Another lovely day in the park
April 5th, 2008, 6:53 am Teen Hobbies
NEW YORK–Sometimes they say it’s best not to look behind the curtain, not to get too close to the source of the magic.That’s what I was thinking recently after marvelling at the performances given by Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell in the revival of Sunday in the Park With George that’s currently dazzling Gotham audiences.Evans and Russell were both so perfect in the show that I was actually afraid of meeting them right after the matinee. How could the real life people be half as beguiling as the creatures they played on stage?Well, for once, the doubters and naysayers were wrong. The pair are every bit as enchanting in person as they are behind the footlights – bright as buttons and fresh as paint with wit and charm to spare.Russell is the one who asserts herself first, her glowing skin and wicked smile grabbing your attention, but Evans is not far behind, with sparkling eyes and a tremulous intensity in his voice that makes him equally engaging.Sunday in the Park With George is actually two interrelated musicals set 100 years apart. In the first, set in 1884, we meet French pointillist artist Georges Seurat as he simultaneously completes his masterpiece A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, while working through his torturous relationship with his mistress, Dot.In the second part, set in 1984, we meet Seurat’s great-grandson, also called George, who is working in America as a multimedia artist and taking counsel from his grandmother, Marie.The challenge for Evans and Russell is not just playing two such different characters in one show, but doing so under the shadows of the roles’ famed originators, Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters.%26That’s been a scary mountain for us to climb,%26 admits Russell. %26You feel that half of your battle here is to get past the iconic performances that went before you.%26%26We have to pretend as if it had never been done before,%26 shares Evans. %26That’s the only way we could do it.%26This production originated in London in 2006, at the tiny Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre, then transferred to London’s West End for a successful run. Russell sighs over the fact that %26when we did it in London, living up to the ghosts of the past wasn’t part of the job.%26But Manhattan critics and audiences have embraced their new performances. The cheering section is led by authors Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, %26who championed us all along and made it possible for us to come here,%26 says Evans gratefully.Asked what it was like to work with those two giants of musical theatre, the actors momentarily giggle like schoolkids, then Evans gasps, %26Where do you begin?%26Russell was most impressed with the freedom with which they were able to interpret the authors’ work.%26There’s no control freakiness going on at all,%26 she insists. %26After watching us perform, Stephen said, `You’re honouring the music too much, throw it away more, be more free.’%26He’s secure enough in his work and generous enough as an artist to allow us to try things.%26Evans was happily surprised by the kind of advice he was given by the authors. %26They watched what we did, let us have free rein, then came in with a lot of very specific and strict notes that were aimed at our own interpretations.%26Still, despite all of that support in London, both Evans and Russell admitted they were a little terrified when they had to perform before Sondheim and Lapine at their first run-through in Manhattan.%26I mean, 18 months had gone by,%26 stammers Russell, %26what if they’d changed their minds?%26%26I was convinced they were going to decide they’d made a big mistake,%26 says Evans, %26and they’d turn to each other and say, `Let’s see if Raul Esparza is free.’%26But all of their fears were unjustified and the whole experience has remained a love-fest on all sides.%26The material is so rich and so deep,%26 enthuses Evans. %26You start seeing the piece everywhere in your life. You’re constantly going back and forth between life and art and marvelling at how one is reflecting the other.%26Russell beams at her co-star. %26I might be having a s–t day with some bad stuff happening in the real world, but the moment I walk on the stage and Dan takes my hand, I know everything is going to be lovely.%26
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