August: Best Time Of The Year
August: Best Time Of The YearThe more appropriate title for this story really would be August: Osage County is Time's "Best of the Year," but no matter.
The point is that the theatre critic for the venerable news magazine has selected my personal favorite show of the past year as his top choice for theatre. I couldn't agree more.
But the list itself is a bit suspect to be honest. I know everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, including Richard Zoglin, but c'mon.
I'll give Zoglin a pass on The Farnsworth Invention and I may even agree with him on Pygmalion, but how could the Broadway revival of Grease possibly make any discerning critic's list? Zoglin says, "Even with reality-TV stars, a stylish, happy, underappreciated revival."
Still, it's in his top ten?
Do Grease and best go together like rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong?
Zoglin's full top ten list for 2007 includes:
#1 - August: Osage County
#2 - Journey's End
#3 - Fuerzabruta
#4 - The Overwhelming
#5 - Wooster Group's Hamlet
#6 - Pygmalion
#7 - Grease
#8 - The Farnsworth Invention
#9 - Eurydice
#10 - Intimate Exchanges
Of these shows, only the Broadway shows, Fuerzabruta and The Overwhelming remain open (Pygmalion's limited run closes tomorrow).
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: August Osage County, Best Of Lists, Broadway, Grease, Pygmalion, The Farnsworth Invention, Time
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Saturday, December 15, 2007
11 Comments:
Grease and Farnsworth should NOT be on that list. I am happy to see the Wooster's hamlet. It was very good. Can we say Pulitzer for Tracy lett's?! By the way, this is a very good blog. Thank you.
Thanks Richard, especially for the kind words.
I've been saying since August that August: Osage County deserves the Pulitzer. Glad you agree.
Steve,
I will be seeing The Homecoming in March. I hope the reviews are good. I love Pinter when he is done well. This is one of his best Plays I think.
If I hadn't seen August: Osage County, this list would be laughable. It mostly is. But not about August: Osage County. Not at all.
I'm glad Journey's End wasn't forgotten. I had tdf tickets with my husband and a friend and we got seats in the front row. It was so well acted and meaningful. By the end all three of us were sobbing and the finale was one of the most moving things I have seen in theatre. Just sad it was not more successful with ticket buyers.
Elisabeth - Could it be that with Americans' collective battle fatigue with all things Iraq, they were seeking escape from war? I'm not sure.
Steve
I'm sure that was the problem. It was amazing though that the dialogue and ideas in the play about the futility of war are still so relevant.
Long time reader of your blog however I rarely post but I couldn't help but comment on Journey's End, probably the best theatre I've seen in the 3 years I've lived in New York.
Keep up the great blog!!
Elisabeth, I definitely agree with you that the messages could have resonated with a much wider audience than it received.
Thanks also for the kind words. Please feel free to comment any time!
Cheers,
Steve
Maybe Grease is very enjoyable when viewed while on Acid...
SOB, What do you make of the few negative reviews of A:OC? It's been reduced to nothing but a soapy, tv potboiler??!!! I wholeheartedly disagree. Yes it has its zingy one-liners but so what? and if it's funny, then why all of the need to suddenly bash this great Play? It's all very suspicious really.
Richard, Thankfully, those types of comments remain few and far between. I think most people will love it as much as you and me. It's been at the top of more year-end lists than any other show in recent memory.
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