Favorite Performances of the 2017-2018 Season

Although these should come as no surprise to anyone who has spoken with me about theater this season, here's a list of my favorite performances of the 2017-2018 season (in no particular order):

1. James McArdle, Angels in America. I've written at length about McArdle's performance but man, did he nail Louis Ironson. He not only nailed the New York Jewishness of the character (most impressive for a man from Scotland) but succeeded in not making Louise a one-dimensional monster that he is typically seen as. What Louis does is reprehensible but McArdle shows that he is not irredeemable. He also knocked the character's long (and long-winded) monologues out of the park. Tell me more about justice, Louis.
2. Ethan Slater, Spongebob Squarepants. This guy is insanely talented. What a Broadway debut! He is Broadway's brand new triple (or quadruple!) threat; he sings, dances, acts, and even nails the physicality of the role beautifully. Slater carries the whole musical and without him, I doubt it would be as successful. He's hilarious and charming and has charisma seeping out of his pores! 
3. Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady. Hadden-Paton gives Higgins a heart and makes him a two-dimensional human being. He is charming, neurotic, and his Higgins isn't an overwhelming brute to Eliza. Hadden-Paton does beautiful work in portraying a man who has feelings he doesn't quite understand and cannot connect with. His facial expressions alone convey so much. 
4. Sean Carvajal and Edi Gethegi, Jesus Hopped the A Train. The work these two men did in this spectacular revival is remarkable, especially given the circumstances. The language of Stephen Aldy Gurgis is tough and dense and they nailed it beautifully. Of all the performances I saw this season, I can't recall two actors who connected as well with their characters as they did.
5. Johnny Flynn, Hangmen. This play was an all-around disappointment but Flynn was its lifeline. He was, as his character is described, menacing, and yet charming. His big scene at the top of act two was handled beautifully, and was unsurprising, the best of the play. 
6. Denise Gough, Angels in America. Harper Pitt's language in the play is among the densest and most poetic, and Gough nailed it. Her Harper is an ethereal waif, drifting throughout this world. Her line "you have less of a place in this world than I do" has never been truer. Gough goes deeper with her Harper, making her anguish palpable and not relying on the Valium addiction of the character as a crutch.
7. Christine Lahti, Fucking A. Talk about palpable anguish. Lahti beautifully portrays a woman forced into circumstances, thirsty for revenge. Her Hester is a real woman in a dystopian society, conveying real emotions. She's hard as nails and matter of fact but still in pain.
8. Saycon Sengbloh, In the Blood. Speaking of Hesters, Sengbloh also nailed her character's anguish, while portraying the woman's toughness, love for her children, ignorance, and the pain inflicted on her by everyone in her life, whether it is another person or an institution set up to "help" her and her children. When she does the unthinkable, the audience was appropriately shocked because Sengbloh's Hester's turn was shocking. 
9. Carrie Coon, Mary Jane. Lots of mothers on this list, huh? Well, Coon's matter of fact portrayal of the titular character was perfect, and she did a tremendous job being a woman of steel for her ill son and being a woman unable to let go of both her pain and her son's. She was heartbreaking without being cliche or over the top. 
10. Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Anthony Boyle is faced with the tough task of creating a new role among so many beloved characters, and boy, does he deliver. He manages to portray the social outcast with great heart and humor and tenderness without seeming cliched. In a world full of magic and fantasy, Boyle created a very real human being.
11. Michael Urie, The Government Inspector, Torch Song, Hamlet. I was fortunate to see Urie in three very different plays, playing three very different roles, and he knocked all three out of the park. He was hilarious, heartbreaking, and has great command of the stage, and this season proved he's one of the best stage actors around. He had the audience eating of the palm of his hand during The Government Inspector (I've never seen someone play drunk so convincingly), took us on a real journey during Torch Song (I had to hold back tears at the end!) and Hamlet, well, the play's the thing, right, and his prince of Denmark was sufficiently tormented and bratty. And I am very protective of my Hamlets! This season his work was unparalleled, and he earned a life-long fan in me.