Reviews: Here's What Critics Think of 2023 Tony-Nominated Revival of The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window | Playbill

The Verdict Reviews: Here's What Critics Think of 2023 Tony-Nominated Revival of The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window

Rachel Brosnahan and Oscar Isaac lead the company of the Lorraine Hansberry play which closed out this Broadway season.

Rachel Brosnahan and Oscar Isaac in The Sign in Sydney Brustein's Window, which played BAM before transferring to Broadway Julieta Cervantes

Reviews are rolling in for the 2023 Tony-nominated revival of Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, which opened at the James Earl Jones Theatre April 27 (The production held a separate press opening May 5 to allow additional time for critics to catch performances). Starring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, the play was a last-minute addition to the Broadway season, and only began previews April 25.

Isaac and Brosnahan star in the production, which transferred from Brooklyn Academy of Music, as Sidney Brustein and Iris Parodus Brustein. Set in the Greenwich Village in the 1960s, Hansberry's play portrays a passionate and strained marriage while also delving into the complexities and pitfalls of of predominantly white bohemian intellectualism and activism. Transferring with Isaac and Brosnahan are 2023 Tony nominee Miriam Silverman as Mavis Parodus Bryson, Gus Birney as Gloria Parodus, Julian De Niro as Alton Scales, Glenn Fitzgerald as David Ragin, Andy Grotelueschen as Wally O'Hara, and Raphael Nash Thompson as Max. 

Read the reviews here.

Citi Tour (Brian Scott Lipton)

The Daily Beast (Tim Teeman)

The New York Review (Andrew Martin)*

The New York Sun (Elysa Gardner)*

New York Theatre Guide (Amelia Merrill)

The New York Times (Laura Collins-Hughes)*

Talkin' Broadway (Howard Miller)

TheaterMania (Hayley Levitt)

Variety (Naveen Kumar)

*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.

Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

Rounding out the company as understudies are Gregory Connors, Brontë England-Nelson, Joey Auzenne, and Katya Campbell

Read reviews of the production prior to its transfer here.

Obie and Lortel winner Anne Kauffman (The Thugs, Mary Jane) directs the seldom-seen work after staging a 2016 production at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Kauffman's Broadway creative team includes scenic designer dots, costume designer Brenda Abbandandolo, lighting designer John Torres, sound designer Bray Poor, hair and wig designer Leah Loukas, and movement director Sonya Tayeh. Ralph Stan Lee is production stage manager, and casting is by Taylor Williams. Arminda Thomas serves as dramaturg.

READ: To Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window Is About the Pitfalls of White Allyship

Lorraine Hansberry died just three months after The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window began its debut on Broadway in 1964. But even in her last days, she was revising the script from her sick bed based on notes brought over from the theatre. The work, in some ways, can be considered unfinished—Hansberry faced so many challenges in its final stages. That’s one of the reasons it’s not as well-known as her A Raisin in the Sun. BAM's production was its first major New York revival—a 1972 Broadway return ran for just 5 performances. The current Broadway bow marks only the second time the work has been revived on the Main Stem.

Visit TheSignOnBroadway.com.

Check out the cast, creatives, producers, and more celebrate opening night below.

See Natasha Lyonne, Larry Owens, Ronan Farrow, More Celebrate The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window Opening Night

 
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!