Oscar Isaac (Scenes from a Marriage, Hamlet, Star Wars) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Dead for a Dollar, Othello) star in Lorraine Hansberry’s (A Raisin in the Sun) sweeping drama of identity, idealism, and love. With direction by Anne Kauffman, BAM's production marks the first major New York revival since the original Broadway run.
Hansberry invites us into Greenwich Village in the 60s, crafting a razor-sharp portrait of a diverse group of friends whose progressive dreams can’t quite match reality. At the center are Sidney and Iris Brustein, fighting to see if their marriage—with all its crackling wit, passion, and petty cruelty—can survive Sidney’s ideals. As if reaching across the decades, Hansberry’s incisive final work offers shockingly contemporary provocations.
Discover this “astonishing force” (The Chicago Tribune) from one of America’s greatest playwrights when it finally returns to New York.
The beauty of Hansberry’s play almost makes up for Anne Kauffman’s production, which feels too unsure of itself to linger or make demands. Both Brosnahan and Isaac emit one-note performances that start high and strong but gradually deflate. Isaac, who is onstage almost the whole show, is at times charming and at times funny, but does not differentiate his performance enough through the first two acts. It is only in the third act’s devastation that Isaac finds something worth holding onto.
Sidney Brustein, whom she has placed at the center of this crowded tragicomedy, is not an interesting person. This is not Isaac’s fault, although he ignores Hansberry’s stipulation that Sidney “laughs at himself as much as the world.” Isaac’s performance is mostly unremarkable but fine, sparking fully to life only in Sidney’s scenes with Iris’s wealthy, conventional sister, Mavis — the best role in the show, and the best played, by a thoroughly captivating Miriam Silverman. (The play is a Tony nominee for best revival; Silverman is its only acting nominee.)
Digital Rush
Price: $35
Where: TheSignonBroadway.com
When: Beginning April 28th, tickets will be available for each day’s performance.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
General Rush
Price: $47
Where: James Earl Jones box office
When: Tickets are available day-of when the box office opens.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Determined at the discretion of the box office. Subject to daily availability.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $35
Where: TheSignonBroadway.com
When: Beginning April 28th, tickets will be available for each day’s performance.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
1964 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1972 | Broadway |
Unknown Broadway |
2023 | Off-Broadway |
BAM Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2023 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Miriam Silverman |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Rachel Brosnahan |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Oscar Isaac |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Anne Kauffman |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Miriam Silverman |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window |
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