10 Favorite BROADWAY Performances of the Decade

[Jarethan]

I reflected on this when reviewing different people's views of best shows.  I limit it to Broadway to have a common base.

Top 10:

Alex Sharp -- Curious Incident

Helen Mirren -- The Audience

Ben Platt -- DEH

Glenda Jackson -- Three Tall Women

Celia Keenan-Bolger -- To Kill a Mockingbird

Laura Linney -- The Little Foxes

Glenn Close -- Sunset Blvd.

Donna Murphy -- Hello Dolly

Elaine May -- The Waverly Gallery

Laura Donnelly -- The Ferryman

 

Honorable Mention:

Brian Cranston -- Network

James Corden -- One Man Two Governors

Ellen Barkin -- The Normal  Heart

Joe Mantello -- The Normal Heart

David Diggs -- Hamilton

Joaquina Kalukan -- Slave Play

Mary Louise Parker -- The Sound Inside

Tom Pigott-Smith -- King Charles III

Patti Lupone -- War Paint

Nathan Lane -- The Nance

 

I did not see the recent revival of Angels in America or Jerusalem, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. among other shows.

 

[GreasedLightning]

I think there’s a thread on this already.

[quizking101]

In no particular order:

- Michael Urie (Torch Song)

- John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig And The Angry Inch)

- Nina Arianda (Venus In Fur)

- Elaine May (The Waverly Gallery)

- Laura Benanti (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)

-  Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple)

- Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show)

- Holland Taylor (Ann)

- Beth Leavel (The Prom)

- Billy Porter (Kinky Boots)

[tombomb31]

Beth Leavel - The Prom
Glenn Close - Sunset Boulevard
SJB - Falsettos
Bette Midler - Hello, Dolly
Annette Benning - All My Sons
Gideon Glick - Significant Other
Kristin Chenoweth - On the Twentieth Century
Brooks Ashmanskas - The Prom
Helen Mirren - The Audience
Sally Field - The Glass Menagerie

[LarryD2]

Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women

Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday

Mark Strong, A View From the Bridge

Laura Donnelly, The Ferryman

Tony Shalhoub, Act One

Judy Kuhn, Fun Home

Andre de Shields, Hadestown

Tracy Letts, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Amber Gray, Hadestown

Laurie Metcalf, The Other Place

[ChildofEarth]

Amber Gray, Hadestown
Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Leslie Odom Jr, Hamilton
Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
Andy Karl, Groundhog Day
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Bonnie Milligan, Head Over Heels
Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof
Bette Midler, Hello Dolly
James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin

[52889j]

Andrew Garfield - Angels in America
Glenda Jackson - Three Tall Women
Elaine May - The Waverly Gallery
Laurie Metcalf - A Dolls House, Part 2
Cynthia Erivo - The Color Purple
Bryan Cranston - Network
Bette Midler - Hello Dolly!
Audra McDonald - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Damon Daunno - Oklahoma!
Glenn Close - Sunset Bouvelard

Honorable Mentions:
Frank Langella - The Father
Patrick Page - Hadestown
Amber Gray - Hadestown
Ali Stroker - Oklahoma!
Lauren Ambrose - My Fair Lady
Cynthia Nixon - The Little Foxes
Lupita Nyong'o - Eclipsed
Jeremy Pope - Choir Boy
Heidi Schreck - What the Constitution Means to Me
Ben Platt - Dear Evan Hansen

 

Also, some Off-Broadway stunners I must mention:

Billy Crudup - Harry Clarke
Billie Piper - Yerma
Daniel Craig - Othello
David Oyelowo - Othello
Laurenz Laufenberg - History of Violence
Raymond Lee - Vietgone
MaYaa Boateng - Fairview
Larry Owens - A Strange Loop
Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Fleabag
Ian Duff - Dutch Masters

 

[bfreak]

Individual Performances:

