Julian Ovenden Will Star in Paris Premiere of Sunday in the Park With George; Complete Cast Announced

By Stéphane Ly-Cuong
21 Mar 2013

Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden

Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris will offer French audiences its third Stephen Sondheim musical within the last three years when Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday in the Park with George plays April 15-25. Set in the city where Georges Seurat (who inspired the musical) was born and died, the production will be presented in English with French subtitles.

Julian Ovenden, seen Off-Broadway in Death Takes a Holiday, will star as George with Olivier nominee Sophie-Louise Dann as Dot/Marie. They will be joined by Rebecca de Pont Davies as Old Lady/Elaine, Jessica Walker as Nurse/Harriet, Nickolas Grace as Jules/Greenberg, David Curry as Soldier/Redmond, Rebecca Bottone as Celeste 1/Betty, Francesca Jackson as Celeste 2/Billy, Beverly Klein as Yvonne/Blair, Nicholas Garrett as Boatman/Dennis, Damian Thantrey as Franz/Randolph, Laura Baranes or Laura Gravier Britten as Louise, Jonathan Gunthorpe as Louis/Man/Alex, Christine Buffle as Frieda/Naomi, Scott Emerson as Monsieur and Elisa Doughty as Madame.

Lee Blakeley will direct the Paris production, which marks the director's third Sondheim musical at Théâtre du Châtelet, following A Little Night Music (2010) and Sweeney Todd (2011). Blakeley's creative team includes William Dudley (scenic design), Lorena Randi (choreography), Oliver Fenwick (lighting design) and Adrian Linford (costume design).

David Charles Abell, who conducted the French premieres of Sweeney Todd (Théâtre du Châtelet) and Follies (Opéra de Toulon), is the musical director. This production will feature new orchestrations for a 46-piece orchestra by original Broadway orchestrator Michael Starobin.

Sunday in the Park With George originally opened at Broadway's Booth Theatre on May 2, 1984, where it ran for 540 performances, starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical chronicles the life of maverick French impressionist Georges Seurat during the creation of his now-celebrated masterpiece, "Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte."

For more information visit http://chatelet-theatre.com.

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Stéphane Ly-Cuong is a Paris-based freelance writer and director (stephane.lycuong@gmail.com).