Sunday in the Park with George (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (719)
See it if you are a Sondheim fan - this production honors the original, while finding new humor and character angles. Jake G. is phenomenal.
Don't see it if you're looking for strictly traditional musical theater - this plot is creative, and the music is wonderfully edgy at times.
See it if You love anything related to the theatre or art
Don't see it if No reason. See it!
See it if You are a Sondheim fan. You are a "Sunday..." fan You are a Jake Gyllenhall fan You want to see an EXCELLENT revival of a Pulitzer winner
Don't see it if You don't care about any of the above, or if you have no interest in a score with brilliant lyrics that explores the life of being an artist
See it if you never saw it before and seeing Jake Gyllenhall starring in this Sondheim musical can be a pure delight in so many ways.
Don't see it if the art scene is of little interest and going to museums are not your thing.
See it if you enjoy Sondheim, want to see a great cast perform this masterful Pulitzer winning musical
Don't see it if don't like Sondheim, want a big splashy production filled musical Read more
See it if Masterpiece, it makes you feel so sad and you even don’t know why
Don't see it if You like flashing and happy shows, or just want to hear some easy-on-the-ear music and don’t care much about the lyric or book
See it if you're a lover of art and a fan of Sondheim and his style.
Don't see it if you need a more straight-forward plot that is story based, rather than the message and morals.
See it if you enjoy retellings of classics that focus on the story rather than the spectacle; you want to see two captivating actors play iconic roles
Don't see it if you don't enjoy Sondheim (even if you don't, this production is probably worth making an exception)
Critic Reviews (64)
"Gyllenhaal is a very good actor and sings surprisingly well, but neither he nor the amusing Ashford can lift the skimpy, pedestrian production to the sublime level of the two previous Broadway presentations of the show...A production needn’t be opulent, but it also shouldn’t look like something improvised in a suburban backyard. The direction by Sarna Lapine is routine, except she whiffs on the production’s big moment."
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"The characters and their interactions all seem purposely one-dimensional, as if Sondheim and librettist James Lapine have taken the painting’s flattened perspectives a bit too literally...Sondheim’s vaguely dissonant, percussion-rich music is more successful at conveying the troubled modernist spirit of his subject’s work. But in the absence of a strong narrative the numbers seem mostly interchangeable...The drama suddenly bursts into life after the interval."
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"The production dazzles with a superb performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, a movie star who until now has pretty much kept his musical theatre talents under wraps...The realization of the Chromolume, with its dots of light floating over the audience, is thrilling, and the performances of Gyllenhaal and Ashford continue to inform the work beautifully."
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"In the age of jukebox musicals, a show that overreaches is extremely welcome, especially since it’s filled with such glistening insight, humor, and music, all centering on the attempt to make harmony out of chaos. Gyllenhaal brings arresting gravitas (and some wacky lunatic genius) to George...The original production remains the best, but this one—directed by Sarna Lapine—has an interesting take on the concepts of 'putting it together,' 'finishing the hat,' and moving on."
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"Gyllenhaal’s performance is one of quiet brooding and delicate anguish...Director Sarna Lapine has taken a minimalist approach. Her production is a crisp but nuanced interpretation. It may feel a touch restrained in comparison with showier productions, but it boasts a skillful ensemble of stage vets alongside vivid projections of Seurat’s work by Tal Yarden...The wondrous Chromolume in Act II bursts with life, nearly stealing the show."
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"We get not just humanity and warmth, but intimacy, tenderness, bursts of humor, and flashes of tremendous beauty -- we get, in effect, as accomplished a production of 'Sunday in the Park with George' as we are likely to ever see...What could be a mere exercise in coy postmodernism becomes something moving and true...This revival makes the strong case that 'Sunday in the Park with George' is Sondheim's crowning achievement."
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"It's a strange, compelling musical...But unfortunately, under the tentative direction of Sarna Lapine, niece of book writer and original director James Lapine, we get a muddle that lacks an organizing vision...There's a lot to like here: sumptuous costumes; a dazzling, second-act light show that left audience members gasping, and tremendous talent on stage. But without a unifying vision, it all just falls apart into shiny dots of color instead of combining to become art."
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"Challenging but evocative...Gyllenhaal has the colossal task of playing the roles originated by Mandy Patinkin. His approach is powerful in its subtlety...Harmony and connection, two words that pop up repeatedly in the show, abound, not just between the leads but among the entire 20-person ensemble. Gyllenhaal may be the main draw for ticket buyers, but this heavenly production is stronger than any one star."
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