SOB’s Best Of 2008-09: Top Ten Of The YearOver the past week, I've offered up my "Best Of" lists for four of the five major stage categories observed by the Tony Awards, including
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 the 2008-09 Theatrical Season:
10 - 9 To 5 Venue: Marquis Theatre, New York, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: 9 To 5 wins by being so thoroughly and consistently entertaining. Not only exceedingly fun and funny, but
Dolly Parton has delivered one of this season's most melodic scores, with plenty of tunes to keep you humming long after departing the theatre. You'd be hard pressed not to revel in
9 To 5's frivolity.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Allison Janney,
Stephanie J. Block and
Megan Hilty, as well as
Marc Kudisch and
Kathy Fitzgerald.
Status: Open-ended run.
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
9 - The Cripple Of InishmaanVenue: Linda Gross Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, New York, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: Martin McDonagh's
The Cripple Of Inishmaan crackled with wit and pathos. With frequent McDonagh collaborator
Garry Hynes at the helm, the playwright intrigues with his surprising compassion for humanity.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Excellent ensemble, but special nods to
Aaron Monaghan and
David Pearce.
Status: Closed after enjoying extended limited run.
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ***)
8 - next to normal Venue: Booth Theatre, New York, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: With a fierce, electrifying direction from
Michael Greif,
Brian Yorkey and
Tom Kitt’s
next to normal is nothing if not atypical for Great White Way musical fare. But in tackling mental illness and its continued social stigma head-on,
next to normal marks a welcome if downright shocking departure for Broadway.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Alice Ripley,
J. Robert Spencer,
Aaron Tveit and
Jennifer Damiano.
Status: Open-ended run.
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
7 - The VisitVenue: Max Theatre, Signature, Arlington, Virginia
Top 10 Worthiness: John Kander and the late
Fred Ebb's spellbinding "new" musical
The Visit read like a who's who of the stage, including
Terrence McNally with his shrewdly clever book,
Ann Reinking for her captivating choreography and fine direction from
Frank Galati. Kander & Ebb's score proved a formidible co-star.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Chita Rivera,
George Hearn,
Jeremy Webb,
Mark Jacoby and
James Harms.
Status: Closed last summer after limited run. Initially rumored to be New York-bound, but economy seems to have placed those plans on hold.
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
6 - Speed-The-PlowVenue: Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: When
David Mamet's good, he's just about as stimulating and entertaining as any playwright can be. He's the real deal. In
Neil Pepe's astounding and absorbing revival of Mamet's gutbusting
Speed-The-Plow, this is almost as good as it gets.
Exceptional Standout Performance: Raúl Esparza.
Status: Closed after a tumultuous limited run in which star who shall not be named left show to become "a thermometer."
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
5 - IvanovVenue: Wyndham's Theatre, London, United Kingdom
Top 10 Worthiness: Michael Grandage's West End revival of
Anton Chekhov's
Ivanov was so vibrant and alive with pleasure, brimming with dark humor throughout, that I found myself completely rapt with attention. With excellent new adaptation from
Tom Stoppard,
Ivanov was both entertaining and enlightening, soaring with one of the year's best ensembles on either side of the Atlantic.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Excellent ensemble led by
Kenneth Branagh and
Gina McKee.
Status: Closed after limited London run. I'm hoping beyond hope that a transfer may be in the works to Broadway, but it may merely be a pipe dream.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
4 - Superior DonutsVenue: Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, Illinois
Top 10 Worthiness: Tracy Letts' profoundly moving new play
Superior Donuts intelligently combats some urban myths about race and feels genuine, gritty and real, right down to its climactic brawl. There's plenty of humanity and heart to be found deep inside of this thoughtful and entertaining play.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Excellent ensemble led by
Michael McKean and
Jon Michael Hill.
Status: Initial world premiere run at
Steppenwolf closed last summer, but the show has been
confirmed for a Broadway bow this fall.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
3 - A Little Night MusicVenue: Menier Chocolate Factory, London, United Kingdom
Top 10 Worthiness: There's pure heaven found in
Trevor Nunn's gorgeous London revival of
A Little Night Music. It enveloped every one of my senses like a welcome salve for these troubled times. Transcending all expectations, only a heart of stone could not be moved by
Stephen Sondheim's ravishing score and
Hugh Wheeler's über-clever book.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Hannah Waddingham,
Maureen Lipman and
Gabriel Vick.
Status: Currently enjoying a transferred run in London's West End. Rumored to be heading to Broadway later this year.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
2 - Our TownVenue: Barrow Street Theatre, New York, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: Thornton Wilder’s classic stage drama
Our Town has never looked better. Stripped down to its bare essentials by director
David Cromer, it's hard to imagine live theatre could get anymore intimate than this. Making the case against living in the past, this mind-blowing production simply can’t be missed.
Status: Limited run scheduled through September 27, 2009.
