Presenting a contemporary classic like Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s
Sunday in the Park with George in an “intimate” theater presents several
challenges: fitting a Broadway size musical into a small space, finding
singer/actors up to the Sondheim challenge, and staging a Class A production
which will somehow distinguish itself from countless others which have
preceded it.

After last season’s triumphant Into the Woods, it should come as no surprise
that Oanh Nguyen’s revival of Sunday in the Park at the acclaimed Chance
Theater succeeds on all counts.

John Robinson’s simple set design (basically an empty stage with black side
panels speckled with white paint and a projection screen filling the upstage
wall) gives the actors plenty of room to move around, especially with the
American couple visiting France excised (missed, but not too badly). The rear
screen lights up with Georges Seurat’s paintings, filling the stage with color
and light. Cassandra L. Stone’s elegant costumes complete the picture. This is
a Sunday that’s lookin’ good.

Six Chance Theater members are joined by eight talented visitors to create a
(younger than usual) perfectly meshed cast, headed by the oh so talented
stars of Into the Woods, Bob Simpson and Lowe Taylor.

Simpson may not have Mandy Patinkin’s pipes, but he’s a good singer (who
can hit the high notes just fine) and an even better actor.  He perfectly
captures George’s manic obsession with his art.  This is a man possessed, and
Simpson is just the actor to capture this intensity. (Remember his Jamie in The
Last Five Years?)  Taylor is every bit his match, with a rich and lustrous voice
and a unique beauty. Her Dot is charming and funny (Taylor’s a fine
comedienne), both uneducated and savvy at the same time. As
grandmother Marie in Act 2, she is deeply touching.  After her recent star turn
as Suzy in The Marvelous Wonderettes, Taylor is on a roll.

As large as the cast is, Sunday in the Park… is essentially a two person show,
with the rest of the ensemble making essentially cameo appearances, but all
are excellent—Sherry Domerego as George’s mother, Alex Bueno as her
companion, Jonathan Lamer as art critic Jules and Tanya Raisa Mironowski as
his wife Yvonne, Patrick Kelly as the boatman, Mary Lauren Wilson and Sarah
Moreau as the Celestes, Sarah Pierce as the child Louise, Casey Long as Franz
and Micaela De Lauro as his paramour Frieda, Bryan Seastrom as the soldier,
and Daniel Berlin as Louie, who takes Dot to America where Act 2’s Marie is
born.  All double as very different1980s characters after intermission.

Nguyen may well be the finest director in Orange County. After reinventing
The Last Five Years and Into the Woods, he now puts his stamp on Sunday in
the Park…  Watch for the full cast fight just before George screams out
“Order!” Pay attention to Louise’s glasses in Act 1 and the modern day
George’s in Act 2 and the way they make for one of Act 2’s most moving
moments. Pure Oahn.

Musical director Bill Strongin’s musical ensemble (piano and 2 violins) magically
succeeds (with help from sound designer Dave Mickey) in replacing a full
Broadway orchestra.  Masako Tobaru’s lighting design helps to fill the stage
with the aforementioned color and light, and John MacDonald’s projection
design is perfection.

With work as outstanding as this, no wonder the Chance has been named the
finest intimate theater in Orange County.  This Sunday in the Park with George
couldn’t be better.

CHANCE THEATER,  5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills, CA 92807 
(714) 777-3033 Aug. 3 - Sep. 16 Thu., Fri., Sat. 8pm; Sun. 2pm

--Steven Stanley