SOB’s Best Of 2007-08: Top Ten Of The YearOver the past week and a half, I've offered up my "Best Of" lists for each of the five major stage categories observed by the Tony Awards, including
Best Special Theatrical Events,
Best Musical Revivals,
Best Play Revivals,
Best New Musicals and
Best New Plays.
Now, before I launch into which Broadway shows would get my Tony vote if
I could
actually vote and my own prognostications on who will win, here’s how the
best of the best rank in my personal countdown of the “10 Best” theatrical productions I saw over the course of this exciting 2007-08 Theatrical Season:
10 - From Up HereVenue: Off-Broadway's New York City Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY
Top 10 Worthiness: Liz Flahive's poignant, yet darkly funny
From Up Here provided a heaping healthy dose of what troubled teens need more than anything else: hope.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Tobias Segal and
Julie White.
Status: Closes June 8. Go see it. Now!
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
9 - The Seafarer
Venue: Broadway's Booth Theatre, New York, NY
Top 10 Worthiness: Conor McPherson's chilling, mesmerizing and often funny
The Seafarer was one helluva good morality play that came up all aces.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Jim Norton and
Conleth Hill.
Status: Closed, but look for regional theatre companies, including Chicago's
Steppenwolf, to mount productions over the next year.
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
8 - South PacificVenue: Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Top 10 Worthiness: From the moment
Ted Sperling cues his 30-piece orchestra, commencing the initial swells from the overture for one of
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein II's most beloved musical scores, it's clear that this
Bartlett Sher-helmed
South Pacific is going to be a truly majestic revival.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Paulo Szot and
Kelli O'HaraStatus: Originally slated for limited run through June, but has since become an open-ended run. National tour is in the works.
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
7 - Dreamgirls
Venue: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
Top 10 Worthiness: Two words ...
Jennifer Holliday reprising her quintessential Effie Melody White in Atlanta's glorious revival of
Dreamgirls, which offered up some truly magical and electrifying performances from start to finish.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Jennifer Holliday and
David Jennings.
Status: Closed.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
6 - Cymbeline
Venue: Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Top 10 Worthiness: Lincoln Center's starry revival of
William Shakespeare's celestial
Cymbeline sent an unexpected, yet definable chill of delight shooting down my spine, thanks to
Mark Lamos' brilliant, sparkling vision.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Martha Plimpton,
John Cullum and
Paul O'Brien.
Status: Closed.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
5 - A Catered AffairVenue: Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY
Top 10 Worthiness: Like a rare vintage wine that deserves to be sipped and savored, the seriously sublime
A Catered Affair opens up across the tastebuds into a glorious bouquet making this beautifully-acted, earnest chamber musical, rich with integrity, very intoxicating.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Faith Prince,
Leslie Kritzer and
Tom WopatStatus: Open-ended run.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
4 - The Beatles LoveVenue: Love Theatre, Mirage, Las Vegas, NV
Top 10 Worthiness: I blew my mind out with the excellent
The Beatles Love, which roundly serves as the ultimate showcase for the catalogue of
The Beatles via the best
Cirque du Soleil production I have yet to witness.
Exceptional Standout Performances: The entire troupe from Cirque du Soleil and those Four Lads from Liverpool.
Status: Open-ended run.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
3 - Passing Strange
Venue: Broadway's Belasco Theatre, New York, NY
Top 10 Worthiness: Passing Strange was not only the year's most cosmic, most unusual and most unexpected new musical, it was also real, full of heart and simply the best new tuner to hit Broadway all year.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Stew and
Daniel Breaker.
Status: Open-ended run.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
2 - Gypsy
Venue: Broadway's St. James Theatre, New York, NY
Suddenly, highfalutin words like "excellent," "superb" and "top-notch" just don't seem sufficient enough to adequately describe the unique, exhilarating experience of seeing
Arthur Laurents' incredible and thoroughly entertaining revival of
Gypsy, which is most definitely a performance for the ages. This is the best musical, period, of the year.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Patti LuPone,
Laura Benanti and
Boyd Gaines.
