Best Plays of the 2010s?

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 3:44pm

Maybe it's just because we're living in it, but it feels like the 2010s have been one of the best decades for theatre (especially American theatre) in quite a long time. We had The Flick, Gloria, Appropriate, If I Forget, The Humans, Downstate, A Doll's House Part 2, and Choir Boy premiere.

What do you think was unique that made this decade of theater so great?

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 7:36pm

I know you're primarily talking about American theatre here, but I just have to mention Curious Incident in the conversation of best plays of this decade.

[52889j]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 9:09pm

In the Next Room, Fairview, Vietgone, What the Constitution Means to Me, Slave Play.

[Ledaero]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 9:10pm

I think its really hard to say whether the 2010s have been particularly better than other decades because practically I've only been exposed to new theatre in this decade. But there have been some very incredible plays. The Ferryman, Choir Boy, What the Constitution Means to Me, Indecent, Curious Incident, The Wolves, White Noise, Sweat, The Flick, Slave Play, Daddy, Venus in Fur, Between Riverside and Crazy, Father Comes Home From the Wars, Disgraced, The Humans, Vania and Sonya and Masha and Spike, King Charles III, Clybourne Park, Constellations, Fairview, Dance Nation, Other Desert Cities, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.

I mean that's a pretty impressive list and those are really just the ones off the top of my head. I will say, on the flip side, the 2010s have been a pretty awful decade for musical theatre. Outside of some select gems (Great Comet, Hamilton, Fun Home, Hadestown, Once, The Band's Visit, etc), the average musical has definitely tanked tremendously. Musicals are playing it safe, and plays are taking the forefront due to their risk-taking.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 11:02pm

Ledaero said: "I mean that's a pretty impressive list and those are really just the ones off the top of my head. I will say, on the flip side, the 2010s have been a pretty awful decade for musical theatre. Outside of some select gems (Great Comet, Hamilton, Fun Home, Hadestown, Once, The Band's Visit,etc), the average musical has definitely tanked tremendously. Musicals are playing it safe, and plays are taking the forefront due to their risk-taking."

I mean, you just named 5/8 of the most recent Best Musical winners, so I think there's plenty of good stuff out there! I will agree that the rise of "commodity musicals" (jukebox shows, film studios self-producing stage adaptations to exploit their IP, etc) is troubling and shows no sign of stopping, but the more artful shows appear to be rising to the top, at least in terms of awards recognition. It's great that Broadway has room for more daring shows like Hadestown and Comet alongside crowdpleasers like Mean Girls and Beetlejuice, and shows that meet in the middle like Spongebob and Moulin Rouge.

I still wish there was a good financial model for moving new plays to Broadway without stars. The Humans, Constitution, and Oslo are anomalies of shows that have done exceptionally well without big bells & whistles or stars.

Updated On: 6/12/19 at 11:02 PM

[musicaltheatrechick]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 12:00am

Sweat

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 12:02am

Alex Kulak2 said: "What do you think was unique that made this decade of theater so great?"

Nothing is unique about this decade.

There are great plays every decade. If you go back and look at the Tony nominees and winners for 2000-2009, 1990-1999 etc., you'll see some incredibly iconic pieces of theater. Just 2000-2009 alone brought us God of Carnage, August: Osage County, Frost/Nixon, The Little Dog Laughed, The Coast of Utopia, Rabbit Hole, Doubt, Gem of the Ocean, The Pillowman, I am My Own Wife, Topdog/Underdog, The Goat,or Who Is Sylvia, and Proof, and I'm leaving out a lot of others. And the same is true with other decades. Lots of younger musical theater fans think great musicals started with Wicked because they simply didn't live through the excitement of the inital run of shows from earlier decades.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 12:57am

BroadwayRox3588 said: "I know you're primarily talking about American theatre here, but I just have to mentionCurious Incidentin the conversation of best plays of this decade."

I completely forgot about non-American plays. There's Lungs, Every Brilliant Thing, X, King Charles III, The Ferryman, and Constellations.