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Table Read “The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window”

  • The Arts Center 320 North White Street Athens, TN, 37303 United States (map)

Here’s what you need to know

Starts at 7:00pm

We’ll be in the Visual Arts Wing at The Arts Center

This event is FREE

No experience necessary

Fun and informal: You can sit and listen or participate as much as you want

We will read the play “The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window,” led by Claire Brown. More information about the play and table reads below.

About the Play

Lorraine Hansberry's second Broadway play is the probing, hilarious and provocative story of Sidney, a disenchanted Greenwich Village intellectual, his wife Iris, an aspiring actress, and their colorful circle of friends and relations.

Set against the turmoil of a stormy 1964 political campaign, the play follows its characters in their unorthodox quests for meaningful lives in an age of corruption, alienation and cynicism. With compassion, humor and poignancy, the author examines questions of morality, ethics, interracial relationships, drugs, rebellion, conformity, global responsibility and the fragility of love.

History of the Play

The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window premiered on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on October 15, 1964. Directed by Peter Kass, the production starred Gabriel Dell and Rita Moreno. Alice Ghostley, who played Mavis, won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. In January 1972, the play returned to Broadway starring Hal Linden, Zohra Lampert and Frances Sternhagen. In February 2023, the Brooklyn Academy of Music produced a revival of the play, directed by Anne Kauffman and starring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan. The production transferred to Broadway on April 27, 2023, earning a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Play. Once again, the actress playing Mavis won a Tony: Miriam Silverman won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play.

About Table Reads

The Play Selection Advisory Committee of Athens Community Theatre hosts several opportunities to read plays and musicals for fun each season. Participation in a table read is a great way to “dip a toe in” to see what working with ACT is like. The play is read casually: you can let us know if you want to participate or just listen in. And you can change your mind at any time.

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January 5

OPEN EXHIBITION

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January 12

‘64 — ‘71: The Music of a Changing World, Set 2