Best Live Performances You've Ever Seen- Page 2

[little_sally]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 10:42am

Mark Rylance in Jerusalem

Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens

Tracy Letts in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 10:43am

Joe Mantello and John Benjamin Hickey in THE NORMAL HEART

JCM in Hedwig

Amy Morton in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 10:53am

Idina Menzel- WICKED

Idina Menzel- IF/THEN

Harvey Fierstein- HAIRSPRAY

Sutton Foster- ANYTHING GOES

Alice Ripley- NEXT TO NORMAL

Ted Neeley- JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Rob McClure- CHAPLIN

John Cameron Mitchell- HEDWIG

Alan Cumming- CABARET

Michael Cerveris- FUN HOME

 

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:35am

Janet McTeer - A Doll's House
Owen Teale - A Doll's House
Jane Adams - An Inspector Calls
Robert Morse - Tru
Fuscia Walker - Dreamgirls (standby for Jennifer Holliday on tour)
Veanne Cox - The Dinner Party

Audra McDonald - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Patti LuPone - Master Class
Al Pacino - Hughie
Betty Buckley - Sunset Boulevard
Donna Murphy - The King & I
Lea Salonga - Les Miserables (as Fantine)
Anika Noni Rose - Caroline, or Change
Sara Ramirez - Spamalot
Celia Keenan Bolger - The Light in the Piazza (Goodman tryout)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia - Rent
Ann Duquesnay - Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk
Marin Mazzie - Ragtime
David Pittu - Parade (tour)
Audra McDonald - Marie Christine
Marl Schaffel - Jane Eyre
Jan Maxwell - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Renee Elise Goldsberry - Two Gentlemen of Verona
Martine McCutcheon - My Fair Lady
Sheridan Smith - Legally Blonde
Laura Benanti - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Updated On: 6/3/15 at 11:35 AM

[mattporter17]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:40am

Gavin Creel in BoM

Idina Menzel in If/Then (her performance is much better than the actual show)

(Soon to be Tony-winner) Alex Sharp in Curious Incident 

 

[gcal]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:48am

Tonya Pinkins- Caroline, or Change

Laurie Metcalf, Len Cariou, Neill Patrick Harris- All My Sons

Victoria Clark- Follies

Kelli O'Hara, Manoel Felciano- Sunday in the Park With George

 

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:49am

Elizabeth Marvel- The Little Foxes

Audra McDonald- Lady Day

Steven Boyer- Hand to God (who I still hope will get the Tony he so insanely deserves)

Manoel Felciano- Sweeney Todd

Patti LuPone- Gypsy

[verdigris]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 12:15pm

Alison Luff as Miss Honey. She is devastating in the role, she really gives the character a lot more depth. Her 'My House' is stunning. (That voice!!)

 

[mamaleh]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 12:20pm

Hugh Jackman in THE BOY FROM OZ

Mark Rylance in anything, but especially TWELFTH NIGHT

John McMartin, Dorothy Collins and Alexis Smith in FOLLIES

William Daniels in 1776

 

 

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 12:29pm

Kate Baldwin in The Music Man, Sutton Foster in Violet, Annaleigh Ashford in Kinky Boots, Corey Cott in Newsies, Norm Lewis in Phantom, Celia Keenan-Bolger in Peter and the Starcatcher, Christine Dwyer in Wicked.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 1:12pm

Carol Channing in HELLO, DOLLY!

 

Angela Lansbury in GYPSY

 

Angela Lansbury in DEAR WORLD

 

Angela Lansbury in MAME

 

Patti LuPone in GYPSY

 

Patti LuPone in ANYTHING GOES

 

Stacy Keach in HAMLET (Central Park)

 

Richard Kiley in MAN OF LA MANCHA

 

Boyd Gaines in SHE LOVES ME

 

Tony Yazbeck in ON THE TOWN

 

Colleen Dewhurst in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

 

Zoe Caldwell in MASTER CLASS

 

Patti LuPone in MASTER CLASS

 

Bea Lillie in HIGH SPIRITS

 

Pearl Bailey in HELLO, DOLLY!

 

Rosemary Harris in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

 

That Streisand Woman  in FUNNY GIRL

 

Julie Harris in THE BELLE OF AMHURST

 

Bradley Cooper in THE ELEPHANT MAN

 

Anthony Hopkins and Peter Firth in EQUUS

 

Frank Langella in DRACULA

 

John Wood in AMADEUS

 

Gwen Verdon in SWEET CHARITY

 

Sandy Duncan in THE CANTERBURY TALES

 

Herschel Bernardi in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

 

Linda Lavin in BROADWAY BOUND

 

Sam Waterston in THE TEMPEST (Lincoln Center)

 

Cherry Jones and Zachery Quinto in THE GLASS MEANAGERiE

 

Elizabeth Ashley in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

 

Brian Dennehy in DEATH OF A SALESMAN

 

Nathan Lane in TRUMBO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 1:31pm

I'm sorry, but out of the shows I've seen live, Norm Lewis in Phantom really blew me away. He really took the role and made it his own.

