by Mike Abrams. @TheWrongCatDied.
NEW YORK, NY - Multiple audience members have reported leaving the James Earl Jones Theatre confused after sitting through three hours of the acclaimed, traumatic play The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window only to find out that the sign merely reads “Live, Laugh, Love.”
“Based on the reviews, I really thought the sign would be something more divisive but, I loved that they updated the show to have the Brusteins embrace modern design,” shared audience member Doris Tanner while creating a Pinterest board named “InsBRUation”. “That said, the living room had space for more signage. There was definitely a spot for a ‘Home Sweet Home’ sign above their door.”
Doris’ husband George, who cares way more about landscaping than interior design, was more annoyed by the length of the show than the set design.
“Why did no one tell me this wasn’t one of those 90 minute plays? I didn’t realize it was three hours,” huffed Tanner sitting at his desk in front of an “Enjoy The Little Things” sign. “They completely skipped over the really interesting stuff: did that couple have any backyard space, and if so, are there city ordinances around planting your own grass? And if so - what are the ordinances? That would have been true melodrama.”
Alexa Gibbs, assistant set designer for the play, was excited - but somewhat confused - that an audience member noticed her set tweaks.
“They asked me to update the living room set while staying true to the source material, so I threw in some stuff I bought online,” shared Gibbs as she polished a “The Brustein Family” sign and queued up an evening of AppleTV+ originals. “I really didn’t think anyone would notice that I swapped the 'Vote Reform' sign in Sidney Brustein’s window for something a little more fun. But hey, I guess that’s adulting,” she added before sticking her tongue out and heading to Target.
Gibbs noted that she tried to update other parts of the living room, but decided to stick to signs after a chandelier she found in a dumpster on W 44th Street kept crashing right before intermission.