Spring is here, the weather is getting warmer and the sun is out longer. One musical I associate with this season, summer, and many other aspects of life outside of weather and one I listen to all year round is Sunday In The Park With George. My favorite Sondheim musical, one about love, art, ambition, and where we find our artistic drive and inspiration. The music simply beautiful, a work of art itself come to life as we follow two artistic Georges, who must navigate life as artists, and deal with criticism from the world around them while they just try to bring their passions to life. I have been listening to songs from this show since 2017, and even discussed it on this blog, and I am certain much like some of my favorites, I will again, but today I wanted to talk about it once again. This show is just that good.
I wish to see this show someday, I want to, but until then I have the cast albums from the original and the 2017 revival which I listen to regularly and the proshot from PBS all those years ago. From the moment I first heard this album, I never stopped listening to it, either the whole album or even just one song that I am in the mood for.
From the moment things begin we are thrust into a world of art, beginning not with introductions to the cast, but rather the art. The art is the not only the main subject but I would even say it is the star of the show. The art created in the past in the first act, and the present of the second act is the subject of most of the songs in the show. The themes are love and art, dealing with others opinions both positive and negative, and how we find creative inspiration.
Songs such as "Finishing The Hat", "The Dog Song" and "Putting It Together", tackle the art making process and trying to bring fourth creative inspiration. The song "Finishing The Hat" talking about making art, but wanting to be in love, leaving the first George to decide to just focus on the art for now. He balances back and fourth between his piece and the heartbreak he is currently battling, feeling unsupported as we watch him pick his art time and time again over the woman he loves. Bemoaning the fact that the woman he loved is not there to see the art piece, as he makes a hat where there never was a hat.
You see the second George having what is seemed as success but not without the cost of great stress and tons of criticism You see him navigating the social side and politics of creating art, until he has a moment similar to the first George, and finds inspiration at the right moment.
In both renditions of "Sunday" , the lightbulb goes off, the world fades away, and the artist is left with the inspiration they were seeking. They are left with just themselves, the fundamentals that are echoed throughout the show, and the art they are about to create. A beautiful sweeping song, at first listen that seems to just be describing a painting, but then the instrumentation, the descriptions, and the way the ensemble comes together makes it so much more. It makes the song a work of art itself, it sweeps and soars into a soft and powerful piece. One that sits with me, and has with many, when Stephen Sondheim passed away, many gathered in Time Square to sing this song. Even if you do not watch the proshot or listen to the album, listen to this song. Ending on one of the most beautiful harmonies I have ever heard, that still gives me chills.
In or out of context of the show, the music is amazing. The album itself helps tell the story and shows the narrative moving along even without knowing the general plot. The first time I heard the album, I got the main gist of the story and how the plot was progressing, even the change to the second George because everything is explained through the music. The lyrics and instrumentation work together to make each song have its own unique feel as if they were all paintings hanging in a gallery, some somber, some are comedic and light, and some are deep.
The music connects this narrative and works well to establish feelings that connect and resonate with the ones listening, while still telling its story well. I am crushed when the love falls apart, I feel inspired to create when I hear the talk about art, and I feel moved, even sometimes to tears at the beauty of "Sunday"
This Sunday may have been ordinary for the ones being painted, but the work left behind which is still seen and discussed and has been for ages, and will be for ages, but this show is far from. My favorite work of Sondheim's and one that in so many ways can connect to the listener. This is still one of my top 5 musicals and will always be, one that can inspire and move me, containing a wide range of emotions. "What An Ordinary.. Sunday"
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