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
1 - The Norman ConquestsVenue: The Circle in the Square Theatre, New York, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: Alan Ayckbourn's uproariously hilarious
The Norman Conquests cuts with remarkable, exacting precision, but it also slices and dices its six fully-rounded characters in this jujitsu of love.
Matthew Warchus' brilliant direction of each installment makes each story accessible and comprehensible in its own right. Yet it's only after seeing all three that all the complex pieces truly come together as an unequivocal masterpiece. This is the best show I've seen all year
anywhere.
Exceptional Standout Performances: The entire ensemble:
Amelia Bullmore,
Jessica Hynes,
Stephen Mangan,
Ben Miles,
Paul Ritter and
Amanda Root.
Status: Limited run through July 25, 2009, but don't be surprised if this is extended by popular demand.
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).
Labels: 9 To 5, A Little Night Music, Ivanov, Next To Normal, Our Town, SOB's Best of 2008-09, Speed-The-Plow, Superior Donuts, The Cripple Of Inishmaan, The Norman Conquests, The Visit
SOB's Best Of 2008-09: Best Plays RevivalsDuring the past year, I've had over 70 opportunities to take in a wide range of musicals, plays and "special theatrical events."
If last year was the "Year of the Play," then this one would have to be the "Year of the Play Revival." Over the last twelve months, I saw 17 revivals of plays of varying degree, but on the whole, an unusually large number of them completely captivated and enthralled me, making this "5 Best" list the toughest to select. And, incredibly enough, I haven't yet seen the well-reviewed revivals of
Mary Stuart,
Waiting For Godot or presidential favorite
Joe Turner's Come And Gone -- all are vying with my favorite show of the year for the Tony in the category of Best Revival of a Play.
No wonder I acted so viscerally when
I read that that important honor would be relegated to the pre-Tony telecast this Sunday. With the best shows of the year being revivals, aren't they particularly deserving of prime time love?
UPDATED (6.5.09, 1:50 p.m. EDT): WOW!!! Actor Kevin Spacey tells us via@
KevinSpacey: "Great news theatre lovers. Got official word that the Tony Awards have reconsidered and Best Play Revival will now be on the telecast on CBS." That's the best news I've heard today.
So, without any further ado, drumroll, please:
5 - The Cripple Of Inishmaan (Linda Gross Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, New York, New York)
Who would have thought that a play so politically incorrectly named would be so powerfully funny, yet demonstrate heart?
As revived as a joint project by New York's
Atlantic Theater Company and Ireland's
Druid Theatre Company of Galway,
Martin McDonagh's
The Cripple Of Inishmaan crackled with wit and pathos. With frequent McDonagh collaborator
Garry Hynes at the helm, the two have spun an exceptional yarn.
David Pearce was superb as Inishmaan gossip JohnnyPateenMike, who never met a rumor he didn't like to exploit.
McDonagh intrigues with his compassion for humanity. Along with his rich humor, outstanding cast and Hynes' loving direction, this able play easily ranked among the year's better revivals.
4 - Speed-The-Plow (Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York, New York)
When
David Mamet's good, he's just about as stimulating and entertaining as any playwright can be. He's the real deal.
In
Neil Pepe's astounding and absorbing revival of Mamet's gutbusting
Speed-The-Plow, this is almost as good as it gets.
By the time I saw the show,
William H. Macy was the second actor in as many months to take over the juicy role as Bobby Gould. Macy was good, but he couldn't outfox the monumentally stunning
Raúl Esparza as Charlie Fox as they sparred over Hollywood scripts and Tinseltown's ability -- or lack thereof -- in making cinematic art. Once again, Esparza is an amazing revelation, a genius consistently delivering an excellent performance and then some.
3 - Ivanov (Wyndham's Theatre, London, United Kingdom)
The
Michael Grandage-helmed West End revival of
Anton Chekhov's
Ivanov was so vibrant and alive with pleasure, brimming with dark humor throughout, that I found myself completely rapt with attention.
With excellent new adaptation from
Tom Stoppard,
Ivanov was both entertaining and enlightening, soaring with one of the year's best ensembles on either side of the Atlantic.
Kenneth Branagh was absolutely brilliant in the title role, but it was the breathtaking
Gina McKee who turned in one of the year's most heartfelt performances, radiating enough warmth to melt the icy bitterness from any Russian town, past or present.
With uniformly scintillating performances from a sterling cast that didn't take itself too seriously, there's no doubt why
Donmar Warehouse's superb
Ivanov was
the West End's must-see sensation this fall.
2 - Our Town (Barrow Street Theatre, New York, New York)
Hands-down, the best show I had seen all year -- that is, right up until I caught the show at number one.
Thornton Wilder’s classic stage drama
Our Town has never looked better.
