With Ben Brantley’s picks for the Best Theatre of 2011 out and about…here are mine!…(in no particular order)

The oh so humble Best of Theatre 2011 list :)

King Lear (played at BAM with the excellent Derek Jacobi in the title role and is by far the best production of this tragedy I have seen thus far)

Room 17B (played at 59E59 Theatres,…clowning at its best)

Angels in America, Pt. 1 & 2 (played at PlayMakers Repertory Company…a thrilling production of Tony Kushner’s epic play)

Master Class (played at the Friedman Theatre on Broadway and starring the incomparable Tyne Daly as Maria Callas)

Angels in America, Pt. 1 (played off-broadway at the Signature Theatre…had the pleasure of seeing both parts with two different casts,…Part 1 with Michael Urie, however, made for the stronger production)

The Normal Heart (played at the Golden Theatre on Broadway…there are no words to describe the sheer power of this play and this production that marked Joe Mantello’s triumphant return to the stage)

Jerusalem (played at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway…Mark Rylance was riveting in an epic Falstaffian role)

The Book of Mormon (currently playing at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Broadway…the best musical to come along in a while, crafted in the classic musical theatre language of the Golden Age, but with content filled with the most gloriously offensive lyrics and songs from the creators of South Park & Avenue Q…and it all still manages to be heart warming and touching…)

Love Song (played at 59E59 Theatres,..a new quirky play that exploited the imagination of a man in love)

War Horse (currently playing at Lincoln Center on Broadway…a familiar tale told with the breath taking staging and puppetry)

compare with last year’s!

"…the melting pot where nothing melted…"

— Tony Kushner, Angels in America, Pt. I: Millennium Approaches

…saw Angels in America, Pt. I: Millennium Approaches @ Signature Theatre Company…since they opened most of the cast has been replaced by a new set of impressive actors, including Michael Urie as Prior…if you’re in the mood for a Pulitzer — who am i kidding…GO.

…saw Angels in America, Pt. I: Millennium Approaches @ Signature Theatre Company…since they opened most of the cast has been replaced by a new set of impressive actors, including Michael Urie as Prior…if you’re in the mood for a Pulitzer — who am i kidding…GO.

…saw Angels in America, Pt. 1: Millennium Approaches and Pt. II: Perestroika, directedy by Brendon Fox @ Playmakers Repertory Company…I would tell you to run and see it, but the show closes today!…

…saw Angels in America, Pt. 1: Millennium Approaches and Pt. II: Perestroika, directedy by Brendon Fox @ Playmakers Repertory Company…I would tell you to run and see it, but the show closes today!…

“Like ‘Death of a Salesman’ and ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,’ the play stakes a claim to a particular time and became the defining play of its generation,” said Joe Mantello, the Tony-winning director who played Louis, the boyfriend who abandons Prior, on Broadway. “Revivals like this one make us ask what happened to our sense of responsibility to one another.”

I remember watching the Tony’s back in 1993 & 1994 (when I was a kid who was obsessed with musical theatre), and seeing this play sweep the awards show.  At that point I didn’t have much interest in new plays, or playwrights.  I went on to look into what the big fuss was over, and was blown away by the scope, epic proportions, and issues that this play dared to deal with.  After this, I came to watch contemporary plays with the same attentiveness that I watched musical and classical theatre. 

I saw the second part of this two part epic, and am still trying to find time to see the first part.  

"I hate America, Louis. I hate this country. It’s just big ideas, and stories, and people dying, and people like you. The white cracker who wrote the national anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word ‘free’ to a note so high nobody can reach it. That was deliberate. Nothing on earth sounds less like freedom to me. You come to room 1013 over at the hospital, I’ll show you America. Terminal, crazy and mean. I live in America, Louis, that’s hard enough, I don’t have to love it. You do that. Everybody’s got to love something."

— Tony Kushner, Angels in America, Pt. 2: Perestroika

saw Angels in America, Pt. 2: Perestroika by Tony Kushner, and directed by Michael Greif, at the Signature Theatre…all i have to say is GO. GO. GO. 
i’ll see Pt. 1: Millennium Approaches at a date sooner rather than later hopefully…
…i seriously can’t stop thinking about this play…

saw Angels in America, Pt. 2: Perestroika by Tony Kushner, and directed by Michael Greif, at the Signature Theatre…all i have to say is GO. GO. GO. 

i’ll see Pt. 1: Millennium Approaches at a date sooner rather than later hopefully…

…i seriously can’t stop thinking about this play…

seeing Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Pt. 2: Perestroika tonight @ the Signature Theatre…i haven’t been this excited about going to the theatre since seeing the out of town try outs for the Broadway revival of West Side Story in Washington, DC…
have yet to see Pt. 1: Millennium Approaches, but I’ll get to it soon enough…
to make matters more exciting, got this email about a reception preceding tonight’s show…a joyous occasion indeed…

seeing Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Pt. 2: Perestroika tonight @ the Signature Theatre…i haven’t been this excited about going to the theatre since seeing the out of town try outs for the Broadway revival of West Side Story in Washington, DC…

have yet to see Pt. 1: Millennium Approaches, but I’ll get to it soon enough…

to make matters more exciting, got this email about a reception preceding tonight’s show…a joyous occasion indeed…

after five hours…i got TICKETS TO PART TWO!

Part One is all sold out, but there is a wait list the day of.  And yes, from September to December (unless i get a gig out of town *please jesus please*) you will probably find me @ the Signature Theatre, waiting for tickets for Part One. 

I HAVE BEEN TRYING SINCE 10AM TO GET TICKETS TO THIS SHOW.
SOMEBODY HHHEEELLLPPPP!!!

I HAVE BEEN TRYING SINCE 10AM TO GET TICKETS TO THIS SHOW.

SOMEBODY HHHEEELLLPPPP!!!