!" Emily and Chad also sing a beautiful duet, "We Do Not Belong Together", as the two of them realize that they have no future together and she decides to leave France for America pregnant with Suerat's child, Marie. Emily reappears in act 2 to 100 years later as Marie now 99 years old and she sings one of the highlights of the play "Children and Art", the only two things that last. Marie tells Seurat about her mother, attempting to pass on a message about the legacy we leave behind. == Supporting Cast. == Sunday in the Park with George has a large cast of supporting actors. Basically, every figure that appears in the painting represents a character in the play. The supporting cast includes. I would like to highlight several members of the supporting cast whose whose performances I found most memorable and compelling. First, Sam Stewart plays Seaurat's cranky Mother to perfection. Blake Brown plays Seurat's friend Jules and does an excellent job of conveying Jule's envy of Seurat. Finally Alee Hunt plays a flirtatious coquette along with Amberlynn Kelly. Although it is a minor part, Allee has a charisma that draws your eye to her during the show and I am sure that we will be seeing more of Alee in the future, perhaps at the Playhouse, or perhaps on a larger stage. Anyone who has seen Alee perform with the Roustabouts at NOC knows that she is a star in the making. and someday we may be saying "we knew her when." ==Staging.== I have seen this musical performed professionally. and I will admit that I was somewhat skeptical when I heard that the Playhouse would be putting it on this year because the musical requires elaborate staging and I was dubious as to whether it could be performed in the confined space of the Black Box Theatre. I'm happy to report that my skepticism was misplaced. The transitions between scenes are seamless and I was especially impressed by the scene in which Seurat is painting in his studio as he talks with Dot. The use of a silk screen was brilliant and conveyed perfectly what it was like for Seurat to actually paint the painting. You will probably not be able to figure out how this scene was done the first time you see it and I admit that I initially thought that the image of Chad was recorded or being projected on a large LCD screen. ==Costumes. == A period piece like this musical which takes place in the late 19th century loses all credibility and falls apart if the costumes are not convincing. I am happy to report that, as always, longtime playhouse veteran Melody Parman has outdone herself in this production creating period costumes for more than 20 actors and actresses which help transport the audience back to 1880s Paris. The bottom line is "Don't miss this musical". It is both inspiring and entertaininng and highlights the enormous amount of theatrical talent that we have in north central Oklahoma. The Playhouse should be proud that they can put on such a challenging production in such a professional manner. ==Pickens Bio== {{Pickensbio}}

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