Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Chilina Kennedy injects considerable heart into the busy and predictable A SIGN OF THE TIMES, yet another 1960s jukebox musical

• By drediman
• February 23, 2024
• No Comments

Last night at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages in Midtown, New York theatergoers were graced with the opening of yet another 1960s-set jukebox musical — this time around, it was the new musical A Sign of the Times (a previous iteration of the show had played Goodspeed Opera House in 2016). Presented by York Theatre Company — which has a long, illustrious history in mounting intimately-scaled musicals — the somewhat generically titled work chronicles the adventures and growing pains of two women in 1960s New York.

Thankfully, piece stays away from the bio-musical formula (e.g., Jersey Boys, Beautiful, Motown), instead mercifully focusing on a newly minted plot. Featuring a book by Lindsey Hope Pearlman (based on a story created by Richard J. Robin), the musical calls to mind an updated version of Wonderful Town — and not just in plot. Like that classic musical, A Sign of the Times is in many ways also a love letter to the Big Apple. Additionally, in order to keep up with enormous social shifts of the decade (e.g., the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, feminism, even the gays have their time in the spotlight), the plot is stuffed incident and an overwhelming need to depict inclusivity. Perhaps a better strategy would have been to be less ambitious in scope, which would have resulted in a less busy, more believable narrative arc. Nevertheless, it’s hard to dispute the cleverness of some of the song placements (the appearance of “You Don’t Own Me” is priceless). At the very least, the tourist-friendly musical is admittedly enjoyable — particularly for those with a soft spot for the songs of Petula Clark and her pop music contemporaries — if entirely predictable. Indeed, at the late preview performance I attended, the audience was having an absolute ball.

A Sign of the Times has been produced on a grander scale than most of York’s past productions (the polished, efficient staging is by Gabriel Barre). It’s also starrier. The musical is headlined by Chilina Kennedy (perhaps best known for her long-running stint as Carole King in Beautiful), who injects the production with considerable heart. Other notables include the charismatic Crystal Lucas-Perry — blessed with a big voice and sterling comic timing — as her sassy sidekick and roommate, as well as silken-voiced Ryan Silverman as her dashing but chauvinistic boss-cum-love interest.

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A SIGN OF THE TIMES
Off-Broadway, Musical
York Theatre Company at New World Stages
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run