Each
December, I compile a list of the top plays I saw that opened that year in New
York City. Last year, Sweeney Todd, HOME/SICK, and Julius Caesar topped the list.
This
year both Roundabout Theatre Company and the Public Theater have multiple shows
on my list. Playwrights William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw get
multiple nods as well.
So
without further ado, here’s my list:
10.
Romeo and Juliet – Each year, New
York Classical Theatre Company puts on free productions in the city’s parks.
This summer’s production of Shakespeare’s classic tale about star-crossed
lovers used innovative doubling to tell a familiar story in a memorable new
way.
9.
Heartbreak House – Gingold Theatrical
Group makes the list this year with another innovative adaptation of a classic.
This re-imagining of Shaw’s chestnut about Europe during World War I was reset
as a play-within-a-play during the London Blitz, which worked quite well.
8.
Love’s Labour’s Lost – This Shake
& Bake production combines the Bard’s romantic comedy with a five-course
tasting menu. The actors do a wonderful job creating magical moments in a
pared-down production in the Meatpacking District. The food is tasty, but it’s
the acting that is truly delicious.
7.
Stories by Heart – So, what is this
thing? That’s what John Lithgow quipped at the beginning of his one-man show
about the stories his father read to him as a child. Ordinarily, I don’t go in
for one person plays, but Lithgow’s mixture of personal memoir with classic
storytelling won me over in the end.
6.
Othello – Not everyone loved the
Public Theatre’s production of Othello
this summer at the Delacorte, but I found Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s direction to
be superb. The relationship between Iago and Rodrigo was particularly
fascinating to me, and Chukwudi Iwuji did a great job playing the title role.
5.
Mother of the Maid – The Public
Theatre scored another hit with Jane Anderson’s new play Mother of the Maid about the family of Joan of Arc. The piece was
marketed as a vehicle for Glenn Close, who played Isabelle Arc, but Anderson’s
play tells the story from an interesting perspective, and would be worth seeing
even without Close’s star power.
4.
Bernhardt/Hamlet – As a fan of both
Sarah Bernhardt and William Shakespeare, I knew I had to see this show. This is
probably Theresa Rebeck’s best play to date, and the cast was superb. Janet
McTeer was deservedly praised as Bernhardt, but Dylan Baker was also wonderful
as the legendary French actor Constant Coquelin, and Jason Butler gave a
memorable portrayal of the playwright Edmond Rostand.
3.
Pygmalion – Bedlam theatre company’s
productions are sometimes hit-or-miss, but they are generally memorable even
when they don’t entirely succeed. This year’s re-imagining of Shaw’s most
popular play definitely qualifies as a hit, though. The immersive first act led
into an exploration of not just class, but also race, ethnicity, and
assimilation, all in the frantic Bedlam style in which performers play multiple
characters to hilarious effect.
2.
Twelfth Night – What happened to
musicals this year? All of my top ten picks were straight plays this year, with
the exception of Shaina Taub’s musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which she co-created with
director Kwame Kwei-Armah as part of the Public Works program, but came back in
a new production this summer as a part of the regular Shakespeare in the Park
season. Taub’s songs are inspired by Shakespeare’s text, but not usually direct
settings of his poetry, in spite of the fact that Twelfth Night already contains multiple songs. Her lyrics fit in
with the Bard’s play beautifully, and her performance as Feste was equally
delightful.
1.
Travesties – To me, the most
delightful production this year, however, was Roundabout’s revival of Tom
Stoppard’s play Travesties. As a
playwright, I’ve always admired Stoppard’s skill in weaving together the
stories of James Joyce, Vladimir Lenin, and Tristan Tzara into a rollicking
farce that also makes us think and feel in new ways. Perhaps because this
production was directed by a fellow playwright, Patrick Marber, it was able to encompass
both the profundity and goofiness of Stoppard’s writing. A cast that included
Tom Hollander, Scarlett Strallen, and Sara Topham also seemed exceptionally
sympathetic to Stoppard’s ambitious vision.
So
that’s my list. Here’s to an even better year of New York theatre in 2019!
