10 Best Theater Productions of 2005

The Top 10 Theater Productions of 2005

1. The Light in The Piazza (dir/ Bartlett Sher) (NY) ****
2. Billy Elliott (dir/ Stephen Daldry) (London) ****
3. Pillowman (dir/ John Crowley) (NY) ***1/2
4. Dessa Rose (dir/ Graciela Daniele) (NY) ***1/2
5. Yellowman (dir/ Shirley Jo Finney) (LA) ***1/2
6. Altar Boyz (dir/ Stafford Arima) (NY) ***1/2
7. Urinetown (dir/ Eric Schaffer) (DC) ***1/2
8. Long Bridge Over Deep Waters (dir/Bill Rauch)(LA) ***1/2
9. The Drowsy Chaperone (dir/ Casey Nicholaw) (LA)***1/2
10. Mary Stuart (dir/ Phyllida Lloyd) (London) ***1/2


Dear Theater Fans:

If 2004 stood out as a year of outstanding new dramas, 2005 was remarkable for providing an unusually large number of outstanding new musicals, an occurrence that is exceedingly rare in this day and age.

The show that towers above all others in 2005 is an exquisite production of an intelligent, moving and beautiful show - Lincoln Center's The Light In The Piazza. Perhaps no show can truly be perfect, but this one comes closer to absolute perfection than any musical in recent memory. Victoria Clark's headlining performance is transcendent and should not be missed if you are in the New York area.

A close second to Piazza is yet another new musical, Billy Elliott, which is currently playing in London. The creators turned a successful film into an even more successful stage musical which tugs at the heartstrings in ways that feel entirely genuine. The show rests on the young shoulders of its title character, and the young performer I saw in London (Leon Cooke) carried the production to exciting heights. One can only hope that the producers bring this one to America soon, and that they are able to cast a young powerhouse in the lead role.

Other new musicals that made this year's top 10 include Dessa Rose, Altar Boyz, and US premiere (at the Ahmanson in LA) of the witty and entertaining The Drowsy Chaperone. All three shows offered something unique in a genre in which that quality is all too often lacking. Unique is also the right word for the re-invention of Urinetown that was accomplished at DC's Signature Theater.

The UK's National Theater production of Pillowman on Broadway took the highest play honors for 2005. The cast, headed by the outstanding Billy Crudup, was amazing in this chilling and challenging show. Together with last year's Doubt, Broadway had two of the finest new plays in many years running simultaneously. Also making the top 10 were the Los Angeles productions of Yellowman at the Fountain Theater, and Cornerstone's creative and engaging Long Bridge Over Deep Waters. London's Donmar Wharehouse expertly cast production of Mary Stuart rounded out this year's list.

I attended only 83 productions in 2005, down considerably from last year's 113 and a testament to my attempt to emphasize quality over quantity in my theatergoing activities. To those who have been receiving these year end reports for years, I hope you like the new "blog" format. I try to update this blog every month or two, in the event you want to check out my current rantings and ravings on shows I have seen.

Honorable Mentions

All Shook Up (NY); Apollo Part 1: Lesbensrum (Kirk Douglas); Golda's Balcony (Geffen); Measure for Measure (Old Globe of London at UCLA Live); Theater For A New Ear (UCLA Live)

Remarkable Returns to Shows First Viewed In Prior Years

Big River (Ahmanson); Doubt (NY)

2005's Top 10 Acting Performances

1. Victoria Clark (The Light In The Piazza)
2. Bob Martin (Drowsy Chaperone)
3. Mark Rylance (Measure for Measure)
4. Billy Crudup (Pillowman)
5. Harriet Walter (Mary Stuart)
6. Chris Butley (Yellowman)
7. Tovah Feldshuh (Golda's Balcony)
8. La Chanze (Dessa Rose)
9. Michael Stuhlberg (Pillowman)
10. Kelly O'Hare (The Light In The Piazza)

2005's 10 Biggest Disappointments

Thom Pain (based on nothing) which deserves a truth in advertising award for its title, as it was truly based on nothing, had nothing to say and was a major pain to endure; the NY Times rave for this off-Broadway witless drek remains beyond my grasp.

Happy End, which left me quite happy at its end; it was from the beginning to the end that left me considerably less than happy at this Pacific Resident Theater production.

We Will Rock You, a Las Vegas production whose tackiness made even the ultra-tasteless Vegas look classy and restrained by comparison.

Doubt at the Pasadena Playhouse, which was so bad that one would surely "doubt" that this was the same show that is currently playing on Broadway (directed by Doug Hughes, and the #1 show on last years' list) and is one of the finest Broadway dramas of the decade.

Hillbilly Antigone at the Lookinglass Theater in Chicago sounded like a dreadful title - the show was even more dreadful.

Nine Parts of Desire by the Geffen Playhouse left me only with the desire to bolt from the theater at the first opportunity.

Dead End was precisely that at the Ahmanson. A snooze-o-rama of the highest degree.

Open Window a Deaf West production at the Pasadena Playhouse was a major disappointment from the people who created Big River. This was one window that would have best been left closed to audiences.

Woman In White the new Andrew Lloyd Webber show that I caught in London failed to meet my extremely low expectations; its silly set projections that replace stage scenery still have me dizzy.

Grand Tour from the Colony Theater revived a failed Jerry Herman musical, apparently just to prove that this was one show that was best left forever undiscovered.