What were your favorite shows in 2016?

[macnyc]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 12:58pm

I can't resist a Top 10 list, and why can't we have our own? For 2016, there were quite a few shows that I liked well enough but didn't love. But I did have my favorites. Here are mine. What are yours?

Top 10 Favorites This Year (in no particular order):

Sunday in the Park With George (City Center concert): My first exposure to this show, and I loved it!

The Robber Bridegroom: Just an over-the-top, hilarious and fast-moving romp. Steven Pasquale rules.

She Loves Me: A beautiful and well-sung production of what some people consider the perfect musical

Familiar (Playwrights Horizons): Yes, a kitchen sink drama complete with a shocking secret, but I loved every minute of this show, and the touching ending ranks up there as one of the best in my book.

The Three Gabriel Plays (Public): I love these kitchen-table plays for their fascinating digressions and super acting.

Dear Evan Hansen (Second Stage): A touching show, well-sung and acted, that stayed with me despite my being several decades older than the target audience. Great score!

Indecent (Vineyard): I love shows that bring to light a little-known and little-remembered aspect of history. Hope to see it again on Broadway.

Hadestown: I fell in love with the score and the inventive staging. Wonderful performances all around. I hope for a complete cast album in 2017.

Pirates of Penzance (Barrington Stage Company): Such a fun production, with Will Swenson as a charismatic Pirate King.

Spamilton (Triad): My love for this show is equaled only by my love of Hamilton. Brilliant show by Gerard Alessandrini with an awesomely talented cast.

Sense and Sensibilty (Gym at Hudson): The adapter of this Jane Austen classic knew just what to keep intact and what to modernize. I loved the staging too.

DISLIKED:

Dot (Vineyard)

Head of Passes (Public)

Death for Five Voices  (Sheen Center)

Love, Love, Love (Laura Pels)

 

Updated On: 12/22/16 at 12:58 PM

[ethan231h]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 1:21pm

Not in order:

American Psycho

Dear Evan Hansen 

Tick Tick Boom

falsettos

The Humans

Hadestown

Shuffle Along

Oh Hello

Updated On: 12/22/16 at 01:21 PM

[@z5]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 1:36pm

Some that are really memorable this year and i enjoyed a lot are:

Blackbird

American Psycho

Shuffle Along

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Eclipsed

Falsettos

Oh, Hello

Cats

 

 

Updated On: 12/22/16 at 01:36 PM

[sondmon]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 1:41pm

Sunday Concert

Blackbird

The Crucible

The Color Purple

She Loves Me

Fiddler on the Roof

King Charles III

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 1:59pm

I know some of these were from 2015, but I'm including them since I saw them in 2016...

8. TUCK EVERLASTING

7. ON YOUR FEET

6. GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE

5. SPRING AWAKENING 

4. THE COLOR PURPLE

3. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

2. DEAR EVAN HANSEN 

1. FALSETTOS

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 2:05pm

Hamilton (3x), American Psycho (2x), Allegiance, On your feet, Fiddler, Falsettos, She loves me (livestream), Dear Evan Hansen

[Willie4316]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 2:15pm

Not in any particular order: 

Tuck Everlasting 

The King and I 

She Loves Me (Live Stream) 

Dear Evan Hansen 

Paramour 

The Great Comet 

Cats 

Fiddler on the Roof 

School of Rock 

Something Rotten 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 2:22pm

My list includes only Broadway shows, as well as only shows that opened either in the summer/fall of 2015 or the calendar year of 2016 (also, I saw far more than ten shows—this list is my top ten):

10. SPRING AWAKENING

9. THE FRONT PAGE

8. HEISENBERG

7. OH, HELLO

6. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

5. NOISES OFF

4. SHE LOVES ME

3. NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

2. THE COLOR PURPLE

1. HAMILTON

Updated On: 12/22/16 at 02:22 PM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 2:26pm

Dear Evan Hansen, She Loves Me, Great Comet, American Psycho, Waitress, Long Day's Journey

The Wolves, The Harvest, Kings of War, and Skeleton Crew.

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 2:50pm

My top 9:

Hadestown

Red Speedo

Oh, Hello

The Crucible

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet on 1812

The Robber Bridegroom

Bright Star

Master Harold and the Boys

Ride the Cyclone

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 3:52pm

Hamilton, Bright Star, Dear Evan Hansen, and Falsettos. And I would like to share my love for each of these.

Hamilton: When I went to NYC in February, I knew I had tickets for it, but I wasn't prepared for what it would do for me. It, along with other aspects of that vacation, revived me from a funk I was in, and got me into theatre again. Since then, I have done four productions, and played the lead in one of them. Hamilton rejuvenated me, and I am so thankful for that.

Bright Star: This show. Oh Lord, this show. I didn't know I needed it, until it saved my life. Seeing a character who had something unimaginably traumatic happen to her, remain focused, and still hopeful...it helped me remain just that. And when everything ended the way it did, it helped me (and still does) keep a positive outlook, no matter my situation. "The sun is gonna shine again" is a phrase I try to tell myself whenever I'm having a bad day, and it usually helps me. Not only this, but I have gained some of the greatest friends I could ask for, because of Bright Star. I feel like I've known these people for years, and they truly are forever friends. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Carmen Cusack. I'm not going to go into detail, but she has become my biggest role model and inspiration. If anyone wants to know details, feel free to PM me!