#1-Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen
#2-Jake Gyllenhaal, Sunday in the Park With George
#3-Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery
#4-Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
#5-Kelli O’Hara, The King and I
#6-Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women
#7-Steven Skybell, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish
#8-Jeff Daniels, To Kill a Mockingbird
#9-David Hyde Pierce, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
#10-Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof

Honorable Mentions:

Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Bryan Cranston, Network
Adam Driver, Burn This
Jake Gyllenhaal, Sea Wall/A Life
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Denzel Washington, The Iceman Cometh

Duos:

Alan Cumming + Emma Stone, Cabaret
Michelle Williams + Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
Bette/Donna + DHP, Hello Dolly
Andrew Garfield + Nathan Lane, Angels in America

Ensemble:

A Raisin in the Sun (2014)
Hamilton OBC
Sweeney Todd (2017 Barrow Street)

[Mr. Wormwood]

In the order of when I saw them, not by favorites:

Oona Laurence - Matilda
Andrea Martin - Pippin
James Monroe Iglehart - Aladdin
Jessie Mueller - Beautiful
Christian Borle - Something Rotten
Renee Elise Goldsberry - Hamilton (did not see the full original cast)
Andy Karl - Groundhog Day
Ben Platt - Dear Evan Hansen
Jenn Colella - Come From Away
Amber Gray - Hadestown

[showchoirguy]

In no particular order and I cheated by adding one extra:

-Gideon Glick- Significant Other

-Leslie Odom Jr.- Hamilton

-Stephen Boyer- Hand to God

-Mary Testa- Oklahoma

-Ben Platt- Dear Evan Hansen

-Patina Miller- Pippin

-Alan Cumming- Macbeth

-Jen Collela- Come From Away

-Bertie Carvel- Matilda

-Alex Sharp- Curious Incident

-Audra McDonald- Porgy and Bess

[FindingNamo]

I'm taking the original cast of "Hamilton" as if it were the free square on a BINGO card. I mean, Daveed Diggs has proven to be the irreplaceble Donna McKechnie of the show. Plus the father of my country matters, Christopher Jackson. Plus Lin, plus Renée, plus Betsey Struxness. I just think that has to be a gimme.

Moving on:

Carrie Fisher ‘Wishful Drinking”
Nancy E. Carrol “Present Laughter”

Ellen Barkin “The Normal Heart”

Laurie Metcalf “The Other Place”

Cherry Jones “The Glass Menagerie”

Lena Hall “Hedwig & The Angry Inch”

Beth Malone “Fun Home”

Brittain Ashford “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”

Katrina Link “Indecent”

Mark Rylance “Twelfth Night, or What You Will”

Honorable Mention: Michael Cerveris “Hurt Locker; The Musical”

 

[east side story]

Not on Broadway, but the performance of the decade was Billie Piper in YERMA at Park Avenue Armory. Only the work of Laurie Metcalf and Audra McDonald in multiple productions even comes close to half the thrill of Piper’s performance.

[Markie27]

 

1. Audra McDonald (Lady Day at the Emerson’s Bar and Grill) - this is one of the few moments in my theater going experience where I was at awe from beginning to end.  She is truly one of the greatest broadway actresses of all time.  Like Jessie with Carole King, whom i will mention a little bit later, she didn’t just play the character - she became that character.  A truly mesmerizing performance.
2. Jake Gyllenhaal (Sunday in the Park With George) - I was lucky enough to get tickets 5 rows from the stage and at house left directly in front where Jake was most of the time and I can clearly see his eyes very vividly express the character’s inner turmoil and restraint.  I was skeptical at first (when they announced him as George at City Center) but boy he proved himself worthy to take on (and sing!) such an iconic role.  I was very fortunate to see him on both productions and thank God for OBC I can relive those memories over and over again. 
3. Billy Porter (Kinky Boots) - Billy has been slaying the stage way before Pose and this Tony winning performance only proves how great an actor he really is. 
4. Jessie Muller (Beautiful and Waitress) 
5. John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch)
6. Denise Gough (Angels in America)
7. Helen Mirren  (The Audience) - yes she has played a Queen so many times but here she played Queen Elizabeth II in different stages in her life and she really captured the innocence of a young queen to a confident queen in her middle age to a more mature and quite exasperated queen late into her golden years.  That was truly a masterclass in acting.
8. Judy Kuhn  (Fun Home) - the most heartbreaking performance.
9. Michael Cerveris  (Fun Home)
10. Christian Borle  (Falsettos) 