Status: Open-ended run.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
1 - August: Osage CountyVenues: Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL;
Broadway's
Imperial Theatre, New York, NY;
Broadway's Music Box Theatre, New York, NY (present)
Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece
August: Osage County rates as the best-written, best-acted play I've ever seen at Chicago's
Steppenwolf and among the top five plays I've ever seen performed anywhere, anytime.
Anna D. Shapiro's direction has made this a razor-sharp, whip-smart American classic. Without a doubt, this is the best show of the year, and it will win the Tony for Best Play.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Deanna Dunagan,
Amy Morton,
Rondi Reed and
Francis Guinan.
Status: Open-ended run, now playing the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
What shows would be on your top ten list? Do you think I've completely missed the boat, or would your choices largely mirror mine? I invite you to join the discussion and post your comments here.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Plays (May 30, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Musicals (May 29, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 28, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 27, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 24, 2008)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2007-08 (May 23, 2008)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2007-08 Theatre Season (May 22, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Top Ten Of The Year (June 4, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Musicals (May 22, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Plays (May 21, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 18, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 16, 2007)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2006-07 (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2006-07 Theatre Season (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (May 17, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd (May 15, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2001-02 (May 24, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2000-01 (May 23, 2006)
Labels: A Catered Affair, August Osage County, Broadway, Cymbeline, Dreamgirls, From Up Here, Gypsy, Passing Strange, SOB's Best of 2007-08, South Pacific, The Beatles Love, The Seafarer
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New PlaysIf you're a fan of new plays over musicals, this was truly your year. The 2007-08 Theatrical Season marked a resurgence in exceptional plays.
Personally, I was fortunate to see 18 new plays, not only coast-to-coast across America, but also in London. And guess what? I actually
enjoyed most of them, making my picks for the "Top 5" the most difficult category to select.
However, reigning supreme at the number one spot is a show I instantly fell in love with the first time I saw it last summer at a regional theatre (and for regular readers, you'll allow that I was way ahead of the curve on this one). Now that it's on Broadway, I'm preparing to take it in for second time there and third time overall. As the best play I've seen this year, let alone the past decade, it has set a new standard by which I've begun judging all other productions.
Here is my personal "5 Best" list for the past twelve months:
5 - 100 Saints You Should Know (Mainstage Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY)
At the intersection where faith and disbelief collide,
Kate Fodor’s arresting and provocative new play
100 Saints You Should Know provided a frequently humorous, yet ultimately circumspect morality play about a woman finding herself on a spiritual quest. What still resonates and lingers with me is the purity in which Fodor wrote this compelling piece, seemingly without any agenda or ax to grind about faith or religion. To that end, she succeeded brilliantly without being heavy-handed or preachy. It didn't hurt that her script was aided tremendously by the world premiere's uniformly exceptional Off-Broadway cast, including the graceful dignity offered by
Lois Smith, the sassy adolescent insolence of
Zoe Kazan, or the tender awkwardness that comes with burgeoning teen sexuality as portrayed by
Will Rogers.
Regardless of your religious beliefs or lack thereof,
100 Saints You Should Know was well worth seeing and knowing.
4 - Mauritius (Biltmore Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY)
Some plays just don't get the respect they deserve.
Theresa Rebeck’s surprisingly thrilling and highly entertaining
Mauritius was among them. Thanks to
Doug Hughes’ taut direction, Mauritius provided one of those exceptionally riveting, edge-of-your-seat theatrical experiences -- a veritable roller coaster ride of delicious deception that literally pulled no punches. In fact, the play about two half-sisters arguing over the rightful ownership of a potentially invaluable stamp collection left behind by their now deceased mother packed quite a wallop that is typically as rare in theatre as the collection’s two 19th Century stamps from Mauritius.
