“Over the moon”, that’s how Rachel Brosnahan felt in April. Then she heard that Lorraine Hansberry’s The sign in Sidney Brustein’s window — in which she starred opposite Oscar Isaac in BAM — moved to the James Earl Jones Theater, where it quickly garnered a Tony nomination for its best play revival.
Hosted at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the show had a quick sprint to the James Earl Jones Theater after finishing its BAM run thanks to an opening slot as the stage adaptation of Room fell through. Set in 1960s Greenwich Village, the play revolves around married couple Sidney and Iris Brustein as they “fight to keep their marriage, with all its crackling wit, passion and casual cruelty, from being the final sacrifice to Sidney’s ideals.”
Even though Brosnahan recently saw through the launch and final bow of the series The wonderful Mrs. Maisel, she was more than ready for the Great White Way. “One of the reasons I loved Iris and was so excited for the chance to play her is because she feels so far removed from me,” the Emmy winner explains. THR prior to a PaleyFest event. “She is someone who carries her heart outside of her body and is so moved by everything and everyone around her. She uses her body differently than I use mine, so finding her and finding her with (director Anne Kauffman), Oscar, and the entire cast and crew has been an incredible process.
Speaking of Isaac, Brosnahan said she is inspired by her co-star’s relentless curiosity. “He’s so well-educated, so passionate, so driven and so disciplined in a number of ways,” she praised. “He is relentlessly and unapologetically curious and I feel like it pushes him to keep pushing himself to, especially in the theater where you do the same thing every night, pushes him to find new shades for this character, new ways to do certain scenes to access. And it was dreamy to be able to do that dance with him every night.”
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window is now on stage through July 2.
This story first appeared in the May 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
