"Sunday in the Park With George" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Sunday in the Park With George (2006 London Cast Recording)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

What does it sound like when a painter learns to see people again? The 2006 London revival recording of Sunday in the Park With George answers with crystalline diction, chamber-bright orchestrations, and a staging-born intimacy that the album captures in detail. Daniel Evans (George/George) and Jenna Russell (Dot/Marie) lead a company that emphasizes breath and thought — you can hear choices being made mid-phrase, which is exactly this show’s point.

Unlike the lush 1984 Broadway album, this two-disc PS Classics set preserves the show almost complete, including connective dialogue and the rarely-heard full “The One on the Left.” Stylistically it moves in phases: pointillist patter (precision rhythms mapping “dots”), waltz-and-aria lyricism for love and loss, and modern pulse in Act II’s gallery world. The result? A document that plays like theatre, not just highlights.

How It Was Made

Recorded after the Menier Chocolate Factory production transferred to the West End (Savoy Theatre), this two-CD release arrived on May 30, 2006. PS Classics billed it as “the most complete recording” of the score, preserving dialogue lifts and the extended, previously cut Soldiers’ number (“The One on the Left,” complete version). The London staging (director Sam Buntrock) was famous for its projection design, “painting” Seurat’s canvas in real time — a sensibility you can hear in the crisp balance and speech-forward mix.

Tracks & Scenes

Key numbers and what’s happening onstage as you hear them. (Album preserves dialogue slivers; timings vary by edition.)

“Sunday in the Park with George” (Act I)

Where it plays:

George sketches Dot in the Île de la Grande Jatte, commanding her posture and light. Other park figures drift in. The canvas is empty; the world isn’t. Non-diegetic within the show world, but staged as musicalized interiority.

Why it matters:

Announces the show’s grammar — art-making as control, love as collateral.

“Color and Light”

Where it plays:

Split-screen domesticity: George at the studio with chromatic studies; Dot at her vanity practicing diction. Precision counterpoint mimics brushwork and syllables.

Why it matters:

Points vs. people. He organizes; she yearns to be seen beyond the pose.

“The Day Off”

Where it plays:

Park characters bustle — boatman, servants, artist’s mother — while George watches. Comic fragments build a social mosaic.

Why it matters:

Sondheim’s pointillism in voices; the painting acquires human mess.

“Everybody Loves Louis” (Dot)

Where it plays:

Dot explains choosing the reliable baker over the distracted artist. It’s cheerful and devastating.

Why it matters:

Self-protection as patter song — a thesis on practical love.

“Finishing the Hat”

Where it plays:

After Dot leaves, George rationalizes solitude: the ecstasy and cost of making art.

Why it matters:

The show’s signature soliloquy. On this album, Evans spins it with quiet steel.

“We Do Not Belong Together”

Where it plays:

Breakup duet. Dot demands presence; George can only offer process.

Why it matters:

Two incompatible grammars sung in counterpoint — and they know it.

“Sunday” (Act I Finale)

Where it plays:

Figures take their places; the composition locks. Choir-like harmonies “complete” the painting.

Why it matters:

Transcendence built from everyday breaths — the recording catches every entrance like a brushstroke.

“It’s Hot Up Here” (Act II)

Where it plays:

The painted figures complain about living inside a famous artwork. The frame talks back.

Why it matters:

Wit resets the clock — we’re in 1980s New York now, but the art still speaks.

“Putting It Together”

Where it plays:

Modern George hustles donors during a museum reception; the number fractures into patter loops, sales pitches, and self-doubt.

Why it matters:

Art vs. commerce, set to a fugue of glad-handing — razor-sharp on this cast.

“Children and Art” (Marie)

Where it plays:

George’s grandmother (Dot’s daughter) reminds him what lasts.

Why it matters:

Jenna Russell’s hush turns homely wisdom into benediction.

“Lesson #8” → “Move On”

Where it plays:

Blocked, George stares at the blank. Dot’s memory returns to push him through: “Stop worrying if your vision is new…”

Why it matters:

Act II salvation. Their blend on “Move On” is the album’s emotional crest.

Bonus: “The One on the Left” (complete version)

Where it plays:

Extended Soldiers’ trio restored for the disc, with Celestes chiming in. Not fully heard in the final stage version.

Why it matters:

Archival value — lets you hear cut architecture otherwise lost.

Notes & Trivia

• The PS Classics release is a two-disc set and markets itself as the show’s most complete recording.
• It preserves the full “The One on the Left” — a cut Soldiers’ number — as a bonus track.
• Lead duo Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell later transferred with the production to Broadway (2008) and were both Tony-nominated.
• The London revival’s staging used projection to “paint” Seurat’s canvas live; the album keeps tiny dialogue bridges so musical cues land like brushstrokes.
• Catalog number often listed as PS Classics PS-640.

Music–Story Links

“Color and Light” is literally process — syllables as stipples — which is why “We Do Not Belong Together” hurts: Dot wants a sentence, not dots. The Act I “Sunday” fuses community into composition; Act II explodes it into fundraising fragments (“Putting It Together”). Only when Dot returns as memory does the grammar reunite — “Move On” reframes perfectionism as momentum. The album’s near-complete scriptlets help those pivots feel inevitable, not sudden.

Reception & Quotes

Release-week notes and later features praised the clarity of storytelling and the Evans/Russell pairing, with several outlets calling this their go-to Sunday on disc.

“A glorious revival… a ravishing epiphany of artistic harmony.” — The New York Times (quoted in album materials)

“I already foresee the Evans–Russell Sunday becoming my Sunday of choice.” — Playbill (quoted in album materials)

Interesting Facts

• Dialogue bridges: The album includes short spoken lines to keep scene logic intact — rare for cast albums.
• Projection-forward staging: The Menier/Savoy revival’s moving imagery became a template for later productions’ visual language.
• Longevity: The 2006 disc is still widely streamed; its completeness makes it a frequent study reference.
• Cast continuity: The London principals led the 2008 transfer, giving the album a second life as a “pre-Broadway” document.
• Library packaging: Some editions ship with a thick booklet: Matt Wolf notes, synopsis, and full libretto.

Technical Info

• Title: Sunday in the Park With George — The 2006 London Cast Recording
• Year: 2006 (album release May 30, 2006)
• Type: Stage musical — cast recording (2×CD)
• Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim • Book: James Lapine
• Principal cast: Daniel Evans (George/George), Jenna Russell (Dot/Marie)
• Director (production): Sam Buntrock (Menier → Savoy staging)
• Label: PS Classics (catalog often listed as PS-640)
• Edition notes: “Most complete recording”; includes bonus track “The One on the Left” (complete version)
• Availability: Physical 2×CD; digital (Apple Music, Spotify)

Questions & Answers

Is this the full score?

It’s marketed as the most complete recording, with dialogue snippets and a restored bonus number.

Where was this production staged?

Originated at the Menier Chocolate Factory (late 2005), transferred to London’s Savoy Theatre in 2006.

Do the London leads appear on Broadway later?

Yes — Evans and Russell transferred with the revival in 2008 and received Tony nominations.

What’s unique on this album?

The full “The One on the Left” Soldiers’ piece — rarely heard elsewhere — plus scene bridges.

Is there a single to sample first?

Try “Finishing the Hat” for Evans’ introspection and “Move On” for the Evans/Russell blend.

Key Contributors

Sources: PS Classics album page & track details; Apple Music/Spotify listings; production history notes; reference listings (catalog no., bonus track, transfer credits); West End/ATG trailer materials.

November, 27th 2025