With a superb ensemble collection, Rebeck spun a diabolically delicious yarn.
Alison Pill scored with a truly extraordinary, breathtaking performance by inhabiting the darkest recesses of someone willing to sell her very soul for a shot at money. To say she delivered a nuanced portrayal would be an understatement. While the Tonys inexplicably passed over her performance, Pill further cemented her reputation as Broadway's top young actress.
Mauritius met with my stamp of approval on virtually every level.
3 - From Up Here (New York City Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY)
Liz Flahive's poignant, yet darkly funny
From Up Here provided an auspicious debut for this budding playwright, particularly as she instilled her fully realized characters with compassion, along with a heaping healthy dose of what troubled teens need more than anything else: hope. Flahive ably underscored how hope requires elevating the teenage human spirit to a loftier place where they can see that life doesn't begin and end in the place perhaps mistakenly called "high" school.
In one of the year's most profoundly moving male performances,
Tobias Segal deftly exhibited all the knotty tableau of emotions ranging from utter dejection to glimmers of hope his tortured soul endures. Mark my words, this is one hot young actor whose name you'll want to remember.
Julie White gave a tightly wound, measured performance laced with an appropriate blend of humor and anxiety for a mother who's at the end of her rope. She was truly brilliant. In a very honest, straightforward manner,
Will Rogers once again nailed the coming to wits angst inherently found both among those growing up and those who must deal with fragile youth.
What really struck a chord with me is that for all the awkwardess that most youth must go through,
From Up Here gave immense direction by pointing the way out via a revelatory, resonating route that made live theatre suddenly relevant again.
2 - The Seafarer (Booth Theatre, New York, NY)
Conor McPherson's chilling new play
The Seafarer was so damned good, it's practically enough to put the fear of God in you. In his mesmerizing new and often funny morality play set on Christmas Eve, McPherson proved he's all aces. Both writing and directing this cautionary tale, he magnificently constructed a harrowing, on the edge of your seat nailbiter that was as much about giving the devil his due as it is about the potential for redemption for two card-playing good-for-nearly-nothing drunks for brothers.
As one of those brothers, the astounding
Jim Norton appeared to have literally drunk himself blind. His performance was matched by an utterly unrecognizable
Conleth Hill as one of the brothers' card-playing mates.
All in all, this was one helluva great play.
1 - August: Osage County (
Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL/
Imperial Theatre, New York, NY)
Was there any doubt?
Since first being blown away by this now Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece by
Tracy Letts way back last August in the Windy City, I've devoted considerable space to the best-written, best-acted play I've
ever seen at Chicago's
Steppenwolf, and that's no small feat. In
August: Osage County, Letts has constructed an absolutely brilliant, riotous script that provides for one stellar performance after another by its excellent ensemble.
Now six months into its acclaimed Broadway run, the play runs even deeper, packing a more lethal, visceral punch than what I saw in Chicago, hitting even harder with greater precision that I would not have even thought possible. Credit
Anna D. Shapiro for sharpening this play into a razor-sharp, whip-smart American classic. And it's even funnier, too.
Deanna Dunagan (Violet) single-handedly delivers a bravura performance for the ages as the matriarch of the Weston clan. But she's matched by an equally stunning ensemble, with
Amy Morton giving as good as she gets, and even better, as Violet's daughter Barbara;
Rondi Reed's Mattie Fae is likely to remind you of your favorite, if she wasn't so crazy, aunt; and
Francis Guinan as Mattie Fae's long-suffering husband Charlie offers a sweet dignity to the proceedings, especially when considered against one of the play's many revelations exposing the startling truth about his own son.
Since first seeing the show last summer in Chicago, I've known that I've witnessed something very, very special in the world of live theatre. Upon considerable reflection, I can attest that this is
the best new stage play I've seen over the last five years.
