Forget the bag checks. Theatergoers entering New World Stages to see the latest jukebox musical should be forced to present their birth certificates. Featuring more than two dozen pop hits from the 1960s in its period-set tale of an aspiring photographer arriving in New York City to achieve her dreams, A Sign of the Times doles out beloved songs to its baby boomer target audiences with the regularity of a food pellet machine. It’s force-fed nostalgia, to be sure, but plenty of fun, at least if you were born between 1946 and 1964 and owned a radio.
Don’t look for anything in the way of sophistication in this York Theatre Company production, however, since Lindsey Hope Pearlman’s book (Richard J. Robin is credited with story creation) doesn’t rise far above sitcom level in its story of its heroine, Cindy (the uber-appealing Chilina Kennedy, Paradise Square), who is described at one point as “Marlo Thomas on speed.” Cindy hails from a small town in Ohio, where she has recently turned down a proposal from her first and only boyfriend Matt (Justin Matthew Sargent), who is utterly perplexed by her desire to pursue a career rather than pump out babies with him.
Instead, she hops on a bus to New York City, along the way meeting Cody (Akron Lanier Watson) who proudly introduces himself as “President Emeritus of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, University of Buffalo Chapter.” Arriving in the Big Apple, Cindy embarks on a fruitless search for housing, finally becoming the roommate of the flamboyant singer Tanya (the big-voiced Crystal Lucas-Perry, 1776, stealing the show). She also manages to land a job as a secretary for Brian (Ryan Silverman, Side Show, Passion), the head of his own ad agency, with whom she begins an office romance.
The storyline — which incorporates such hot-button issues of the era as civil rights, feminism, and the Vietnam War — is merely an excuse for the ensemble to deliver stirring versions of such familiar songs as “I Only Want to Be With You,” “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, “Boy From New York City,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Rescue Me,” “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” and many more, including, of course, the Petula Clark hit that lends the show its title. Most are instantly recognizable from the first few notes, others are more obscure. But there’s no questioning the nostalgia bona fides of a show that even includes Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ “Count Me In.” As for songs by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, you won’t find them here. Off-Broadway shows, after all, have budgetary limitations.
The way the numbers are incorporated into the plot is, needless to say, silly more often than not. When someone stops off at a town called Clarksville, it isn’t hard to guess which Monkees tune we’re about to hear. When Cindy and Tanya take a Cosmopolitan magazine quiz about love, the answer turns out to be “It’s in His Kiss” from “The Shoop Shoop Song.” When Cindy’s boss Brian takes her to a hot party hosted by an Andy Warhol doppelganger (an amusing Edward Staudenmayer), you can be sure they’re heading “Downtown” to hang out with “The In Crowd.” And when Cindy finally defiantly calls out Brian for his demeaning sexism, what else is there for her to belt out but “You Don’t Own Me”?
If you’re in the right frame of mind, A Sign of the Times proves thoroughly enjoyable, especially as performed by its talented lead performers and 11-person supporting ensemble. The fast-paced staging by Gabriel Barre (The Wild Party, Amazing Grace), energetic choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, and terrific orchestrations by Joseph Church for the six-piece band add to the fun, as do Johanna Pan’s oh-so-groovy costumes. So, head to New World Stages, but for your own safety “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” on the way home. (Sorry, it’s contagious).
A Sign of the Times opened February 22, 2024, at New World Stages. Tickets and information: asignofthetimes.com
