Year in Review | The Best Theater of 2016: Away From the Great White Way


By Terry Teachout

Lots of excellent revivals, several impressive new plays, two terrific new musicals—most of them produced off Broadway or out of town: That’s the shorthand story of theater in America in 2016. Many big-buzz Broadway openings, in particular “The Front Page” and “The Humans,” missed fire, but I saw plenty of great shows elsewhere.

Three of the best new plays were by familiar names, the first from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the others off Broadway: Tracy Letts ’s “ Mary Page Marlowe, ” Kenneth Lonergan ’s “Hold On to Me Darling” and John Patrick Shanley ’s “Prodigal Son.” In addition, Lydia R. Diamond, an up-and-comer, hit the off-Broadway target with “Smart People,” a sharp-witted portrait of four smug members of the academic monoculture. Also noteworthy was “The Band’s Visit,” a big-hearted small-scale musical with warmth and charm to burn, produced off Broadway by the Atlantic Theater Company.

Topping the list of regional revivals were “ Floyd Collins, ” Adam Guettel ’s rarely seen musical masterpiece, and “Lobby Hero,” a thought-provoking four-hander by Mr. Lonergan, both performed by 1st Stage of Tysons, Va. As regards other plays, I was similarly impressed by Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre, which presented “Death of a Salesman” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” in rotating repertory, acted by the same cast. Memorable, too, were shrewdly abridged versions of Eugene O’Neill ’s “Ah, Wilderness!” (directed by Greg Leaming for the Asolo Repertory Theatre of Sarasota, Fla.) and George Bernard Shaw ’s “Widowers’ Houses” (directed by David Staller for New York’s TACT/The Actors Company Theatre). I also loved the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of “Noises Off” and Eugène Ionesco ’s “Exit the King,” directed by Bonnie J. Monte for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Other notable musical revivals included “Finian’s Rainbow,” ingeniously revised by Charlotte Moore for New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre; the Roundabout’s Scott Ellis-staged Broadway version of “She Loves Me”; and Mary Zimmerman ’s “Wonderful Town,” produced by Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

What about actors? I can’t overlook the irresistible Jonathan Epstein ’s elegantly vicious Shylock and Kate Abbruzzese ’s passionate Jessica in Shakespeare & Company’s “Merchant of Venice,” or Rachel Weisz and Byron Jennings in David Hare ’s “Plenty” at the Public Theater.

Now, the best of the best:

• Best performance in a play. Annie Purcell was fiercely intense as Isabella in Davis McCallum ’s Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival production of “Measure for Measure.”

• Best performance in a musical. Sutton Foster outdid herself in the New Group’s small-scale off-Broadway revival of “Sweet Charity.”

• Best ensemble. The Public Theater’s New York premiere of Lynn Nottage ’s gripping “Sweat,” directed by Kate Whoriskey and transferring to Broadway in March, fielded a flawlessly chosen cast.

• Best classical production. Chicago Shakespeare’s “Tug of War,” Barbara Gaines ’s two-part marathon staging of six Shakespeare history plays, was a world-class event.

• Best revival of a modern play. The Mint Theatre Company’s off-Broadway staging of N.C. Hunter’s “A Day by the Sea” brought a forgotten gem back to life.

• Best revival of a musical. Leigh Silverman ’s “Sweet Charity” was more than just a star turn for Ms. Foster: It made dramatic sense out of a flawed show.

• Best new play. Mike Bartlett ’s “Love, Love, Love,” produced off Broadway by the Roundabout and featuring the matchless Zoe Kazan, is the strongest stage comedy since Tom Stoppard ’s “The Real Thing.”


• Best new musical. The Broadway transfer of “Dear Evan Hansen, ” a powerfully expressive small-scale show about the travails of an adolescent misfit (portrayed with astonishing conviction by Ben Platt ), offered fresh hope for a form in decline.

• Director of the year. Austin Pendleton ’s stagings of Hunter’s “A Day by the Sea” and Shelagh Delaney ’s “A Taste of Honey” (the latter produced off Broadway by the Pearl Theatre Company) were exemplary.

• Company of the year. Writers Theatre of Glencoe, Ill., America’s No. 1 theater company, produced “Arcadia” and “Company” to superlative effect in its brand-new two-stage complex designed by Jeanne Gang and Studio Gang Architects, the finest piece of theatrical construction to open in the U.S. in the past decade.

Mr. Teachout is the Journal’s drama critic.

Dec 22, 2016 @ 06:54 PM

The Best Theater Of 2016: Broadway And Beyond

Lee Seymour, Contributor

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Love, Love, Love

What could be better than Mike Bartlett’s Cock? His Love, of course. The cracking playwright delivers another sharp, smart, silly chunk of theater with this ode to the 60′s and all their fallout. Anyone who’s ever been labeled a Baby Boomer, or the child thereof, will find much to laugh (and possibly cry) about. Old ideas stay fresh as we see patterns play out amongst a family full of great intentions and awful consequences. Richard Armitage and Zoe Kazan in particular delivered fantastic performances as an idealistic dad gone to pot and his mostly-ignored daughter. [At Roundabout. Tix listed around $79 for their Off Broadway space].

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