Review Roundup: A SIGN OF THE TIMES Opens At New World Stages

Head back in time to the 1960s with the new musical A Sign of the Times, which has officially opened at New World Stages.

See what the critics had to say about this new Off-Broadway jukebox musical!

A Sign of the Times stars Chilina Kennedy as Cindy, two-time Drama Desk nominee Ryan Silverman  as Brian, Justin Matthew Sargent as Matt, Akron Lanier Watson  as Cody and Tony Award nominee Crystal Lucas-Perry as Tanya. The cast also features Cassie Austin, Erica Simone Barnett, Alyssa Carol, Melessie Clark, Jeremiah Ginn, Kuppi Alec Jessop, Lena Teresa Matthews, Maggie McDowell, J Savage, Justin Showell, Michael Starr and Edward Staudenmayer.  

The year is 1965. With the country in transition – as the war in Vietnam rages on and struggles for civil rights and women’s liberation command headlines – one aspirational young woman finds herself in New York City, and ready to dive into this brave new world. In A Sign of the Times, journey back to America’s most unforgettable decade as a young photographer tries to make her way amid the changing times that defined an era. A totally original story with such classic songs as “Downtown,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Rescue Me,” and “I Know A Place,” plus dozens more, A Sign of the Times explodes with the music you love, and the madness that shaped that generation – and our own.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times: Gabriel Barre’s production is fairly luxurious for an Off Broadway musical: Five leads and a 10-member ensemble is nothing to sniff at nowadays. But filling a stage does not automatically translate to filling a space. Even Petula Clark did not have a song about that conundrum.

Frank Scheck, New York Stage Review: Forget the bag checks. Theatergoers entering New World Stages to see the latest jukebox musical should be forced to present their birth certificates. Featuring more than two dozen pop hits from the 1960s in its period-set tale of an aspiring photographer arriving in New York City to achieve her dreams, A Sign of the Times doles out beloved songs to its baby boomer target audiences with the regularity of a food pellet machine. It’s force-fed nostalgia, to be sure, but plenty of fun, at least if you were born between 1946 and 1964 and owned a radio.

Average Rating: 40.0%