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Of Andrew Lloyd Webber produces musicals for the masses, Stephen Sondheim is the darling of the intellectuals.
Sunday in the Park is a cerebral and visually stunning fantasy on the Georges Seurat painting, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte.
The paining becomes a living tableau, with the characters coming to life as Georges (Philip Quast) pains them.
The flimsy story revolves around the obsessive painter and his mistress, Dot, who elopes with the baker.
Maria Friedman, who plays Dot, gives a touching performance and has the strong voice and vulnerable stage persona of a future major star.
But the play fails in the second half, with a needles updating to the Eighties when Georges's great-grandson has become and avant-garde performer.
The ghostly finale where the characters of the painting emerge to honour modern day George is meant to be uplifting, but it left me cold. Still, it all looks wonderful.
