REVIEW: K and E Theater Group, “Sunday in the Park with George”

REVIEW: “Sunday in the Park with George”

K and E Theater Group, Northampton, MA
https://www.ketg.org/

through October 19, 2025

by Michael J. Moran

The original 1984 Broadway production of this play, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, won a Pulitzer Prize and two Tony Awards. A fictionalized version of how French artist George Seurat painted his 1884-1886 masterpiece A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, its strong visual component can be daunting for local theaters to replicate. But KETG’s moving production shows that it can be done exceptionally well.

Act I, set in Paris, shows George creating the painting and interacting with the people who appear in it, including his lover, Dot. When George’s immersion in his work seems to leave no room for Dot in his life, she marries Louis, a baker, and they move to the United States with her newborn daughter, Marie. Act II follows George's great-grandson, an American artist, also named George, as he loses and then regains his artistic muse, with help from his ancestors, on a visit to La Grande Jatte.

There is no weak link in the 13-member ensemble cast, each playing two or more roles, with many local stage credits and some beyond. Michael

 Graham is compelling as both Georges, finding their human vulnerability and gritty determination. Nicole Elledge-Hickey is extraordinary as Dot and, in Act II, 98-year-old Marie. Her gleaming, lyrical soprano captures the full range of their emotions. Gene Choquette is a winningly sardonic boatman. Elizabeth Monte, Carol Wrobleski, and Eddie Zitka shine in smaller roles.

Musical highlights include: Elledge-Hickey’s hilarious title song; her touching “Children and Art” as the elderly Marie; two of her soaring duets with Graham – a shattering “We Do Not Belong Together” and an inspirational “Move On;” Graham’s virtuosic voicing of two dogs in a kaleidoscopic “The Day Off;” Wrobeski’s wistful “Beautiful” with a reflective Graham; and a rapturous “Sunday” by the full company. Music Director Cavallin’s eight-member onstage band offers colorful, stylish backing.

Director-choreographer-actor Zitka (the “E” of KETG, with co-founding “K” partner Ken Comia) deploys his cast seamlessly to move his flexible set on and off the Northampton Center for the Arts stage. Elegant costume design by Moonyean Field and the protean Zitka is period-perfect. Creative projection design by Nicco Palazzi and Comia keeps the painting front and center. 
 

This impressive mounting of a peak Sondheim show is highly recommended for mature theatergoers.