SOB's Best Of 2009-10: Top Ten Of The YearOver the last couple days, I've offered up my "Best Of" lists for each of the four major stage categories honored by the Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revivals, Best Play Revivals, Best New Musicals and Best New Plays.
Now, before this evening's Tony Awards are bestowed, 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 2009-10 Theatrical Season (ending April 30, 2010):
10 - A Streetcar Named DesireVenue: Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: Liv Ullmann's crackling revival of
Tennessee Williams'
A Streetcar Named Desire became a must-see event not only because it starred the magnificent
Cate Blanchett, but also because it so forthrightly showcased this classic work for what it is -- one of the best plays ever written.
Exceptional Standout Performance: Cate Blanchett
Status: Closed late 2010
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
9 - Fences
Venue: Cort Theatre, New York City, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: In
Kenny Leon's exceptional revival of
August Wilson's monumental
Fences,
Denzel Washington excels in delivering a solid line drive as former baseball player Troy Maxson -- once a player, always a player. Yet as Troy's wife Rose,
Viola Davis hits this one out of the park with the most extraordinary, heartwrenching performance of the year.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.
Status: Limited run through July 11, 2010
SOB Review Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
8 - The Full MontyVenue: McKnight Theatre, Theatre Latté Da, Ordway Center For The Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota
Top 10 Worthiness: In one of those rarest of rarities,
Theater Latté Da's excellent and thoroughly enjoyable revival of
The Full Monty was actually much better than the Broadway original. Under
Peter Rothstein's exceptional, confident direction,
Terrence McNally's book and
David Yazbek's underrated score became even more salient, all the more emotionally gripping and certainly more entertaining today.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Wendy Lehr and
Randy SchmelingStatus: Closed last fall after limited run
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
7 - Brighton Beach Memoirs
Venue: Nederlander Theatre, New York City, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: Nothing could have prepared me for the earnest and devastating charms found in
Neil Simon's superb
Brighton Beach Memoirs. This semi-autobiographical period piece received an excellent (though sadly short-lived) Broadway revival, flawlessly executed by director
David Cromer. Through
Brighton Beach Memoirs, Cromer further burnished his credentials as a brilliant, visionary master at breathing vigorous new life into classic material.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Laurie Metcalf,
Noah Robbins and
Santino FontanaStatus: Closed last fall the Sunday after it opened
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
6 - Superior Donuts Venue: Music Box Theatre, New York City, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: Tracy Letts' tasty and satisfying
Superior Donuts may have appeared on my list last year, but since he and director
Tina Landau further sharpened this dramatic comedy for its Broadway bow, the play once again earns its place on my list.
Superior Donuts ostensibly left its audience with hope and an entreaty to wake up to the world around us, give a damn and take a stand.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Michael McKean and
Jon Michael HillStatus: Closed at the beginning of this year
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
5 - Twelfth NightVenue: Delacorte Theatre, Central Park, New York City, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: Love was in the air, and that breeze blowing straight through Central Park was
William Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night.
Daniel Sullivan’s gorgeous gender-bending revival was brimming with bawdy charms and an extraordinary ensemble. I walked out of Central Park both enthralled and enchanted.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Anne Hathaway,
Raúl Esparza,
Audra MacDonald and
David PittuStatus: Closed last summer after limited run
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
4 - The Brother / Sister Plays
Venue: Upstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, Illinois
Top 10 Worthiness: The Brother / Sister Plays,
Tarell Alvin McCraney's excellent and deeply poetic trilogy, cast an unusally enthralling spell over me through its lyrical power. Standing as a towering achievement, not only for the incredibly young yet wise-beyond-his-years playwright, but also for its outstanding ensemble,
The Brother / Sister Plays may ultimately prove to be the most important new work of this new decade.
