Don’t look for much character or plot development in the York Theatre Company’s production of A Sign of the Times, which opened last night at New World Stages. They aren’t what this refreshing new musical, directed with gusto by Gabriel Barre, are about. This show is about fun, two and a half hours of it. At a time when we are witness to so much suffering around the world and a frightening presidential campaign here, it’s nice to take a break from shows about dysfunctional families or dangerous political situations.
The oft-told story — book by Lindsey Hope Pearlman and concept by Richard J. Robin — of a young woman with a dream coming to New York from a provincial town was my story too. The reason I like this one so much is that it is set in 1965, in the most exciting decade in which I’ve lived, even though I spent it in a suburban Catholic elementary school so I didn’t get to experience it the way I would have if I’d been in college or new to the big city and a career. I observed it, though, and the two things I loved most were the music and the clothes. This show serves them up in big measure, although not all of costume designer Johanna Pan’s creations suggest the 60s.
But the music does. That is the true heart of this show, 25 hits from the decade that had the best music of my lifetime, presented one after another with choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter’s lively dance numbers. The story is woven lightly in between.
I’m not going to list all 25 songs, although I could sing all of them because I listened to them on my little AM transistor radio that went everywhere with me. Here are a few: “A Sign of the Times,” naturally, “I Only Want to Be with You,” “Rescue Me,” “Call Me,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “The In Crowd,” “Five O’Clock World” and “Eve of Destruction.” They are performed, under Joseph Church’s direction, by an elevated onstage band that appears from time to time as the panels with Brad Peterson’s projects part. Evan Adamson is the scenic designer, with lighting by Ken Billington.
The story begins on New Year’s Eve 1964 in Centerville, Ohio, as Cindy (Chilina Kennedy), our delightful ingenue, announces to her friends that she is heading to New York to pursue a career as a photographer. After losing out on apartment after apartment she finds a roommate in Harlem who becomes her best friend, Tanya (Crystal Lucas-Perry). They are two young women high on the thrill of being on their own in New York City.
Cindy becomes awakened to two key elements of the 1960s. Tanya’s boyfriend, Cody (Akron Lanier Watson), is involved with the Civil Rights Movement and her Ohio boyfriend, Matt (Justin Matthew Sargent) is drafted into the Vietnam War. In keeping with the tone of the story, these are resolved, with Cody enthusiastically leading Black power demonstrations and Matt discovering an unexpected love that grew out of his war experience.
One of my favorite numbers features projections of the exterior of Cindy and Tanya’s apartment building on a rainy night as couples in bright yellow, red and blue slickers dance with black umbrellas held high as Tanya sings “Don’t Sleep in the Subway.”
The second to the last number set the already enthusiastic audience cheering with just the first two notes. Cindy has just quite her job as a secretary in an advertising firm after the firm’s president, Brian (Ryan Silverman), whom she has been dating, takes credit for an ad campaign she created. No better song to accompany that than “You Don’t Own Me.” Here, and in every scene she’s in, Kennedy makes a winning Cindy.
The story ends on New Year’s Eve 1965 as a now triumphant Cindy and her New York friends celebrate in an apartment high over Times Square where they all perform a buoyant “Downtown.”
It was a quick road to success. Sounds like a faery tale, right? Yes, which is why it left me in high spirits. We need some old-fashion escapism now, and escapism with well-loved songs is the best kind.
