The Signature Project NYC Reviews and Tickets

78%

(56 Reviews)

Positive

84%

Mixed

12%

Negative

Members say

Entertaining, Clever, Ambitious, Thought-provoking, Intelligent

About the Show

A multi-sensory theatrical experience centered around a huge 76 ft x 36 ft mural layered with hidden secrets. For the past 22 years artist Patrick Dunning has toured the United States bringing the mural to life.

Dunning weaves stories and images in the great tradition of Irish artists. Now, this play with music and dance comes to New York for its Off-Broadway premiere. A unique blend of art and technology, 'The Signature Project' offers the opportunity for the audience to join over 300,000 people whose signatures already comprise the fabric of this monumental art work. The painting and the play are constantly changing and evolving as people contribute their own signature and story to the larger artwork, adding perspectives and ideas.

Member Reviews (56)

Clever, Thought-provoking, Delightful, Entertaining, Intelligent

See it if you'd enjoy learning of one man's journey, now 25 years long, in creating a massive piece of art with many messages contained.

Don't see it if you are not interested in listening and learning or if you feel that one person's perspective may be a little preachy.

Interesting, Fluffy, Uneventful, Unmemorable, Entertaining

See it if It’s a Tedtalk with some cool moments and songs. Some clever art elements but nothing that stuck with me. Missable.

Don't see it if You want to see a play or musical. The presenter is very likeable but I forgot about the show about 30 min after.

Absorbing, Clever, Entertaining, Intelligent

See it if enjoy a gentleman telling his tale with some nice backup Fascinating look at the use of light

Don't see it if you need a big extravaganza.. This 0s like old time storytelling

Clever, Confusing, Intelligent, Refreshing

See it if you like an unusual show about an artist's 25 year old project that is still ongoing. I understood parts of the project, some were confusing

Don't see it if you like a show with a plot. This is not your typical show: international phone calls, Irish step dancing, strange musical instruments. Read more

Clever, Delightful, Quirky, Great staging, Entertaining

See it if You enjoy multi-discipline shows. You like shows about the process of creation. You would like the opportunity to be part of the art.

Don't see it if You prefer a purely theatrical show with a traditional plot & structure. You dislike process shows.

Different and unique in a great way

See it if You want to get a behind-the-scenes look at an incredible artist, his life and what goes in to the beauty of what he creates

Don't see it if You are looking for a traditional play Read more

Intriguing, Quirky, Entertaining throughout, but a bit odd, Thought-provoking

See it if Want to consider an artist's process and the creative development of a multi-yr work-in-progress. This is not standard fare, but enjoyable.

Don't see it if Want trad theatre. He's personable & engaging, but the art & "play" can be hokey. Still, it's fun & illuminating in more ways than one. Read more

Clever, Ambitious, Quirky, Resonant, Thought-provoking

See it if You enjoy super unique theater productions. Not a play, not a talk, but a little gem of artistry from a truly brilliant artistic mind.

Don't see it if You need a super strong through line. This feels more like vignettes of interesting tidbits that don't always meld together perfectly.

Critic Reviews (6)

"Dunning exhibits the intellectual curiosity that one might get from an exceptionally good host of a PBS children's show. He shares his discoveries with gentleness and passion, lightly peppering the evening with dad jokes...It all adds up to an event that is part gallery exhibition, part concert, part TED Talk, and totally delightful...This pleasant evening might outwardly seems apolitical, but its emphasis on the human spirit and its idiosyncrasies represent something important."
Read more

"Dunning enchants audience members...This subtle drama feels most like a lecture series....Vitale keeps the entire production on an even keel, making space for the Irish music and dance sections, who are there to bring a mural to life. Step-dancers with glittery costumes parade; choreography by Wright is perfected...With communication zooming forward at the speed of light, these ensemble moments celebrate performance from every angle."
Read more

"One of the most unique and exhilarating art displays and performances I have seen. This show will leave you uplifted, in awe and wanting to add your signature to the 76-foot by 36-foot mural, layered with hidden secrets...Everyone has a spark of creativity within them, but Patrick Dunning is a visionary emerged in hurricane of inventive originality...This is a show not to be missed. It will inspire, amaze and bring you to a sense of universal connection."
Read more

"Each 4x4 square within the work is a tapestry of signatures...Up close, he can tell you the story of individual signatures...Dunning has so many stories to tell. He doesn't know when the work will be finished. He doesn't know where the work will go. But perhaps it is the journey of the work, his travels, his stories, and the stories he collects along the way, which make this memorable: it is a work of memories set to outlive every person whose name is but a piece of its whole."
Read more

"A brilliant monologue by an Irish artist named Dunning, who has been traveling around the U.S. with an incredible painting incorporating hundreds of thousands of signatures, using the color spectrum we can see and all the rest of the spectrum we can't. When he shines an ultraviolet and ultrared light on it, we see amazing things...There is also Irish dancing and songs by his brother, who appears via skype...One of the most amazing things I have seen in quite a while."
Read more

"Dunning, the painter and presenter of the evening, speaks to us about the many elements that make up the panels and the painting...Dunning is nothing if not a perfectionist...All aspects of the evening partake of this consummate professional care...The journey we are taken on is like a recursive meditation...Like all good art, this presentation summons magic. The real magic of this evening is the transformative effect it has on the audience."
Read more