Stripped down to its bare essentials by director
David Cromer, this exquisite revival moves all about the audience with an unforced urgency. It's hard to imagine live theatre could get anymore intimate than this. Wilder’s heartfelt words never seemed truer or more genuine, which is refreshing considering how
Michele Spadaro's deceptively spare stage design gives way to one last breath of real life, which itself ultimately proves a veritable feast for and in all senses.
Making the case against living in the past, this mind-blowing production simply can’t be missed.
1 - The Norman Conquests (The Circle in the Square Theatre, New York, New York)
Alan Ayckbourn's uproariously hilarious
The Norman Conquests cuts with remarkable, exacting precision, but it also slices and dices its six fully-rounded characters in this jujitsu of love.
Just when you think you have the first portion of this trilogy figured out, one intriguing layer after another is carefully stripped away to reveal more of Ayckbourn's intricately woven story. Each character's motives are eventually cut to the core. And they aren't necessarily what they seem.
Matthew Warchus' brilliant direction of each installment --
Table Manners,
Living Together and
Round And Round The Garden -- makes each story accessible and comprehensible in its own right. Yet it's only after seeing all three that all the complex pieces truly come together as an unequivocal masterpiece.
Rising to the challenge of Ayckbourn's pure genius, Warchus helms an excellent cast offering a breathtaking master class in nuanced ensemble acting. Each actor so fully inhabits his or her character that their exceptional use of body language is amplified just as effortlessly as their voices.
Not only did I find myself on the edge of my seat, but miraculously, I found myself not wanting it ever to end. It's every bit as funny as it is sublime.
The Norman Conquests is the best show on Broadway or anywhere else I've been over the last year.
So what were the best revivals of 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).
Labels: Best Revival of Plays, Broadway, Ivanov, London, Off-Broadway, Our Town, Play, SOB's Best of 2008-09, Speed-The-Plow, The Cripple Of Inishmaan, The Norman Conquests
Ivanov (The SOB Review) - Wyndham's Theatre, London, United Kingdom**** (out of ****)My recent experience of taking in the boring Broadway revival of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull notwithstanding, I was dreading seeing another of the playwright's works so soon after landing in London.
After all, I had very little sleep on the flight across the pond, and the idea of taking in any matinee one day after gave me tremendous pause. How on earth was I going to stay awake?
Fortunately, the
Michael Grandage-helmed revival of Chekhov's
Ivanov was so vibrant and alive with pleasure, brimming with dark humor throughout, that I found myself completely rapt with attention. With excellent new adaptation from
Tom Stoppard,
Ivanov soars higher than any seagull dares fly.
I'll go even further to say that boredom was never this much fun. Entertaining and enlightening, literally and figuratively (nicely underscored by
Paule Constable's gorgeous lighting design), this play about the bored upper classes drew requisite comic relief for its allusions to our current financial doom and gloom.
Even better,
Ivanov captures ballast from one of the year's best ensembles on either side of the Atlantic. Yes, today's contemporary Laurence Olivier
Kenneth Branagh was absolutely brilliant in the title role, but this actor's actor clearly knows how to graciously share a stage. Chief among them is the breathtaking
Gina McKee as
Ivanov 's long-suffering, gravely ill wife Anna Petrovna. McKee turns in one of the year's most heartfelt performances, radiating enough warmth to melt the icy bitterness from any Russian town, past or present.
With uniformly scintillating performances from a sterling cast that doesn't take itself too seriously, there's no doubt why
Donmar Warehouse's superb
Ivanov is the West End's must-see sensation this fall.
Eat your heart out
Ben Brantley -- this is the real deal. I can only hope this revival receives a Broadway transfer.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Anton Chekov, Gina McKee, Ivanov, Kenneth Branagh, London, Michael Grandage, Paule Constable, Play, Revival, The Seagull, The SOB Review, Tom Stoppard
Ivanov AfternoonWhile today's
big theatrical event (for me) is reserved for this evening, this afternoon will find me taking in one of London's hottest tickets.
At the behest of
Modern Fabulousity, I snared tickets to see
Kenneth Branagh perform in the title role of a new revival for
Anton Chekhov's
Ivanov. Helmed by
Michael Grandage, this "new version" of the classic play is supplied by none other than the estimable
Tom Stoppard. This
Donmar Warehouse production is also being performed as the launch of the theatre company's year-long residency at Wyndham's Theatre.
While described by many London critics as a "must see," the assessment mattering most to me was from the real arbiters of West End taste: the West End Whingers. I was relieved to
read in their review:
Although Act 1 was distinctly un-gripping, Act 2 was better and good enough to get the Whingers back after the interval. It got grippier and grippier and by Act 4 the Whingers were having a whale of a time.
If not a whale of a time, I'm hoping my decision to reel in some tickets at least proves to be time well spent.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).Labels: Anton Chekov, Donmar Warehouse, Ivanov, Kenneth Branagh, London, Michael Grandage, Modern Fabulousity, Play, Revival, Tom Stoppard, West End Whingers