Exceptional Standout Performances: K. Todd Freeman and
Alana ArenasStatus: Closed this spring after limited run
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
3 - RuinedVenue: New York City Center Stage I
Top 10 Worthiness: What playwright
Lynn Nottage and director
Kate Whoriskey have achieved with the heartstopping and excellent
Ruined was nothing short of monumental. They skillfully succeeded in placing many a human face on those who are grossly dehumanized, even if it ranks as one of the most difficult plays I ever sat through.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Portia,
Quincy Tyler Bernstine and
Russell G. JonesStatus: Closed last summer after multiple extensions
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
2 - RedVenue: John Golden Theatre, New York City, New York
Top 10 Worthiness: John Logan's magnificent
Red, masterfully directed by
Michael Grandage, has forever changed how I'll view abstract art, particularly that of artist
Mark Rothko. A modern-day masterpiece imported directly from London's
Donmar Warehouse,
Red intrigues and titillates the senses with its potent examination of the internal conflicts Rothko may have endured.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Alfred Molina and
Eddie RedmayneStatus: Limited run scheduled through June 27, 2010
SOB Review Rating: **** (out of ****)
1 - Brief EncounterVenue: McGuire Proscenium, Guthrie, Minne-apolis, Minnesota
Top 10 Worthiness: The all too
Brief Encounter stands out as the most magnificent entertainment production I saw anywhere this year.
As its conceit, director
Emma Rice ingeniously builds on the precepts from the Oscar-nominated
1945 motion picture written by
Noël Coward about two married individuals who enjoy a chance meeting in a train station only to find themselves swept away in a mad love affair. Silver screen images are shown on the stage, but it's seemlessly brought to life with a captivating fusion with live theatre. Topping off this delectable treat is a perfect blend of music from the era that breaks the fourth wall.
To say much more beyond this doesn't seem fair because this excellent production has to be seen to be believed and fully appreciated. But I'll add one more thing. It took
Brief Encounter's spellbinding trip back in time to catch a glimpse of the future in entertainment and the integral role projection designs -- like those offered here by
Gemma Carrington and
Jon Driscoll to mesmerizing, dramatic effect -- can have in stage productions.
Fortunately, Broadway
audiences will have their chance this fall to encounter this excellent work that defies description. And don't be surprised if there's further call for a new Tony Award category to be created for Best Projection Design. It's an element that's here to stay.
Exceptional Standout Performances: Hannah Yelland and
Milo TwomeyStatus: Closed in April after limited run. Production will be mounted this fall at Broadway's Studio 54
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).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: A Streetcar Named Desire, Brief Encounter, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Fences, Red, Ruined, SOB's Best of 2009-10, Superior Donuts, The Brother/Sister Plays, The Full Monty, Twelfth Night
SOB's Best Of 2009-10: Best Musical RevivalsDuring the 2009-10 Theatrical Season, I've had the opportunity to see over 80 performances of a wide range of new and revived musicals and plays, as well as other theatrical events.
This year's musical revivals were, on the whole, better -- if only marginally -- than the season's new musicals, but there were some major misfires among them. Yet there were some real gems I was fortunate enough to see.
So, without further ado, here is my list of the "5 Best Musical Revivals" over the 12 months ending April 30, 2010:
5 - Ragtime (Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, New York)
Few musicals have captured the shifting American landscape inherently contained at the dawn of the 20th Century as powerfully as
Stephen Flaherty and
Lynn Ahrens' underappreciated heartfelt musical
Ragtime.
In
Marcia Milgrom Dodge's genuinely moving yet short-lived new revival,
Christiane Noll imbued her Mother with grace, dignity and substance. She was complemented by
Bobby Steggert's brilliant performance as her younger brother.
4- A Little Night Music (Walter Kerr Theatre, New York City, New York)
Yes,
Trevor Nunn's revival of
Stephen Sondheim's glorious
A Little Night Music was at the
top of my list last year, but since the Broadway production feels so different, I'm judging this incarnation on its own. While this nearly replicated staging of the London work hardly fills the stage and could have --
should have -- been scaled appropriately upward, it mostly works because of the splendid score and ingenious storyline.
While the incandescent
Catherine Zeta-Jones' megawatt star power certainly lights up the stage, albeit with a similarly forced "I'll prove to them I'm up to the challenge" moxie she demonstrated in "
Chicago," it's
Angela Lansbury (Madame Armfeldt) who commands the stage every time she's on it. It's pure bliss to see her return to Broadway in a musical role, and it's more than enough to land the revival on my list.
