LuPone and Welzmann to Discuss Sondheim Sept. 3
Playbill Online
June 8, 2004
By Andrew Gans

A discussion about award-winning composer Stephen Sondheim will precede the Ravinia Festival's Sept. 3 presentation of Sunday in the Park with George.

Tony Award winner Patti LuPone, who will play Yvonne/Naomi in the Ravinia concert production, will join Ravinia CEO Welz Kauffman for the pre-concert event. The discussion is scheduled for 7:15-7:45 PM in the Bennett-Gordon Hall.

As part of its Sondheim 75 celebration, the Ravinia Festival will present Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George Sept. 3-5. In addition to LuPone, the cast will also include four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Dot/Marie and Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris as George. Lonny Price directs.

The Sondheim 75 series is a five year salute to the works of the famed composer, which will culminate in 2005 with Sondheim's 75th birthday. To date, the Ravinia has presented stagings of Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music and Passion.

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 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 as George and Bernadette Peters as Dot, the premiere Broadway company also included Barbara Bryne as the Old Lady, Brent Spiner as Franz, Charles Kimbrough as Jules and Dana Ivey as Yvonne. Sondheim's score — which was nominated for a Tony Award — features such titles as "Finishing the Hat," "Putting It Together," "Children and Art," "Move On" and "Beautiful." Sunday in the Park received ten Tony Award nominations, winning two—Scenic Designer (Tony Straiges) and Lighting Designer (Richard Nelson). It was also awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

Sunday in the Park with George will play the Ravinia Festival Sept. 3 and 4 at 8 PM and Sept. 5 at 7 PM. The Ravinia theatre is located in Highland Park, IL; for more information, go to www.ravinia.org.