Stephen Sondheim fans won’t want to miss Shotgun Players’ impeccable production of the 1984 show “Sunday in the Park with George” onstage in Berkeley through next year.
But the musical, a 1985 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama with a book by longtime Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, is also recommended for theatergoers who find the composer’s not typically tuneful music to be challenging. Here, it’s not. The show is riveting from start to finish.
Director Susannah Martin and musical director David Möschler astutely lead the cast and five-member band firing on all cylinders. They make the most of Lapine and Sondheim’s fictional and clever story about the origin of French artist Georges Seurat’s famed 1884 painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” in Act 1, and its effects on his descendants and the art world 100 years later in Act 2.
Fascinatingly, the subjects of Seurat’s Pointillist masterpiece—ladies holding parasols, picnickers, the dog and more—come to life as characters in the show, interacting with each other and with Georges. At the same time, the story illuminates Seurat’s conflicts both in his personal relationships (with his lover, mother, friends) and, perhaps more importantly, in his process of creating art. It thoughtfully goes even further, illustrating how Seurat’s great-grandson, also an artist, faces similar issues in the next century.
Playing multiple roles, the actors shine, both individually and wonderfully in sync. Kevin Singer, as Seurat and his progeny George, empathetically brings both characters’ struggles to life, as does Marah Sotelo as Seurat’s mistress Dot and her daughter Marie. They’re particularly effective as Seurat and Dot in the Act 1 tunes “Color and Light” and “We Do Not Belong Together”; and Singer’s rendition of artist Georges getting in touch with his painting’s canine perspective in “The Dog Song” is quite fun.
Surrounding the protagonists is the terrific ensemble including Alex Rodriguez as Seurat’s artist frenemy Jules; Laura Domingo as Jules’ wife Yvonne; Jill Slyter as Seurat’s mother; and, as the painting’s characters: Lucy Swinson and Antonia Reed as the gossiping Celestes; No’Eau Kahalekulu as the nurse; Matt Standley as the boatman, and William Brosnahan as the soldier.
Designer Nina Ball’s two-tier set, with a backdrop of moving canvas panels painted in Seurat’s groundbreaking style, impressively and essentially complements the action.
With seamless sound, movement and strategically arranged dots, Shotgun Players’ “Sunday in the Park with George” is as captivating as the iconic artwork that inspired it.
Shotgun Players’ “Sunday in the Park with George” continues through Jan. 25, 2026 at Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. Tickets are $15-$90 at shotgunplayers.com.