 

OFF BROADWAY SPECIAL MENTION

Even though they played off broadway these performances can rival that of any Tony award winner last decade:

 

1. Denis Gough (People, Places & Things)
2. Billie Piper  (Yerma)
3. Leslie Manville  (Ghosts)

[Melissa25]

1. Kelli O’Hara - Bridges of Madison County
2. Kristen Chenoweth - On the 20th Century
3. Audra McDonald - Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
4. Carmen Cusack - Bright Star
5. Nina Arianda - Venus in Fur
6. Sutton Foster - Anything Goes
7. Steven Pasquale - Bridges of Madison County
8. John Bolton - Dames at Sea
9. Michael McGrath - Nice Work if You Can Get It
10. LaTanya Richardson - To Kill A Mockingbird

Honorable Mentions

Harry Hadden-Paton - My Fair Lady

Mara Davi - Dames at Sea

[wolfwriter]

Enjoying reading everyone’s choices...

Best performance, for me, was not on Bway...Billie Piper (Yerma) was rivaled only by Audra McDonald.

My Broadway choices would include...

Audra McDonald...Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill


Mark Rylance...Twelfth Night


Alex Sharpe...Curious Incident of the Dog on the Night Time


Marin Mazzie....Next To Normal


Adrienne Warren...Tina:The Tina Turner Musical


Katrina Lenk...The Band’s Visit


Glenda Jackson...Three Tall Women


Ellen Barkin...The Normal Heart


Elaine May...The Waverly Gallery


Frank Langella...The Father


Honorable Mention:

Amber Gray...Great Comet
Laurie Metcalf....The Other Place
Brittain Ashford...Great Comet
Tony Shaloub...The Band’s Visit
Mary Louise Parker...Heisenberg

 

[bwayphreak234]

In no particular order...

- Lauren Ambrose (My Fair Lady)

- Bette Midler (Hello, Dolly!)

- Benjamin Walker (American Psycho)

- Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show)

- Gideon Glick (Significant Other )

- Andy Karl (Rocky)

- Adrienne Waren (Tina)

- Mary Louise Parker (The Sound Inside)

- Kelli O'Hara (The Bridges of Madison County)

- Michelle Williams (Cabaret)

[Impossible2]

(Broadway Off/On and London)

Billie Piper - Yerma

Gillian Anderson - Streetcar

Frank Langella - The Father

Imelda Staunton - Gypsy/Virginia Wolf

James McArdle - Angels in America

Alan Cumming - Cabaret

Edward Barbanell - Andy and the Orphans

Michael Urie - Torch Song

Six - London Cast
 

 

 

[Ledaero]

Specifically Broadway? Listed alphabetical.
Laura Donnelly - The Ferryman
Tom Glynn-Carney - The Ferryman
Andrew Garfield - Angels in America
Denise Gough - Angels in America
Jake Gyllenhaal - Sea Wall/A Life
Ethan Hawke - True West
Celia Keenan-Bolger - The Glass Menagerie
Katrina Lenk - Indecent
Sydney Lucas - Fun Home
Jeremy Pope - Choir Boy

Honorable Mentions:
Steven Boyer - Hand to God
Chris Evans - Lobby Hero
Amber Gray - Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
Beth Malone - Fun Home
Ethan Slater - The Spongebob Musical

[Will3700]

Ben Platt - Dear Evan Hansen

Audra McDonald- Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill

Neil Patrick Harris - Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Alan Cumming & Michelle Williams - Cabaret

Will Swenson,Tony Sheldon,Nick Adams - Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith - Wicked

Hugh Jackman - The Boy From Oz

Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad - Book of Mormon

Billy Porter - Kinky Boots

Entire Cast of Boys in the Band

 

[jv92]

Elaine May, THE WAVERLY GALLERY (2018)-- This gets the #1 spot because it might be the greatest performance I've ever seen an actor give onstage. The rest will be by year. 