What were the best new plays
you saw over the past year? I invite you to join the conversation by sharing your theatre experiences with me.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Musicals (May 29, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 28, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 27, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 24, 2008)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2007-08 (May 23, 2008)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2007-08 Theatre Season (May 22, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Top Ten Of The Year (June 4, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Musicals (May 22, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Plays (May 21, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 18, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 16, 2007)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2006-07 (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2006-07 Theatre Season (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (May 17, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd (May 15, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2001-02 (May 24, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2000-01 (May 23, 2006)
Labels: 100 Saints You Should Know, August Osage County, Best New Plays, From Up Here, Mauritius, Play, SOB's Best of 2007-08, The Seafarer, Tracy Letts
From Up Here (The SOB Review) - New York City Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY***1/2 (out of ****)What is it about all too many American adolescents who give up hope before it even has had the chance to spring eternal? Could it be that it all has to do with the lower, earliest vantage points by which all children are literally challenged?
In this post-
Columbine era, adults have been tragically reminded time and again of the need to refortify their efforts, remaining vigilant in looking for tell-tale signs and patterns of disturbing behavior, as well as in trying to serve as favorable role models.
If nothing else, many feel compelled to demonstrate that high school life is rarely a harbinger of things to come. That's a lot of responsibility to be sure.
Coming exactly one year after the horrific
Virginia Tech Massacre and nearly 9 years to the day after Columbine,
Liz Flahive's poignant, yet darkly funny
From Up Here opened last evening under the snappy direction of
Leigh Silverman at the
Manhattan Theatre Club's space at the New York City Center.
And what an auspicious debut this budding playwright has made, particularly as Flahive instills her fully realized characters with compassion, along with a heaping healthy dose of what troubled teens need more than anything else: hope. Flahive ably underscores how hope requires elevating the teenage human spirit to a loftier place where they can see that life doesn't begin and end in the place perhaps mistakenly called "high" school.
In
From Up Here, we're never quite sure what exactly high school student Kenny Barrett (
Tobias Segal) actually did to warrant police involvement, let alone the close scrutiny from his school and family. But whatever he did, it has everyone pretty much on edge. And now that he's back in school, he's been assigned an interloper minder in the form of precocious class valedictorian Kate (
Jenni Barber), who's going to help Kenny write a public apology he is set to deliver.
At home, he struggles to communicate with his frustrated, high-strung mother (
Julie White), let alone his stepfather Daniel (
Brian Hutchison), who valiantly strives to keep it and everyone all together as the moral support he's providing everyone, including sexually promiscuous stepdaughter Lauren (
Aya Cash), goes unappreciated. Fortunately for Kenny, his transcendental Aunt Caroline (
Arija Bareikis) descends quite literally upon the family, swooping in just enough to knock this somewhat broken family back into kilter.
In one of the year's most profoundly moving male performances, Tobias Segal deftly exhibits all the knotty tableau of emotions ranging from utter dejection to glimmers of hope his tortured soul endures. Mark my words, this is one hot young actor whose name you'll want to remember.
As last year's Tony-winning Best Actress, Julie White bypasses Broadway for her Gotham follow up with a tightly wound, measured performance laced with an appropriate blend of humor and anxiety for a mother who's at the end of her rope. She's truly brilliant. As is Hutchison in his understated performance.
In fact, all of the portrayals by this uniformly fine cast, including
Will Rogers as Lauren's would-be paramour Charlie, nail the awkward coming to wits angst inherently found both among those growing up and those who must deal with fragile youth in a very honest, straightforward manner.
Special mention must be made regarding
Allen Moyer's sliding set design, accentuated by
Pat Collins' subtle lighting, that effectively straddles the reality of home with the more vague, less certain outside world.
What really struck a chord with me is that for all the awkwardess that most youth must go through,
From Up Here gives immense direction by pointing the way out via a revelatory, resonating route that makes live theatre suddenly relevant again.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: From Up Here, Julie White, Leigh Silverman, Liz Flahive, Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway, Play, The SOB Review, Tobias Segal
2 - Gypsy
