It’s been a surprisingly rich year for theater. Here’s my list of top 10 productions:
1. Fela! (fantastic production directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones, with spectacular sets and costumes by Marina Draghici, brilliant lighting by Robert Wierzel, fantastic video projection designed by Peter Nigrini, a hot band onstage (Brooklyn’s Antibalas), and a sizzling star performance by Sahr Ngaujah)
2. Exit the King (Ionesco’s play adapted and staged by Neil Armfield with star performer Geoffrey Rush, strong cast with beautiful performances by Lauren Ambrose and Susan Sarandon, exquisite design work in all categories)
3. Let Me Down Easy (Anna Deveare Smith, directed by Leonard Foglia)
4. Two Men Talking (written and performed by Paul Browde and Murray Nossel)
5. Ruined (fine play by Lynn Nottage, excellent ensemble directed by Kate Whoriskey, standout performances by Saidah Arrika Erulona, Condola Rashad, and Quincy Tyler Bernstine)
6. Becky Shaw (excellent play by Gina Gionfriddo, well-directed by Peter DuBois, fine performances by Annie Parisse in the title role and David Wilson Barnes)
7. Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them (Christopher Durang’s play, beautifully directed by Nicholas Martin, with an ingenious David Korins set and especially impressive performances by Laura Benanti, Kristine Nielsen, and Amir Arison)
8. Notes from Underground (fantastic adaptation of Dostoevsky by director Robert Woodruff, actor Bill Camp, and designer David Zinn)
9. The Provenance of Beauty (a Foundry Theatre gem, created by writer Claudia Rankine and director Melanie Joseph)
10. Angela’s Mixtape (smart piece written and starring Eisa Davis, well directed by Liesl Tommy)
The Next 13
1. Soul Samurai (playwright Qui Nguyen, director Robert Ross Parker, costumes by Sarah Laux and Jessica Wegener, game young ensemble cast)
2. The Lily’s Revenge (maestro Taylor Mac, costumes by Machine Dazzle)
3. The Temperamentals (Jon Marans’ play, directed by Jonathan Silverstein)
4. Ka and O (Cirque du Soleil spectacles in Las Vegas – they’ve been running for years, but I just caught up with them, and I was knocked out)
5. Crotch (Keith Hennessy’s intimate epic at Dance Theater Workshop)
6. Les Ephemeres (spellbinding seven-hour slice of life by Ariane Mnouchkine’s Theatre du Soleil
7. The Christine Jorgensen Story (conceived and performed by Bradford Louryk)
8. La Didone (The Wooster Group)
9. Our Town (superbly dry staging by David Cromer, who played the memorable Stage Manager)
10. Mary Stuart (Peter Oswald’s adaptation of Schiller’s play, beautifully staged by Phyllida Lloyd, with standout performances by Janet McTeer, Harriet Walter, and Chandler Williams)
11. Next to Normal (astutely restaged for Broadway by Michael Greif, with an unforgettable performance by Alice Ripley)
12. Grasses of a Thousand Colors (Wallace Shawn’s play, directed by Andre Gregory at the Royal Court in London, with Miranda Richardson, Jennifer Tilly, and Emily McDonnell)
13. Pour Your Body Out (Pipilotti Rist installation at MoMA)
Productions that Others Raved About That Left Me Cold:
God of Carnage
The Norman Conquests
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Memphis
reasons to be pretty
Next Fall
Other Noteworthy Performances:
Matt Cavenaugh, Curtis Holbrook, and Karen Olivo in West Side Story
Nathan Lane and John Glover in Waiting for Godot
Stephin Merritt’s score and Leigh Silverman’s direction for Coraline
Santino Fontana, Noah Robbins, and Dennis Boutsikaris in David Cromer’s impressive staging of Brighton Beach Memoirs
Ensemble cast of Circle Mirror Transformation, but special attention to Tracee Chimo
another eye opens 
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