"Living inside a creative mind responsible for a work of art that never existed is a vexing proposition. This is the case with George Seurat, who doesn't paint as much as he jabs, harnessing his newfound technique of pointillism, in which the abstract up close gives way to harmonic clarity from a distance. In Seurat's master work of pointillist perfection A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, we see the painstaking process that comes with being an artist."
"George (Kevin Singer) stares at his canvas in a way he would never stare at another, much to the dismay of Dot (Marah Sotelo). Dot stands patiently in heavy fabrics on a Sunday, while George stares at her with a razor focus that never penetrates her soul. It is not that George is purposely spurning Dot. But in moments where finishing a hat fuels his day's most important challenge, affairs of the heart sadly take a backseat."
"The show's joys come from its frenetic nature, with some of Sondheim's most masterful work tucked inside of Lapine's searing insights about art and longing. What leads up to the painting's ultimate settlement is chaos, folks running around on a lush patch of grass, brilliant trees and shimmering water lining the background. Even a group of bathers from another Seurat masterpiece, Bathers at Asnieres, pop in and joyfully wreak havoc."
George Seurat develops pointillism, composing images through precise dots that resolve into harmony at a distance. Sunday in the Park with George at Shotgun Players in Berkeley presents Seurat's creative process and solitude through focused direction by Susannah Martin and committed performances on the intimate Ashby stage. Kevin Singer portrays George's obsessive attention to the canvas while Marah Sotelo embodies Dot's patient presence and emotional neglect. Sondheim and Lapine's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical examines artistic obsession, longing, and the chaotic gestures that precede a finished painting. Ensemble performers enliven the piece, incorporating figures from Seurat's Bathers at Asnieres and sustaining energy across a 165-minute runtime.
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