DOTS, DEDICATION, AND
THE ART OF BEGINNING AGAIN

Shotgun Players takes on Sondheim and Lapine’s most
painterly meditation with exquisite results

Shotgun Players presents Sunday in the Park with George, James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s singular, sometimes daunting, often ravishing meditation on art, obsession, and the human cost of creation. Directed by Susannah Martin with musical direction by David Moschler, this production embraces the show’s cerebral heart while letting its emotional undercurrents surface naturally—dot by dot.

Marah Sotelo as Dot, Kevin Singer as GeorgeKevin Singer as George

Inspired by A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, the musical drops us into 1884 Paris, where the painter George Seurat—here portrayed with focused intensity by Kevin Singer—is consumed by the act of seeing. His world is one of discipline, distance, and dots: thousands of them, carefully arranged to create something startlingly whole. The price of that devotion is paid largely by Dot, his lover and muse, played with warmth and clarity by Marah Sotelo, whose need for connection constantly collides with George’s need for solitude.

William Brosnahan as SoldierMarah Sotelo as Dot

Their central conflict is crystallized in “Finishing the Hat,” the show’s philosophical spine: art demands sacrifice, but at what cost? As the figures in Seurat’s painting step out of the frame and into the action, the park fills with vivid personalities—gossipy, yearning, restrained, ridiculous—each sketched sharply by a strong ensemble. Standouts include Matt Standley as the Boatman, Lucy Swinson and Antonia Reed as the ever-observant Celestes, Jill Slyter as the Old Lady (George’s mother), Alex Rodriguez as Jules and the Baker, Kevin Rebultan as Franz, Feliz Rubio as Frieda, and Imrii Tate as Louise.

Lucy Swinson as Celeste 1, William Brosnahan as SoldierKevin Singer as George, Marah Sotelo as Dot

Musically, the production handles Sondheim’s intricate blend of legato lyricism and speech-like recitative with confidence. Numbers such as “Gossip” sparkle with rhythmic precision, while “Sunday”—the famous choral payoff—lands with the quiet inevitability of a vision finally realized.

Lucy Swinson and Antonia Reed as Celeste 1 and 2Jill Slyter as Old Lady, Kevin Singer as George

Visually, the design team keeps Seurat’s influence ever-present. Scenic elements incorporate fragments of the painting itself, so the audience is constantly reminded of the image being assembled before their eyes. Kiki Hood’s scenic work and Sydney Parcell’s lighting (bright, clean, painterly) frame the action effectively, while Madeline Berger‘s costumes—hoop skirts, bodices, wigs, and textured fabrics—root the production firmly in the late 19th century, subtly signaling class and character without fuss.

Matt Standley as the BoatmanKevin Rebultan as Franz, Elizabeth Curtis as Frieda

Act II jumps forward a century, introducing George’s fictional great-grandson, also an artist, and also stuck in the same cycle of ambition, doubt, and emotional disconnect. The problems change; the questions don’t. In “Move,” Dot returns—not as memory, not quite as ghost—but as reassurance, urging George (and us) to keep going. Art, the show reminds us, is never finished; it only begins again.

Laura Domingo as Naomi Eisen, No’eau Kahalekulu as Harriet Pawling,
William Brosnahan as Alex, Elizabeth Curtis as BettyLaura Domingo as Yvonne, Imri Tate as Louise

Shotgun Players’ Sunday in the Park with George is thoughtful, polished, and sincerely felt. Singer and Sotelo anchor the evening with performances that balance intellect and vulnerability, and the supporting cast is uniformly strong. It’s a production that understands Sondheim’s central truth: art doesn’t sit still—and neither should the artist brave enough to keep making it.

Alex Rodriguez as Jules, Laura Domingo as Yvonne, Marah Sotelo as Dot

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

photos by Robbie Sweeny

Sunday in the Park with George
Shotgun Players at Ashby Stage
1901 Ashby Ave. in Berkeley, CA
2 hours, 45 minutes, with one intermission
November 15, 2025 – January 31, 2026
Wed-Sat at 7; Sun at 2
for tickets (sliding-scale pricing), call 510.841.6500 x303 or visit Shotgun

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