Broadway Non-Conformists

The outsider is basic to a lot of dramatic literature. This country's about conformity. And
so nonconformity is a fairly common theme, and it's obviously something I feel, belonging to a
number of minorities. - Stephen Sondheim (Rich).
Stephen Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930 in one of the greatest and best known
cities in America; New York, New York. Quite fitting for a man who would later grow up to be
one of the greatest and best known composers on Broadway. Eight Tonys, eight Grammys, a
Pulitzer Prize, and 84 years later hes still at the forefront of the American Musical. However,
Sondheim has not always had this kind of success. Back in 1981 he worked on a musical named
Merrily We Roll Along that opened and closed after only a handful of performances. It was then
that Sondheim almost gave up on musicals, claiming that he was going to write a series of
mystery novels. But as luck would have it, he instead teamed up with writer James Lapine to
create another masterpiece, Sunday in the Park with George. The musical, which ran for 604
performances, was inspired by the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte by George Seurat. The musical focuses on the life of George who, like many of
Sondheims characters, is an outsider or non-conformist in his society. The outsider is such an
intriguing figure because, like Sondheim says, This countrys about conformity (Rich). To this
end, the American musical has often avoided such figures because these musicals have also been
about conformity and about the American dream - a heterosexual marriage, a house with a
white picket fence, and 2.5 children. However, with the rise of Stephen Sondheim and his
concept musical, the broadway stage has embraced the idea of the non-conformist, as seen in
Sondheims work Sunday in the Park with George.

During the dawn of the modern American musical in the early 20th century, the United
States was even more conservative than it is today. It was very much a time when everyone was
meant to conform to the same standards. The majority of people were white, straight, and
Christian - to be anything else would be completely unacceptable. Unless, of course, you were
only pretending to be one of these non-conformists in some sort of play, movie, or musical. As
Sondheim said, This country's about conformity. And so nonconformity is a fairly common
theme (Rich). People who do conform find the tale of the non-conformist to be interesting,
perhaps even compelling; while non-conformists - homosexuals, artists, etc. - find the stories
relatable.
And yet, the American musical has often avoided portraying the outsider, for a number of
reasons. Firstly, the theatre is supposed to be a way for people to escape from their normal lives.
People do not want to watch as an outsider struggles against the rip-tide of society. They want a
musical that depicts their idea of the perfect life. A straight, christian family that owns a white
house with a white picket fence. They want a love story that ends with a man and a woman
singing about their undying love while their faces are only inches apart. They want a musical
where they can go and forget about their problems, if only for a few hours. The American
musical has also avoided the outsider because the producers who raise the money for these
shows have not put on shows about non-conformists. For a producer to put a show on Broadway,
they have to be sure that the show will succeed, or else they risk losing an enormous amount of
money. Because of this, producers often believe a musical about a non-conformist is too risky.
They know that their audience is mostly white, upper middle class families from the suburbs
hoping to see a show that pictures the American dream, and so a show about another subject

might lose money. And yet, time and time again Sondheim has proven that the tale of the
outsider can be a successful one.
Sunday in the Park With George is one musical that does just that. The show
demonstrates the concept of the non-conformist in the protagonist, George. From the very
beginning of the show, we see that George does not conform to the people around him. He paints
what fellow artists consider to be awful subjects, such as the picture of boys swimming. He does
not paint faces, even though faces were considered the most important part of a piece of artwork
at the time. He uses a completely different style than other artists by painting with dots. When he
tries to show the brilliance of what hes doing, he is told that he should try to be more like other
artists to which he responds, Why should I paint like you or anybody else? I am trying to get
through to something new. Something that is my own (Lapine and Sondheim, pg. 72). I would
argue that even being an artist makes Georg an outsider. Because of his focus and dedication to
his art, he is very secluded. People like Dot try and force him to go out, to be social, to see the
follies, but he is compelled to stay in and work. The idea of the non-conformist is so strong in
this musical that it can even be seen in the music and staging of the show.
Georges non-conformity can already be seen in the shows second musical number, No
Life. Jules - another famous painter - and his wife Yvonne sing about his painting Bathers at
Asnires, a painting which depicts boys relaxing in the water. They say that his subject is boring
and dull, Jules mockingly saying I should paint a factory next (Lapine and Sondheim, 29).
They go on to say that his art has no presence, no passion, no life (Lapine and Sondheim, 28).
Even in the artist community he is seen as an outsider. The fourth song of the show, called
Gossip, also depicts George as a non-conformist. Celeste one and two both proclaim Aritsts

are so crazy. Artists are so peculiar (Lapine and Sondheim, 43). Again showing that simply by
being an artist, George is an outsider. People that he does not even know gossip about him
because he is strange, different, and peculiar. Later in the show, the staging itself contributes to
the notion of the outsider. The first example of this is when Dot leaves after the song We Do
Not Belong Together. After she walks away there is a very clear stage direction that says
George stops painting and comes from around the canvas. He is left standing alone onstage. The
lights fade (Lapine and Sondheim, 76). But even more compelling to the idea of the outsider is
the staging at the very end of Act I. After the finale chord of Sunday, a frame flies in to capture
the final image of his painting. All of his friends and loved ones, all the people around him are
now inside of the painting, while he is still on the outside looking in.
The musical of the outsider speaks to all of us, because all of us have felt like an outsider
at some point in our life. Weve all been picked on, or excluded, or put into a place where we just
dont feel like we belong. I think that Stephen Sondheim understands that about people, being an
outsider himself. Because of this, and in an attempt show people the story of the outsider, he
created Sunday in The Park With George. It is not a stretch to say that Sondheim is attempting to
tell his own story through the musical. As an artist himself, I am sure that the has been through
many of the same experiences as George. In the song Finishing the Hat, George laments the
fact that he misses out on so many other parts of life because he is so focused on his work. I have
no doubt that Sondheim used his own experience to write that song, and to share his own plight.
And yet the ending of the musical is not one that I would consider sad. At the end, George two
reads his great grandmothers Journal, and through it gets a better picture of George and his work.
As the characters in the painting come to life around him, he finally understands a very important

lesson, a lesson that we could all stand to learn. Being an non-conformist can be a struggle, but it
can lead to wonderful things. And sometimes the people who seem the most peculiar are in fact
the most extraordinary.

Bibligoraphy
Lapine, James, and Stephen Sondheim. Sunday in the Park with George. Applause Theatre &
Cinema Books, 1984. Print.
Rich, Frank. Conversations with Sondheim. The New York Times Magazine 12 Mar. 2000.
Web. 1 Feb. 2015.