The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window NYC Reviews and Tickets

80%

(107 Reviews)

Positive

87%

Mixed

11%

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Absorbing, Ambitious, Intelligent, Dated

About the Show

Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan star in the first revival of Lorraine Hansberry's final play.

Oscar Isaac (Scenes from a Marriage, Hamlet, Dune, Star Wars) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, House of Cards, Othello) star in Lorraine Hansberry’s (A Raisin in the Sun) grand drama about identity, ideals, and romance. Directed by Anne Kauffman, this production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music marks the first major New York revival since the play's original Broadway run.

Hansberry's play is set in New York's Greenwich Village in the 1960s, painting a razor-sharp portrait of a diverse group of friends whose progressive dreams don't yet match their real world. In the middle of it all are Sidney and Iris Brustein, fighting to see if their marriage—with all its crackling wit, passion, and harsh barbs—can survive Sidney’s ideals.

Member Reviews (107)

Thought-provoking, Intelligent, Great acting, Passionate, Absorbing

See it if you want to see a rare production of play, fans of Isaac and Brosnahan, enjoy a look back at civil rights movement, cynical views of politic

Don't see it if don't like single set plays though director is creative with the set, don't like political plays, expect something like author's past work

Intelligent, Great writing, Great staging, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if A delicious & complicated Lorraine Hansberry play touching on America’s societal sins & struggles. Provocative & well written script. Bravo!

Don't see it if This was a three hour play which many might have difficulties sitting through. If you prefer a lighter play, then skip this one.

Too long, Unfocused, Thought-provoking, Great acting, Ambitious

See it if you enjoy period pieces set in the 1960's in the Village along with complex intelligent characters.

Don't see it if you don't like wordy plays that go on too long. This one did not pass the tushie test.

Riveting (especially the first 3/4ths), Ambitious and brave for the era, Great (sometimes uneven) acting, Thought-provoking, Complicated and messy in a good way

See it if piqued by an elevated whirlwind of a Lorraine Hansberry play that offers a glimpse of what she could have penned if she’d not died so young.

Don't see it if uncomfortable with: prostitution, drug addiction, bossism, racism, antisemitism, interracial relationships, extramarital affairs, misogyny. Read more

Dated, Absorbing, Great acting, Thought-provoking

See it if You want to see more of Hansberry’s work. The play is dated but the acting of Issac and Brosnahan is worth the ticket. Just amazing!

Don't see it if You can’t sit for 3 hours, you prefer a less dialogue driven play, or you enjoy something written more recently.

Must see, Relevant, Great writing, Great acting, Clever

See it if An all-star incredible production in all aspects.Set in the West Village in the '60s, this is the story of Sidney,a Bohemian intellectual,*

Don't see it if Some dialogues may sound 2celebral&demand close attn but, as a reviewer pointed out, "Finally a play that makes us think"&raises our sights. Read more

Ambitious, Relevant, Slow, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if you want to see a truly masterful performance by Oscar Isaac. Award worthy. Rest of cast is good, too. A theatre history buff must-see.

Don't see it if you can't tolerate long shows. This one is almost 3 hours. First act works better than second, but the whole thing is eerily timely. Read more

Intelligent, Great acting, Clever, Absorbing

See it if You want to see two amazing actors especially Oscar Issac. Plenty of dialog can be a bit preacy at times. But it was a joy to witness the

Don't see it if Outstanding performances. It's very long first act is 90 minutes intermission then 2nd act is 70 minutes. Not for everyone. Read more

Critic Reviews (16)

“Its hailstorm of ideas remains stunning — and aptly painful if, as a proud progressive, you’re struck in the face by the ice of its wit. But as human drama goes, and despite fine performances by Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, it’s hard to discern a satisfying emotional shape in all the weather. It’s blurry.”
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“The play is harsh, but as it pares its hero down, it reveals something hopeful...Hansberry has this hope that, from a gesture, a streak of actual commitment might be revealed in Sidney like a vein of gold.”
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“Things will only get worse if people don't stand together and fight for a better world...’The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window’ remains a powerful call to embrace that fight. This imaginatively-staged, passionately-acted production does justice to her political vision.”
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“What Hansberry sensitively captures, through most of the characters, is that troubling period in many people’s lives when the ideals of youth begin to seem chimerical, and getting a firm foothold on more practical kinds of success suddenly seems alluring.”
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“It’s a funnier, rangier and in some ways more ambitious play that gives its central character attributes both magnetic and off-putting.”
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“Hansberry’s play has plenty of sweep – maybe too much. It takes on racism, anti-Semitism, political corruption, suicide, homosexuality, and social activism. Performances are all over the map.”
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“...it unfortunately did not come together into a coherent, critical-minded play but rather a plodding diatribe full of one-dimensional characters and melodramatic plot twists.”
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“...Kauffman's thrilling staging — led by the terrific Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan — brings Hansberry's words to life with the urgency of something written yesterday. Sure, it's a little hirsute but the whole thing is just so alive that it's nothing short of dazzling.”
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Trailer

Creative team