A Musical Stroll through the Park with Sondheim and Seurat by Kokandy at Chopin Theater.

Have you ever walked through a gallery, studied a face in a painting and wondered who that person is and what their backstory is?

In “Sunday in the Park with George” originally produced in 1982, playwright James Lapine partnered with composer lyricist Stephen Sondheim to lift the otherwise anonymous images from Georges Seurat’s famed work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and give them life. This thoughtful conceit takes the opportunity to use these characters to delve into the thought processes of the artist, and earned Lapine a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Ultimately Lapine and Sondheim’s opus is a theatrical tour de force with perhaps a few hiccups. It’s known to be a favorite among sophisticated theater goers who are open to experiencing a challenging score — in this case performed terrifically with great vocals and instrumentation. If you love Sondheim, you’ll love this.

DETAILS: “Sunday in the Park with George” is presented by Kokandy Productions at the Chopin Theater’s Downstairs Studio, 1543 W. Division Street, Chicago, IL through November 1, 2026. Runtime is 2.5 hours with one 15-minute intermission. For tickets and information visit kokandyproductions.com

Be sure to click through to listen to entire podcast theater review by Reno Lovison.