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Favorite Shows of the 2017-2018 Season

Okay, okay, the 2017-2018 season is mercifully over and I've scraped together a list of my favorite shows:
  1. Angels in America. I mean, must I say more? Perfect. James McArdle and Denise Gough gave two of my favorite performances of the season.
  2. Spongebob Squarepants the Musical. Don't be a snob, see this show. It's smart and hilarious and fun fun fun and Tina Landau's work is excellent. Ethan Slater as the titular sponge gives the best performance in a musical this season.
  3. My Fair Lady. Bartlett Sher did it, he did it, he said he'd do it and indeed he did! It's a stunning, beautiful production, and Lauren Ambrose and Harry Hadden-Paton are wonderful as Eliza and Higgins. Eliza could've danced all night but I could've sat and watched this show all night.
  4. Torch Song. *takes a moment, gathers myself, gets on my soap box* I am not a religious person, I haven't found God, but you know what? After seeing Torch Song (and The Government Inspector and Hamlet), I had an "Amazing Grace" moment; I once was blind but now I see. Michael Urie is one of the best stage actors working right now. His work in Torch Song is both hilarious and heartbreaking, and it's one of, if not my top, performance of the season. And yeah, the play is great and so was this production. I am glad we all get to see it again in the fall.
  5. Mary Jane. Terrific and harrowing without ever falling into the trap of sentimentality. The best new play of the season. The cast, led by Carrie Coon, was one of the best on stage this season.
  6. Jesus Hopped the A Train. Stephen Adly Gurgis is one of the best playwrights writing today, and the work done by Sean Carvajal and Edi Gathegi in this production was remarkable.
  7. The Red Letter Plays (In the Blood and Fucking A). Suzan-Lori Parks is a true genius and legend, and it's apparent in these two revivals done by the Signature this season. In the Blood also had my favorite set of the season.
  8. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It's not perfect, the writing is a bit weak, but it's delightful, fun, and dare I say, magical. Sometimes it's okay to have a good time at the theater. Anthony Boyle's performance is another one of my faves of the season.
  9. School Girls; or the African Mean Girls Play. Another terrific cast in a show that was truly great fun.
  10. The Band's Visit. Expertly acted with a beautiful score and proof that musicals don't have to be big, bloated, and cartoonish (or based on major properties) to be on Broadway.
Honorable mentions go to The Wolves, Amy and the Orphans, and Charm. And dammit, I am the only one around who liked Mankind. Also, if I could rank Hamlet at the STC, Chess at the Kennedy Center, and Brigadoon at City Center, I would. Those were among the best theatrical experiences I had this season.

Least favorite of the season? Bella, On the Shore of the Wide World, Fire and Air, Twelfth Night, The Last Match, Cardinal, The Treasurer, For Peter Pan..., Oedipus el Rey, Saint Joan, Junk, etc., etc., etc.

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