3 - Disney's Beauty And The Beast (Main Hall, Ordway Center For The Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota)
Sure, the tale is as old as time. But St. Paul's Ordway made
Disney's Beauty And The Beast revival seem like new again. In a surprising delight,
Robert Johanson's incredibly fresh and fully-realized revival was stunning with spirited acting, boisterous singing and rousing choreography.
Jeremiah James brought exceptional depth to the role of the Beast, humanizing him with tremendous skill. The comedic triple threat
Jonathan Burgard succeeded in stealing practically every scene by adding real muscle to his Gaston. They helped make this
Beauty And The Beast offering a feast for the eyes to behold.
2 - La Cage Aux Folles (Longacre Theatre, New York City, New York)
Revived with unmistakable sparkle, however tarnished, by director Terry
Johnson, this downsized
La Cage Aux Folles is what it is. It's a solid period piece populated with men who may dress in drag, but have more guts, ironically enough, in coming to terms with who they are than their less flamboyant counterparts.
Harvey Fierstein's book and
Jerry Herman's glorious tunes get to the heart of how any relationship, gay or straight, endures. And as performed by
Kelsey Grammer (Georges) and
Douglas Hodge (Albin), it's not only deeply moving, it's practically heartbreaking. Hodge in particular scores with his defiantly scorching rendition of "I Am What I Am."
1 - The Full Monty (McKnight Theatre, Theatre Latté Da, Ordway Center For The Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota)
Last fall, I offered just two words to my dear readers: "Drop everything" to get to St. Paul to see
The Full Monty.
In one of those rarest of rarities,
Theater Latté Da's excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production was actually much better than the
Broadway original.
Under
Peter Rothstein's exceptional, confident direction,
Terrence McNally's book and
David Yazbek's underrated score became even more salient, all the more gripping and certainly more entertaining today.
Rothstein's direction was a marvel unto itself. In what was his best production yet, he stripped
The Full Monty down to its grittiest, barest essentials and dressed it up with one of the best ensembles I saw anywhere this past year. No wonder so many Minnesotans shook their money-makers over to the Ordway to catch this sexy, fun and uplifting
Full Monty.
So what were the best new revivals of musicals
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).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: A Little Night Music, Beauty And The Beast, La Cage Aux Folles, Ragtime, SOB's Best of 2009-10, The Full Monty
The Full Monty (The SOB Review) - McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota**** (out of ****)If you live in the Twin Cities, I have just two words for you:
"Drop everything."
Sure, go ahead and drop trou and all, but do what you must to see
The Full Monty now playing at St. Paul's
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In one of those rarest of rarities,
Theater Latté Da's excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production is actually much better than the Broadway original.
Sure there was a relatively mild recession going on when I first saw
The Full Monty on Broadway nine years ago. With the ravages much more isolated to hard-hit rust-belt cities like Buffalo, the show lacked a certain relevance. It didn't help that
Jack O'Brien's direction lacked a desperately needed edge, exacerbated by the incongruity in
Howell Binkley's full-tilt, lit-up "Full Monty" sign at the close of the show.
Fast forward nearly nine years and the economic pain is all around us (with the possible exception of Broadway itself). The truth is, we all now know people like those depicted in
The Full Monty. How depressing, right?
As the worst recession since the Great Depression has too many of us worrying about whether we're next, you wouldn't think a show about desperately unemployed factory workers daring to take it all off just to earn a quick $50,000 would resonate or thrill. Yet under
Peter Rothstein's exceptional, confident direction,
Terrence McNally's book and
David Yazbek's underrated score become even more salient, all the more gripping and certainly more entertaining today.
Rothstein's direction is a marvel unto itself. In what is his best production yet, he strips
The Full Monty down to its grittiest, barest essentials and dresses it up with one of the best ensembles I've seen anywhere this year. Led by
Joshua James Campbell, who's perfect as the down-and-out father Jerry Lukowski, the stellar cast shines just fine on its own, thank you, without any fancy, unnecessary lighting.
Veteran Twin Cities actress
Wendy Lehr is a veritable laugh machine unto herself as the wisecracking Jeanette Burmeister, who assists the unlikely stripping quintet find its legs. Clearly having the time of her life, Lehr practically steals every scene she's in.
