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Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse

Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse

SFCowboy
#1Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/17/18 at 2:46pm

I saw Sunday In The Park With George at the SF Playhouse earlier this week. I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up really impressed with this production. It's a small theater, so it doesn't have quite the impact of a large-scale production, but the singing was fantastic. The 6(?)-member orchestra was so good, at first I thought it was a recording. This is the strongest show I've seen at this theater in the past couple of years. Recommended! I just received a promo code from the theater for 15% off: FRIEND15.

I also had the pleasure of riding MUNI home with two of the actors from the show. I learned that Celeste 1 and Celeste 2 are actually sisters in real life, with one replacing a different actress who left the show.

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Sho-Tunes-R-Us
#2Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/17/18 at 4:35pm

SFCowboy said: "I saw Sunday In The Park With George at the SF Playhouse earlier this week. I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up really impressed with this production. It's a small theater, so it doesn't have quite the impact of a large-scale production, but the singing was fantastic. The 6(?)-member orchestra was so good, at first I thought it was a recording. This is the strongest show I've seen at this theater in the past couple of years. Recommended! I just received a promo code from the theater for 15% off: FRIEND15.

I also had the pleasure of riding MUNI home with two of the actors from the show. I learned that Celeste 1 and Celeste 2 are actually sisters in real life, with one replacing a different actress who left the show.
"

Just can't bring myself to see "...George" in such an intimate setting.  Still hoping that ACT revives its beautiful production sometime.

 

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NYfanfromCA
#3Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/17/18 at 4:55pm

We are seeing this on Sunday.  I've never been to this venue, so am not sure where to park, but we will figure it out.  Glad you enjoyed the singing.  The reviews I read panned the costumes and set.

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MarkBearSF
#4Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/17/18 at 6:19pm

I enjoyed it for the second time a week ago.

It's in Union Square, so the usual lots and structures are your best bets. It's part of the same building as The Kensington Hotel (enter through the hotel lobby - it's on the 2nd floor) and Farallon Restaurant. It used to be the Elk's Lodge.

They've got a great "happy half hour" from 60-30 minutes before curtain with half price drinks (and intermission reorders) in their comfortable lobby.

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ChairinMain
#5Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/17/18 at 10:43pm

SF Playhouse is intimate but generally does really high quality work. And it's not like it is a shoebox...the Playhouse is a good 300-seat theater. It's basically like seeing an off-broadway show and is one of the largest and nicest venues in San Francisco that isn't owned by ACT or SHN. 

 

For those who like Understudys, I encourage you to go Tuesday Wednesday or Thursday, as Zac Schuman, who I have seen in many things locally and who is very good, will be on as The Boatman. 

 

bear88
#6Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/18/18 at 2:56am

NYfanfromCA said: "We are seeing this on Sunday. I've never been to this venue, so am not sure where to park, but we will figure it out. Glad you enjoyed the singing. The reviews I read panned the costumes and set."

My wife and I are also going to the musical on Sunday. We're seeing the evening show. Street parking isn't too awful, depending on your patience or willingness to walk a bit. It might be tougher if you're seeing the matinee. MarkBearSF's directions are a good guide.

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Hest88
#7Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/18/18 at 11:19am

Thanks for the reviews. I might give it a chance then. They did a terrible casting job with "Into the Woods" and then after I saw their "Promises, Promises" I vowed I'd never see another musical there again. Since "Sunday" is my favorite musical I've been torn between wanting to see it and worried they'd botch it.

Wayman_Wong
#8Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/18/18 at 6:38pm

I saw the original ''Sunday in the Park With George'' on Broadway many, many times, starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, and their PBS filming and 1994 reunion concert. Plus, the meh Menier Chocolate Factory version and 2017's radiant revival, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford. I know the show so well, frankly, I was tempted to skip the S.F. Playhouse production, but I'm glad I didn't. I doubt anyone will ever truly escape the iconic spirits of Patinkin and Peters, but John Bambery and Nanci Zoppi are more than up to the task. And part of what makes this revival so special is the intimacy of the theater. 

