Sunday In the Park with George

Rose Brand worked with the designer, David Farley and Hudson Scenic Studios to create the unique fabric trees for the set of Roundabout Theatre Co's "Sunday in the Park with George."

Creating a unique drapery set piece is often part alchemy, a large dash of artistry and a heaping spoonful of trial and error. Rose Brand worked with the designer, David Farley and Hudson Scenic Studios to create the unique fabric trees that occupy the stage during Sunday in the Park With George, Stephen Sondheim’s award winning musical, at The Roundabout Theatre Company in Studio 54, New York.

Receiving images of the pieces as line drawings and small clay mock-ups gave Brent Porter and Isabel Martinez, a lead technician, a place to begin, but it required quite a bit of magic, and several trials to achieve the correct look for the two trees.

The trees are made of heavy weight crème 21 oz. FR Marvel Velour sewn in three pieces to cascade on the top and still maintain the imagery and line of the tree shape. The top piece was stapled to the support form while the middle piece was hot-glued to the plywood. Finally, the bottom tree trunk cascades to the stage deck. As with the Pointillist masterpieces of the neo-impressionists, the eye mixes these pieces into a unique complement to the design of the play.
Photo: Sara Krulwich/NY Times/Redux