A Sign of the Times: A Muzzy View of the ’60s with Song and Dance

By Marilyn Lester***It’s the 1960s and Baby Boomers rule—it was the heyday then for twenty-somethings, and it’s the setting of the Off-Broadway musical, A Sign of the Times. Chock full of the groovy, toe-tapping music of the era, with a heavy lean on Petula Clark (hence the title of the show), this jukebox musical has come to the stage with high aspirations: the narrative tackles just about every upheaval in the cultural landscape of that decade: civil rights, women’s liberation, the Vietnam war, the status of gays and lesbians and the sexual revolution—all to the accompaniment of 25 pop songs of the day. If you’re a Boomer, you’ll probably be able to sing along with “The Shoop Shoop Song,” “I Know a Place,” “Round Every Corner,” “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” and lots more.

The show, which is playing at New World Stages, had its origins in 2016, premiering at Goodspeed Opera House with a book by (Boomer) Bruce Vilanch. A Sign of the Times is based on an idea by producer Richard J. Robin, who’s  presenting this production in partnership with the York Theater Company. Since Goodspeed, the show’s been reworked and rewritten by (Millennial) Lindsey Hope Pearlman— and that generation gap may be partly why the text doesn’t have the gravitas to rise above a scattershot and often clichéd look at the times. Yet, for those who are content with a lot of energetic singing and dancing by a very talented cast, this show’s for you. And make no mistake, the cast is very talented and fully committed, a key ingredient in selling a weak book with a Cliff Notes approach to history.

Book-ended by two New Year’s Eve parties, Cindy (the wonderful Chilina Kennedy), an aspiring photographer with big dreams, leaves hometown Centersville, Ohio in 1965, headed to New York City, leaving behind a boyfriend, Matt (Justin Matthew Sargent), and a homogeneous small-town life (“Who Am I?”). It doesn’t take long for Cindy to find a roommate in a hopeful singer, Tanya (the spectacular Crystal Lucas-Perry) in—wait for it—Harlem (“Count Me In”). In another snap of the fingers, Cody (Akron Lanier Watson), a civil rights activist Cindy met on the bus to NYC, serendipitously finds his way to Tanya’s door and hooks up with her in no time. Meanwhile, Cindy’s plight is finding a way to be taken seriously as a photographer. Promised opportunity, she lands a secretarial job at an ad agency and becomes involved with its head, the oily “Madmen” character, Brian (Ryan Silverman). Can heartbreak be far behind? Yes and no (“You Don’t Own Me”). And then the hapless Matt is drafted and sent to Vietnam (“Eve of Destruction”). Fast-forward to a happy ending wherein Matt has found a new love, and Cindy is discovered by Randy Forthwall (Edward Staudenmayer), a downtown type ripped from the Andy Warhol playbook (“The In Crowd”).

Director Gabriel Barre has done a splendid job of pacing, moving his five principal actors and 10 ensemble members through the production from A to B and its New Year’s Eve conclusion on the threshold of 1966. Here, all the stops are pulled out for a blazing happy song and dance finale, with all hands reveling to “Downtown.”

Helping to keep the action moving from the start is a smart, modular set by Eric Adamson, projections by Brad Peterson and lighting by Ken Billington; all of these elements elevate the musical’s experience. What’s disappointing is uninspired choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter with David Dabbon, and surprisingly bland costumes by Johanna Pan—after all, this is the decade that produced some pretty wild street wear.

What is spectacular is the all-female mini-orchestra led by music director/keyboardist Britt Bonney to Joseph Church’s fulsome orchestrations. Hats off to keyboardist and associate music director, Polina Senderova; guitarist Francesca Castro; drummer Paige Durr; bassist Michelle Osbourne; and multi-reedist Emma Reinhart. This is a sextet that sounded like so much more, totally in the groove and securing its place as the star of the show. Shannon Slaton’s sound design not only enhanced the band’s sound profile, but also significantly ensured clear and resonant vocals among the cast’s principals and ensemble.

Beyond Boomers who lived it, the upheaval of the 1960s was a huge turning point in the socio-political history of the country. But more to the point, these issues are still ongoing and the world at large is in pretty tough shape. Yet, just as the frivolous movie musicals of the 1930s with their over-the-top Busby Berkeley dance extravaganzas lifted up Depression-era audiences, the cheery singing and dancing in A Sign of the Times might be all that’s needed for today’s theater-goers to purchase a ticket and enjoy.

A Sign of the Times is at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, NYC). For more information and tickets, click here. The runtime is 2 hours and 30 minutes including intermission. 

Photos: Jeremy Daniel