 

Idina Menzel in If/Then also comes to mind.

 

As an added bonus, Victoria Clark and Kecia Lewis both took the show in Cinderella in different ways.

[Drewski Vanderbilt]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 4:13pm

Norm Lewis- Phantom (truly incredible to see him)

Ramin Karimloo and Will Swenson- Les Miserables (Best Valjean/Javert pair I've seen in years)

Alan Cumming- Cabaret Final Performance (Is there anything more to say)

Carly Hughes and Jennifer Nettles- Chicago (Very funny Velma/Roxie)

Sierra Boggess 54 below (I know 54 Below doesn't technically count but it was very good)

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 4:50pm

Reading of these performances makes me so jealous!

Lynne Winterstellar in THE GLASS MENAGERIE

[Phillypinto]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:00pm

Jessie Mueller in Beautiful

[Julie Yard]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:01pm

OK... I was a Sondheim virgin until these...

The revival of Sweeney Todd (Judy Kaye was subbing) and I sat frozen on the edge of my seat the entire show. And the revival of Sunday in the Park and I was about 5 rows from the top of Studio 54 and me and the guy beside me cried and cried.

And Mark Rylance in anything.. but Jerusalem really knocked me out, although I can still see him in Twelfth Night and his Olivia jumping up and down applauding when they said there would be boys. 

[The Josh]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:04pm

Tracy Letts- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Joe Mantello, Ellen Barkin, Jim Parsons- The Normal Heart

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

Alan Cumming- Macbeth

Andrea Martin- Pippin

Katie Finneran- Promises, Promises

Michael Cervris, Sydney Lucas- Fun Home

Updated On: 6/2/15 at 05:04 PM

[PianoMann]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 5:58pm

Tracy Letts, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Jan Maxwell, Follies

Patti LuPone, Gypsy

Judith Light, Other Desert Cities and The Assembled Parties

[jwsel]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:19pm

Ian McKellen - Othello and Acting Shakespeare

Derek Jacobi - Much Ado About Nothing

Zoe Caldwell - Master Class

Tonya Pinkins - Caroline, Or Change

Audra McDonald - concert and Master Class

Judi Dench - The Cherry Orchard

Mark Rylance - Twelfth Night

Judith Ivey and Victor Garber - A Little Night Music

Maggie Smith - Lettice and Lovage

Desmond Richarson - Fosse

Sammy Williams - A Chorus Line

and since it says "Live" and not just theater, I need to add one from opera:

Sondra Radvanovsky - Tosca

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:30pm

Tonya Pinkins and Anika Noni Rose - Caroline, or Change

Stephanie Mills - The Wiz

Estelle Parsons - August Osage County

Patina Miller - Pippin

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 6:35pm

Honestly, Kristin Chenoweth in On the Twentieth Century. I seriously felt privileged to have witnessed that performance.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 6/2/15 at 7:15pm

John Cameron Mitchell -- Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Alan Cumming -- Cabaret

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

Audra McDonald -- Porgy and Bess

Cicely Tyson -- The Trip to Bountiful 

Patina Miller -- Pippin

Jan Maxwell -- Follies

Danny Burstein -- Follies

Alice Ripley -- Next to Normal

Marin Mazzie -- Next to Normal

[StephieElise]

Posted: 6/3/15 at 7:56am

On Broadway:

Idina Menzel - If/Then (and her concert in Melbourne the year previously)

Billy Porter - Kinky Boots

Norm Lewis - Phantom

 

In Melbourne:

Geoffrey Rush - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Amanda Harrison - Wicked

Simon Gleeson - Les Miserables

Esther Hannaford - King Kong

[pippin423]

Posted: 6/3/15 at 9:22am

Ann Twomey in Nuts (the Streisand role). 35 years later, I still remember being mesmerized by her. Even in scenes where she didn't speak, you could not take your eyes off of her. Great does not even begin to describe that performance, imho.

[pc1145N2]

Posted: 6/3/15 at 11:01am

For me, it's an easy decision:

Patti LuPone in Gypsy.

 

On a semi-related side note, the best series of live performances were the Sondheim shows put on at Ravinia. Each of them starred:

Audra McDonald

Michael Cerveris

Patti LuPone

 

The shows they performed:

1.) Sunday in the Park With George

2.) Sweeney Todd

3.) A Little Night Music

4.) Passion

5.) Anyone Can Whistle

 

I consider myself very lucky to have been introduced to Sondheim in this format. They were amazing performances by amazingly talented people.