Jan Maxwell, FOLLIES (2011)

Danny Burstein, FOLLIES (2011)

Linda Lavin, THE LYONS (2012)

Tracy Letts, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (2012)

Nathan Lane, THE NANCE (2013)

Michael Cerveris, FUN HOME (2015)

Chita Rivera, THE VISIT (2015)

Harry Hadden Paton, MY FAIR LADY (2018)

Adam Driver, BURN THIS (2019)

I'd also like to mention the entire company of the 2016 revival of FALSETTOS, which was one of the most wonderful, cathartic and memorable evenings I've ever had in the theatre-- especially after the election. 

[romain2]

Alphabetical by performer's last name.

• Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
• Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart
• Andre De Shields, Hadestown
• Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
• Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women
• Andrea Martin, Pippin
• Laurie Metcalf, A Doll’s House, Part 2 
• Mary-Louise Parker AND Will Hochman, The Sound Inside (they have such a great rapport, I can't separate them)
• Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen
• Mark Rylance, Jerusalem
• Taylor Trensch, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (although I wish I could have seen Alex Sharp's performance to compare--this performance knocked my socks off)
• Honorable Mention: Alex Brightman, Beetlejuice and Ethan Slater, The Spongebob Musical: two wildly inventive comical performances. Comedy this broad is hard to sustain and these two tackled their roles with masterful finesse.

10 Great Ensembles (Alphabetical by Title)

• The Band's Visit
• The Boys in the Band
• Come From Away
• Eclipsed
• The Ferryman
• Hamilton
• Once 
• Once on This Island
• She Loves Me
• Sweat

[DivaProf]

I don’t post often, but love this thread!

My list:

1) Audra McDonald—Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill

2) Denzel Washington—Fences

3) Cynthia Erivo—The Color Purple

4) Audra McDonald—Porgy and Bess

5) Daveed Diggs-Hamilton

6) Kelli O’Hara—The King and I 

7) Laura Benanti—She Loves Me

8) Josh Gad—Book of Mormon

9) Viola Davis —Fences

10) Sahr Ngaujah— Fela

[qolbinau]

Bernadette Hello, Dolly!
Bernadette A Little Night Music
Bernadette Follies
Kelli O’Hara in Bridges
Marin Mazzie in next to normal
Ben Platt in DEH
Patti LuPone in War Paint
Christine Ebersole in War Paint
Katrina Lenk in The Band’s Visit

And if I can cheat a little, Patti LuPone in Company.

[seriously13]

Ben Platt - DEH
Leslie Odom Jr - Hamilton
Daveed Diggs - Hamilton
Renée Elise Goldsberry - Hamilton
Lucas Steele - Great Comet
David Byrne plus entire band - American Utopia
Mary-Louise Parker - The Sound Inside
Amber Gray - Hadestown
Bruce Springsteen- Springsteen on Broadway
Katrina Lenk - The Band’s Visit

[AlexxGee]

in no particular order

1. Amber Gray - Hadestown.
2. Patrick Page - Hadestown.
3. André De Shields - Hadestown.
4. Alex Sharp - Curious Incident.
5. Jessica Vosk - Wicked.
6. Damon Daunno - Oklahoma!
7. Beth Leavel - The Prom.
I know it didn't transfer to Broadway (forever bitter) but Michael Arden and Patrick Page in Hunchback are my 8 & 9.
10. The entire cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Year 2.