As a general matter, theatrically speaking this year was a significant improvement over the last one, and I had no trouble finding 10 plus productions for my annual year end list. 2024 may be most notable for the fresh and innovative revivals of existing works. However, I remain deeply concerned about the future of substanial new non-musical plays, but thanks to several nonprofit theaters in NY & Chicago several excellent new dramas made their way onto the stage in 2024 and onto this list.
In order of preference my favorite shows of 2024 were:
1. "CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL"[PAC NYC]/ "SUNSET BOULEVARD"
Two revivals of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals topping a list of my favorite shows in any year is a real theatrical "pigs fly" moment for me, but these two revivals provided the most unexpected joy (in the case of "Cats") and awe-induced wonder at the thematically astute stage wizardry (in "Sunset") than I experienced in a theater this year . Both shows were transportive in the best way imaginable, credit for which must be given to their directors (Zhailon Livingston & Bill Rauch for "Cats" and the Jamie Lloyd Company for "Sunset"). In a year in which trans people were politically scapegoated and reality was twisted and subverted for craven ends, it was unquestionably thrilling to see (in "Cats") a trans performer regally transported to the heavyside layer and experience (in "Sunset") the artifice of the reality bending camera being theatrically exposed.
2. "RAGTIME" [Encores at NY City Center]
When well performed, the Ahrens/Flaherty musical "Ragtime" is a potent mixture of unbounded optimism, followed by crushing defeat by sinisiter forces, ending with declarations of courageous defiance. With an outstanding cast and orchestra, Lear deBessonant's two week revial of "Ragtime" was extremely well performed and then some, but seeing this just days after the crushing Nov. 5 losses highlighted that the potent mixture described above essentially describes the beats I experienced in the recent election. For me, and I venture to say for the audibly sobbing audience I saw this with, this revival proved to be a cathartic balm that, together with the astounding performance of Joshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker, will hopefully help us make it through the next four years.
3. "LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD"/"PURPOSE" [Steppenwolf Theatre/ Chicago]
Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre 23/24 season hosted world premieres of the two finest new American dramas I saw in 2024. Both audacious, funny, beautifully written (by, respectively, two of my favorite contemporary playwrights, Samuel D. Hunter and Brandon Jacobs Jenkins) and expertly cast, "Little Bear" broke my heart and "Purpose" enagingly explored many of the societal fractures that plague us today. Both plays deserve NY runs and serious consideration for the 2025 Pulitzer for Drama.
4. "OUR TOWN"
I did not think I needed to see another production of Thorton Wilder's classic play, but director Kenny Leon and his fine cast proved to me that new and abundant riches were to be found in this smartly quick, fluid and gorgeously rendered revival that touched me at the core of my being.
5. "MOTHER PLAY"
Paula Vogel's semi-autobiographical play melded Vogel's rich writing, Jessica Lange's tour-de-force lead performance and Tina Landau's expert direction into a potent brew of a deeply empathetic late 20th century memory play that played too few performances to meet the strong audience demand.
6. "THE OUTSIDERS"
While the cast, book and score of this new musical provide many pleasures, the biggest star of this engaging and exciting production is the muscular and fluid direction by Danya Taymor, who working with her fine choreographers (Rick & Jeff Kuperman) conjure up the most memorable and affecting stage fight I have witnessed.
7. "BAD KREYÒL" [Signature Theatre]
Dominique Morisseau's entertaining and excellent new play is a multi-layered look at the familial and societal fissures that are exposed when a young Hatian-American woman visits her Haitan born and based cousin.
8. "THE EFFECT" [The Shed]/ "ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE"
Both of these plays are revivals of works I have previously seen in much weaker productions, and here the elevation of these plays is largely due to Jamie Lloyd's exciting direction of the "The Effect" and Amy Herzog's urgent adapatation and Sam Gold's crystal clear direction of Ibsen's "Enemy."
9. "YELLOW FACE"
Another big surprise for me, as I had previously seen the 2009 world premiere of this David Henry Hwang play in Los Angeles. My memory of the uneven 2009 production was that it was too navel gazey of its author, but substantial rewrites and time assisted perspective have greatly improved the humor, wisdom and universality of the play's themes. A pitch-perfect cast also helped.
10. "ILLINOISE"
An innovative jukebox dance-ical that brings to life Sufjan Stevens' 2005 album of the (almost) same name in a way that felt fresh, empathetic and deeply moving.
