Jen W.
Yelp
First time at the James Earl Jones theater. Came to see The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. Positives. The theater was beautiful, having been freshly renovated. Gorgeous woodwork, chandeliers, and lobbies. Loved the massive wall flowers. The bathrooms were impeccably clean. Ushering was well organized by an efficient staff, successfully herding persons into their appointed seats. Downsides. The side doors were opened a few times during sensitive spots in the show. There were no curtains to block out the light so that was a bit distracting. So was a walkie-talkie going off a couple of times at the sound booth behind us. Always things to improve on. And for comic relief during a tense moment, somebody's Siri asked the stage actors to repeat themselves. If they'd read the etiquette section of the playbill, they'd know you're supposed to turn your phones off. Completely off before the show. Mmm hmm. Like I did. And I missed my chance to take a picture of the actors during the encore. Boo. The bars were beautifully decorated but priced a bit on the high side. It was $18 for an ok glass of wine, and if you don't need any more souvenir lidded cups like myself, skip it. I'd suggest going out for cocktails beforehand. It is New York City and there are 10 great bars within a stones throw from anywhere. Then show up ready to stay in your seat. For someone that's mildly afraid of heights, walking up and down the steep steps could be quite challenging. Or maybe just avoid the balcony.
On to the show. Wasn't sure what to expect, but I've been on set a couple times with Rachel Brosnahan and grew up in Miami just like Oscar Isaac did for a bit, so I felt a special connection. Julian De Niro is also in it. The show started with some racy undressing, and ended with profound enlightenment for the two main characters. It touched on corrupt politics, marriage issues, racism, drug and alcohol addiction, family that meddles, failure, adultery, suicide, homophobia, prostitution, pretty much anything and everything that was a shocking issue when Lorraine Hansberry's play had its first run back in the 60's. And as history goes, every one of these problems has come full circle to being prominently important again today. I could relate to a good bit of storyline and the feelings it conjured within. I was moved to alternately laugh and get teary eyed at various times during the show. That means it did its job. I was content.
It was still wet and cold outside, so I wasn't gonna stand around and wait to see the actors come out, but I got lucky. Glenn Fitzgerald, the actor that played Dave, was hopping on his bike next to me as I was leaving. He gladly let me take a picture with him. Then gave me subway directions. That was sweet. It was a good night!