Dear Evan Hansen: This show taught me about myself. I don't think I've ever related to a character in musical theaters much as I relate to Evan. I feel like I'm watching myself onstage. And it has taught me that I matter, I'm not alone, and I bring something to the world. I forget that sometimes.

Falsettos: This show was a major healing factor, after a presidential election that really shook me. The song "Unlikely Lovers" felt like a song that needed to be sung to me (and to, I'm sure, countless others) at the specific time. Such a relevant, important show, in terms of what all is going on in the country right now.

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 4:06pm

My 10 favorite shows of the year:

 

Dear Evan Hansen

Shuffle Along

Sweet Charity

The Harvest

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

"Master Harold"...and the Boys

Falsettos

Oh, Hello

She Loves Me

Hadestown

 

And two honorable mentions to Sunday in the Park with George and The Last Five Years concerts (didn't want to include them in my official list since they weren't fully staged).

[nolanativeny]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 4:26pm

In no order:

American Psycho

Hadestown

The Great Comet

Dear Evan Hansen

The Grand Paradise

Figaro! (90210)

The Color Purple (with Heather Headley)

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 4:34pm

Also in no particular order:

American Psycho

She Loves Me

Shuffle Along

Bright Star

Fiddler on the Roof

The Color Purple

Hamilton

The King and I

 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 4:38pm

New Productions:

Noises Off

School Of Rock

Shuffle Along

Finian's Rainbow

Sweet Charity

She Loves Me

 

Shows that had been open, but I didn't see until this year:

Fun Home

The King and I

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 4:41pm

I love making lists like this, but man is it tough! I left off some really wonderful shows, but I managed to narrow it down to 15. They are, in alphabetical order:

--Dear Evan Hansen - Second Stage
--Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy (Julius Caesar, Henry IV, & The Tempest) - Donmar Warehouse
--Father Comes Home From the Wars: Parts 1, 2 and 3 - Royal Court
--Hadestown - NYTW
--Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - West End
--Imogen - Shakespeare's Globe
--Incognito - MTC
--The Play That Goes Wrong - West End
--Runaways - Encores!
--Smokefall - MCC
--A Streetcar Named Desire - St. Ann's Warehouse
--Troilus and Cressida - Public, Shakespeare in the Park
--The Woodsman - Off-Broadway
--Yerma - Young Vic
--You For Me For You - Royal Court

Updated On: 12/22/16 at 04:41 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 7:12pm

American Psycho

Blackbird

Dear Evan Hansen

Falsettos

Hamilton

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

She Loves Me

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 7:52pm

In alphabetical order and including a few 2015 holdovers I saw this year:

The Color Purple

Hamilton

The Humans

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

Oh, Hello (the biggest surprise of the year, for me)

Party People

She Loves Me

Shuffle Along

Twelfth Night (the second year in a row Public Works has delivered the most spectacularly joyful theatre of the year)

Updated On: 12/22/16 at 07:52 PM

[Jiaroony]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 8:02pm

Hamilton Fun Home were the best they were well written and well crafted shows. The Color Purple had terrible writing but was great production

[MoDance0934]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 9:48pm

My definitive ranking:

1. Fun Home

2. Hamilton

3. Dear Evan Hansen

4. Cats

5. The Falsettos

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 10:07pm

American Psycho was the standout when it comes to the musicals. Truly brilliant and fresh 

[dewuzu]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 10:27pm

It is tough to choose favorites. I liked Waitress, Cats, and School of Rock. Off-Broadway, I liked Daddy Long Legs.

I find it interesting how many users liked American Psycho. I thought that it was good. But, it was a lot more divisive than other shows on Broadway.

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 12/22/16 at 11:50pm

In no order:
1. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

2. Oh, Hello

3. She Loves Me

4. Bright Star

5. Pirates of Penzance at Barrington Stage

6. Noises Off

7. Dear Evan Hansen

8. Hadestown

9. Shuffle Along 

10. Cats 

 

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 12/23/16 at 12:25am

Not in order:

Bright Star

American Psycho

Eclipsed

Dear Evan Hansen (Second Stage)

Great Comet

 

To throw out some Chicago love: Mary Page Marlowe at Steppenwolf and The Tempest at Chicago Shakes (I think those were 2016 but I could be wrong...)

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 12/23/16 at 12:55am

Glad to see TUCK EVERLASTING on a few lists. I really liked the show. It was charming. Was it perfect, was it the best ever, no. I adore Carolee and always enjoy seeing her perform. AKB and Terrence are favorites too, Andrew was perfectly cast. So happy it got a cast recording. It will have a long life in regional and summer theater. It's family-friendly (though they need to edit out when Andrew's character shoots his father) and a star-maker for that little girl who shines in the school choir and/or is ready to move on from playing Annie.