1. Sweeney Todd (NY/ Broadway) ****
2. Coast of Utopia: Voyage (NY/ Lincoln Center) ****
3. Shining City (NY/ Manhattan Theatre Club) ****
4. Rabbit Hole (NY/ Manhattan Theatre Club) ***1/2
5. All My Sons (LA/ Geffen Playhouse) ***1/2
6. Spring Awakening (NY/ Atlantic Theater) ***1/2
7. Awake and Sing (NY/ Lincoln Center) ***1/2
8. History Boys (NY/ Broadway) ***1/2
9. Lieutenant of Inishmore (NY/ Broadway)***1/2
10. Joe Turner's Come and Gone (LA/ Fountain Theater) ***1/2
Honorable Mentions
Blue Door (LA/ South Coast Rep); Eurydice (LA/ Circle X); Fences (LA/ Pasadena Playhouse); Man of No Importance (LA/ Musical Theater Guild); Jitney (LA); Super Vision (LA/ Redcat); Urinetown (LA/Interact)
Remarkable Returns to Shows First Viewed In Prior Years
Drowsy Chaperone (NY/ Broadway); Doubt (LA/Ahmanson)
Dear Theater Fans:
2006 was a very good year for theater in New York, but the same cannot be said for Los Angeles theater. This year's Top 10 list is dominated by Broadway productions, both new shows and revivals, with more Broadway shows landing in my top 10 this year than in any year in recent memory. By contrast, only two Los Angeles productions made this year's top 10, and both of those were revivals of modern classic dramas. If this year's list seems more geographically limited than in the past, the explanation is that my theatergoing was limited in 2006 to shows in New York and Los Angeles - no trips to London, Chicago or DC for me this year.
Two superlative productions on Broadway towered over all other shows I viewed in 2006, one a musical revival ("Sweeney Todd"), the other the first part of a new (to the US) Tom Stoppard trilogy ("Coast of Utopia: Voyage"). British director John Doyle's conceit of having the actors double as the on-stage orchestra worked perfectly for "Sweeney," and the entire show was an amazing conceptual revisioning of an often performed Sondheim show. It was mesmerizing from beginning to end. The same can be said for "Voyage" in which the dazzling production (headed by director Jack O'Brien) was outdone by the even more dazzling writing by Stoppard. I cannot wait to see parts 2 & 3 of this eight-hour-plus epic in 2007.
In addition to "Voyage," this year saw an abnormally high number of great dramatic plays, both new and revivals. In the new column were "Shining City," expertly directed by Robert Falls and starring Broadway's best current male actor - Brian O'Byrne; "Rabbit Hole" with a brave performance by Cynthia Nixon and seemless direction by Daniel Sullivan; Nicholas Hytner's UK National Theater import "History Boys"; and the audacious and very funny "Lieutenant of Inishmore."
As for dramatic play revivals, Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" at the Geffen Theater, led by an oustanding performance from Laurie Metcalf, provided a production of a play I have seen many times, but seemed like a different play than all of the prior productions. The Fountain Theater's production of August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" was a moving and apt tribute to the master playwright who sadly passed away in 2006. And Bartlett Sher, director of last year's #1 show, once again displayed his directorial skills with his illuminating revival of Odet's "Awake and Sing," centered by a bravura performance from Zoe Wannamaker.
The sole new musical to make this year's list is "Spring Awakening," which I saw off-Broadway before its recent move to a much larger Broadway house. This is a fresh, vibrant rock musical that while not perfect, is a refreshing departure from just about every new musical to hit Broadway in the past several years. If you are in New York, do yourself a favor and see this show which provides hope that the future of musical theater will not be populated only with revivals and new shows that parody the form.
I attended 87 productions in 2006, up just 4 from last year. I am keeping with the blog format for this year's list, and hope you find it convenient. For those who have visited this site over the past year, my updates to this blog have been admittedly scattered. I will try to do better in 2007. Before closing this year's theater letter, I wanted to mention how thrilled and pleased I was with the new screen adaptation of the stage musical "Dreamgirls." Although I liked that show on stage, the material works even better as a movie. And Jennifer Hudson's performance - in a word, incredible. Run and see "Dreamgirls" in the midst of what I hope is a great holiday and new year.
2005's Top 10 Acting Performances
1. Christine Ebersole (Grey Gardens)
2. Cynthia Nixon (Rabbit Hole)
3. Zoe Wanamaker (Awake and Sing)
4. Ian McDiarmid (Faith Healer)
5. Adolphus Ward (Joe Turner's Come and Gone)
6. Jennifer Ehle (Coast of Utopia: Voyage)
7. Laurence Fishburne (Fences)
8. Laurie Metcalf (All My Sons)
9. Mary Louise Wilson (Grey Gardens)
10. Frances de la Tour (History Boys)
2006's Biggest Disappointments
"The Cherry Orchard" starring Annette Benning at the Mark Taper Forum was an impossible ticket to score due to her presence. You could have had my ticket, and I would have preferred to have slept at home rather than in my seat at the Taper.
"Company" has its fans, but I thought this Broadway revival was the worst of the many productions I have seen of this show. John Doyle's actors as orchestra concept felt like an out of place gimmick that caused this production to feel removed and chilly. Note to Mr. Doyle: that chill was perfect for "Sweeney Todd," but made for Company that I would rather not have visited.
"Light In The Piazza," in the form of the current national touring company was beyond disturbing to me. A horribly miscast Christine Andreas in the lead role of Margaret turned my #1 show of last year into a mediocre event that reveals just how critical Victoria Clark's performance was to this show.
"Little Dog Laughed" may have left many people laughing off and on Broadway, but I was not one of them. A trite, overworn plot with trite, overworn sitcom-ish jokes about gay people does not a funny evening make, IMHO.
"Vertical Hour," in its world premiere Broadway engagement, left me wishing I was horizontal so that I could catch up on my sleep without being intermittently woken by some fine acting by the talented Bill Nighy. Julianne Moore was beyond awful, and I kept wanting to go on stage to rescue her from this mess of a play by one of my favorite playwrights, David Hare.
"Wedding Singer" proves that just when you think Broadway musicals cannot get any more trite and unimaginatively derivative, they do.
"Zhivago" at La Jolla Playhouse was said to be Broadway bound. Yeah, right, like the Titanic was bound for New York. In addition, [reread comment above for "Wedding Singer," starting with the word "proves"].
