George Seurat

889 Words4 Pages
In a musical about art, imagination and daydreaming are essential. The character of George Seurat interacts with many of his subjects, patrons, critics throughout the musical. Critics of the musical itself “complain that all the characters other than George and Dot are treated as two-dimensional objects, stereotypes with no real inner life…this is done intentionally and, in fact, is one of the points of the show. We see all the other people as two-dimensional because that's how George sees them. He can't understand the people and world around him; he can't connect with anyone because he doesn't take the time to know them” (Miller). Dot has the most direct relationship with George in the show, and in each song between them, their musical theme…show more content…
After Dot is done obsessing over her looks she begins by describing George’s appearance, (“But it’s warm inside his eyes…”) and it advances to how she thinks she is perceived by him (“and you’re studied like the light,”) which leads to her mentioning his absence in their relationships because she sings “…you catch him here and there/but he’s never really there/so you want him even more” (Sondheim 38-40). At the same time, George echoes her by comparing her in an artistic way (“but the way she catches light…/and the color of her hair”). Both end, with “I could look at him/her forever.” Up until the final motivic movement, there has been no major movement in the blocking. When the motive starts George comes down from his scaffolding, and takes a break from his painting, to floor level with Dot. This suggests that he has also come down to her psychological plane, especially considering that they are describing one another. However, there is distance between the two, which equals tension. They end on the same phrase and share a touching moment (shattered as the scene progresses) but the tension is the back and forth of George’s dialogue and lyrics conveying his one track mind (his art) and studying Dot as an art piece, and then Dot’s desire to be his focus, which she is in competition for because of his
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