Additionally,
Reggie Phoenix scores big as Noah "Horse" Simmons,
Zach Curtis is a big ol' fat delight as Dave Bukatinsky, and as Malcolm MacGregor,
Randy Schmeling once again delivers a virtuoso performance you'd expect to see on a Broadway stage (in fact, this entire production is worthy of the Great White Way). Schmeling's heartfelt, nuanced turn will leave a lump in your throat and tear in your eye.
So again, if you're in Minneapolis, St. Paul or environs, shake your money-maker over the Ordway and catch this sexy, fun and uplifting
Full Monty before it takes off for good on November 8.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Peter Rothstein, Revival, Terrence McNally, The Full Monty
Broadway’s Heart 'N Seoul
Ever doubt the continued power or global reach of the Great White Way? Well, halfway around the world in Seoul, South Korea, I learned that some Broadway’s more enduring recent productions are a hit here, too.
During my just concluded 24 hour visit here earlier today, I was surprised to learn that such popular American musicals as
The Full Monty and
The Lion King are currently gracing Seoul’s stages, as is that popular British import
Evita.
The Lion King is playing at Seoul’s Charlotte Theatre through December 31 with tickets ranging from approximately $40 US to $100 US, while
Evita is performing at the LG Art Center through January 31, with tickets priced from about $45 US to $70 US. Both
The Lion King and
Evita advertise that their scores are being sung in Korean.
Additionally, just in time for New Year’s,
Grease is making a return to the Korean stage with a score that’s also sung entirely in Korean.
On top of all the decidedly Western theatre, there is also the much more traditional Korean theatre, including the home-grown musical
The Last Empress, playing at the Haeorum Theater (National Theater of Korea) through December 24:
Original musical production is scheduled to delight musical lovers of all ages with its heart-wrenching tale of a tragic Korean queen at the eve of a Japanese incursion into Joseon. Queen Min is a historical figure best known for her resistance against Japanese influence in Joseon’s royal court.”
To be honest,
The Last Empress sounds much more appealing than the Broadway-bound
The Pirate Queen.
Perhaps due to the ongoing American military presence here, there is a surprising plethora of Western-influenced fare, including one English language production with a rather inspired premise that just completed it run in Itaewon. Called
And They Used To Be Stars, the play is described as “a comedy that deals with fame, celebrity, drug addiction, infidelity and friendship. Their names? Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. They were huge…so what happened to them?” Sounds tantalizingly subversive, although I seriously doubt Disney would allow a show like this to move forward in America uncontested.
Getting a huge amount of pre-opening publicity is that aforementioned venerable hit
Grease. In a
story in Saturday’s Joong Ang Daily -- Korea’s English language news partner to the
International Herald Tribune -- reporter Lee Ho-jeong reports on its impending opening just before New Year’s:
The T-Birds of Rydell High are oiling up for the upcoming musical Grease, which
will begin on December 30 at the Dong Soong Art Center.
Grease became popular as a movie with the same title, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. If you like rock-and-roll then ending the year with this internationally acclaimed musical may be a good idea.
This version of Grease will be performed by Korean artists, including Hong Rocky, Korea’s most adored comedian.
Hong was one of the original cast members when the musical debuted in Korea in May 2003 -- he played Danny Zuko’s best friend Kenickie. He will be playing the same character in this year’s musical, which has already received good reviews in provincial theaters.
This version of the show ran until November 17 at a theater near Konkuk University. The new Danny, Kim San-ho, will be performing the lead character. According to OD Musical Company, which is staging the musical, their Grease shows have created future stars, including Oh Man-seok, who became a television celebrity this year after appearing in the television drama “Vineyard Man.” The musical is set for an open run, with no pre-set closing date.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time during my visit to take in any theatre, and it’s likely that if I did, I would have opted to see something more uniquely Korean. For what’s the purpose of going to a distant land if you stick too tightly to your own culture?
Speaking of which, I have to admit that I was completely put off by the ubiquity of such American fare as McDonald’s and Starbucks in Seoul. But as for theatre -- while I doubt that I’d take in Western-style entertainment unless I was living here a long time -- Broadway is positively making this big world seem just a little bit smaller and arguably remains one of our better exports.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Evita, Grease, International, Musical, The Full Monty, The Lion King
