Posted: 12/6/17 at 8:56am
The lists are in!
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/theater/best-theater.html?_r=0
Updated On: 12/6/17 at 08:56 AM
Posted: 12/6/17 at 9:06am
Was "Dear Evan Hansen" on their 2016 list?
Posted: 12/6/17 at 9:09am
Posted: 12/6/17 at 9:33am
yankeefan7 said: "Was "Dear Evan Hansen" on their 2016 list?"
Yup: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/theater/best-theater.html
Posted: 12/6/17 at 10:53am
Posted: 12/6/17 at 11:00am
I think they try to encourage new works or strong reinterpretations in revivals. Dolly, while a gloriously fun night at the theatre with great performances, it sticks very closely with the original staging, costumes, etc.
To contradict myself, they did also include Sunday, which didn't really reinvent the wheel either.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 11:01am
Dolly was on Green's list...as a runner up - the same place he put SITPWG.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 11:19am
Sad I missed "Escaped Alone." Was on my radar but came and went so quick.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 11:25am
I'm happy to see my favorite show of the season, A Doll's House, Part 2, made both their lists but I'm surprised Brantley didn't include The Antipodes. I seem to recall he claimed that to be one of the three best plays of last season.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 11:35am
So happy The Band’s Visit made both lists!!
Posted: 12/6/17 at 1:14pm
Posted: 12/6/17 at 1:24pm
raddersons said: "Absolutely shocked People, Places, and Things managed to avoid BOTH lists. It was probably the best thing I saw this year."
I wonder if that's because Brantley most likely saw it in London?
Posted: 12/6/17 at 1:26pm
I'm also surprised at the exclusion of People, Places and Things and also Government Inspector and Torch Song. All of them were the kind of super-buzzy off-Broadway plays that Brantley loves.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 1:44pm
nasty_khakis said: "raddersons said: "Absolutely shocked People, Places, and Things managed to avoid BOTH lists. It was probably the best thing I saw this year."
I wonder if that's because Brantley most likely saw it in London?
Regardless, Brantley didn't give it a particularly strong review then: "Unfortunately, the bulk of “People, Places and Things” registers as similarly run-of-the-gin-mill." And Green's review this year was far short of being a rave. So, it shouldn't be at all surprising that it didn't make their lists, even though I believe that it deserves to be on the list.
Updated On: 12/6/17 at 01:44 PM
Posted: 12/6/17 at 2:12pm
Green includes Springsteen on Broadway. Is it not a category mistake to treat that show as theater? I realize Springsteen tells various life stories related to the songs he performs -- as do many musicians at their concerts. It's a concert that is being performed repeatedly in a Broadway theater. That doesn't make it theater. This makes me wonder whether it is fair to include it on the list, given that some deserving theatre production is excluded as a consequence.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 2:29pm
Posted: 12/6/17 at 2:40pm
Miles2Go2 said: "I haven’t seen the show, but I think it’s fair to include it. Just as it would have been fair to include one-person shows by the likes of Elaine Stritch or Rita Moreno in the year they debuted."
But arguably those cases are distinguished by the fact that the actor's craft is central to the production. I'm unclear about what makes the Springsteen show different than numerous other solo musician concerts that involve some storytelling and the like but that no one classifies as theater.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 2:56pm
Nice to see Brantley and Green both gave nod to Jitney.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 3:15pm
Andy51 said: "Miles2Go2 said: "I haven’t seen the show, but I think it’s fair to include it. Just as it would have been fair to include one-person shows by the likes of Elaine Stritch or Rita Moreno in the year they debuted."
But arguably those cases are distinguished by the fact that the actor's craft is central to the production. I'm unclear about what makes the Springsteen show different than numerous other solo musician concerts that involve some storytelling and the like but that no one classifies as theater."
I understand your point. I do. I haven’t seen the show, but my understanding is that this is a drastically different show than his big stadium shows. It’s quieter, more intimate, with significantly more storytelling. Which would place it closer to the previously named one-person shows than a traditional rock concert. It may not be what one is used to calling acting, but if it checks most of the boxes we associate with acting, I think it’s fair to include it under the broad umbrella of theater. To paraphrase a quote: “I may not know what theater is, but I know it when I see it.” In reality, I couldn’t get a ticket to this show (and honestly I wanted to see other shows - I saw 6 - more) when I was in NYC last month and it’ll close before I’m back.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 4:25pm
Andy51 said: "But arguably those cases are distinguished by the fact that the actor's craft is central to the production. I'm unclear about what makes the Springsteen show different than numerous other solo musician concerts that involve some storytelling and the like but that no one classifies as theater."
I think there's a solid case to be made for Springsteen on Broadway being more "theater" than an average concert with storytelling elements. It has a script. It follows a narrative arc. And the songs, while not original to the show, are reconceived within the context of the story as it is being told and framed. It walks a line for sure, but one man telling his life story with songs interjected...I'm okay with Greene's categorization. Even though I actually didn't love the show itself, but that's a whooooole separate issue.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 4:25pm
Though I admit I also haven't seen Springsteen's show, I agree on principal with Miles2Go2. Theatre is indeed a wide umbrella, and the fact that Springsteen is, in fact, performing the show in a Broadway theatre does make a difference in this debate. I think we COULD actually make an argument for the average "concert with storytelling" structure to be considered theatre, but most people choose not to because, unlike Bruce's show, it isn't playing in a theatrical context.
Posted: 12/6/17 at 4:35pm
Ben Brantley
"What follows are 10 shows, listed alphabetically, that left me breathless — and deeply grateful for the refuge that theater can provide."
The Band’s Visit
The B-Side: Negro Folklore From Texas State Prisons
‘Burning Doors
A Doll’s House, Part 2
Escaped Alone
Jitney
The Red Letter Plays
Richard III
Springsteen on Broadway
Sunday in the Park with George’"
Jesse Green
"The 7.5 plays and 2.5 musicals on my Top 10 list (presented in chronological order) were not all perfect or even enjoyable in the conventional sense, but helped re-establish equilibrium between the outer world in which bad things happen and the inner world where we worry alone."
Escaped Alone
A Doll’s House, Part 2
Sojourners and Her Portmanteau
Cost of Living
Master
As You Like It
Mary Jane
Springsteen on Broadway
Jesus Hopped the “A” Train
The Band’s Visit