Here's a BWW interview I did with Bambery, who plays George ...

https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/BWW-Exclusive-John-Bambery-Paints-the-Town-in-SUNDAY-IN-THE-PARK-WITH-GEORGE-and-Recalls-His-Visit-with-Chita-Rivera-20180725

Updated On: 8/18/18 at 06:38 PM

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PatrickDC
#9Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/18/18 at 7:15pm

NYfanfromCA said: "We are seeing this on Sunday. I've never been to this venue, so am not sure where to park, but we will figure it out. Glad you enjoyed the singing. The reviews I read panned the costumes and set."

For any reason I go to Union Square I almost always park in the Sutter/Stockton Garage. If you enter on Bush Street, you avoid all the traffic mess closer to the Square, especially with the God-awful hassle of the new Stockton Muni station construction. Can't wait for that to be done. Anyway, the other advantage is when leaving before 8PM, you can exit onto Stockton Street, drive up to Pine and go left to get out of downtown, again avoiding most of the car, cable car, and pedestrian traffic (if of course that direction works for you). 

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Hest88
#10Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/18/18 at 10:17pm

Wayman_Wong said: "I saw the original ''Sunday in the Park With George'' on Broadway many, many times, starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, and their PBS filming and 1994 reunion concert. Plus, the meh Menier Chocolate Factory version and 2017's radiant revival, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford. I know the show so well, frankly, I was tempted to skip the S.F. Playhouse production, but I'm glad I didn't. I doubt anyone will ever truly escape the iconic spirits of Patinkin and Peters, but John Bambery and Nanci Zoppi are more than up to the task. And part of what makes this revival so special is the intimacy of the theater."

Okay, sold. Just bought my tickets. Thanks Wayman. 

 

 

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NYfanfromCA
#11Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/19/18 at 12:33am

Thanks for the parking tips.  We are seeing the Sunday matinee, so I think we will try to get there by 1:00 or so.  It usually takes us 90 minutes to get there, including parking time.  Looking forward to the show since we have seen it before!  Sitting in the third row, I hope it's not too close.

Wayman_Wong
#12Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/19/18 at 2:09pm

You're welcome, Hest88. Hope you have a terrific time.

I actually had a couple of minor quibbles, but the reviews have been almost all rapturous. Let us know what you think!

Updated On: 8/19/18 at 02:09 PM

bear88
#13Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/20/18 at 2:38am

I really enjoyed the San Francisco Playhouse's production of Sunday in the Park with George. John Bambery and Nanci Zoppi were both excellent as George and Dot, and Zoppi was especially good. My wife didn't like the musical as much as I did, but she agreed about the performances. 

Edited since I butchered the spelling of Zoppi's name the first time

Updated On: 8/20/18 at 02:38 AM

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ChairinMain
#14Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/20/18 at 4:01am

*Nancy Zoppi, for the record.

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Synecdoche2
#15Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/20/18 at 4:56am

Nanci* Zoppi, actually.

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NYfanfromCA
#16Sunday In The Park With George @ SF Playhouse
Posted: 8/20/18 at 4:03pm

We saw the Sunday 8/19 matinee.  Agree that the singing and acting were both wonderful!  The leads are very strong, and really, everyone was great.  I didn't know much about the story except I had listened to the most recent Broadway cast recording and loved it.  I didn't realize that it was based on a real-life artist!  Anyhow, talk about going in slightly blind!

We sat in row B, the third row, on the center aisle.  The gentleman in front of us on the aisle was super tall, so we had to move our heads a bit to the right and left to see around him.  If I see a production here again (which I will since I purchased a 6-pack FlexPass that never expires), I will opt for a row further back with a slight rake.  The seats are old and worn and I could feel the metal bar through the cushion while I was sitting, but luckily the singing was so beautiful and the music so mesmerizing, that I forgot about my discomfort for most of the show.

Having not seen a production of this before, I don't have anything to compare it to.  The costumes could have been nicer, certainly.  I could see loose threads hanging from George's shirt sleeves, and I thought that the colors were drab, but now that I know they are all part of a painting, well, I guess it makes sense.  The strength of the performances helped me to not dwell on the costumes, though.  

Definitely worth seeing, and my husband enjoyed it, too.  If I lived closer, I would possibly see it again and sit further back.

Thanks for the parking tip.  We used the Sutter Stockton Garage, paid $14.  We ate a quick lunch at Cafe La Taza right next door to the Kensington Hotel/San Francisco Playhouse.  A very nice day!