What is the best Stage Performance You Have Ever Seen?- Page 3

[TNick926]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 2:39pm

I love thinking about this, and like many here, it seems impossible to name one of the hundreds (or thousands?!) of performances I've seen in my life as the "best", but I like the challenge!  Let's go with 5, and see if I can decide on one of those as the BEST...

Brian Dennehy - Death of a Salesman (and interwoven so carefully - Elizabeth Franz!)

Patti LuPone - Gypsy

Jennifer Holiday - Dreamgirls

Stephen Spinella - Angels in America (and the whole cast; I could Andrew Garfield in this spot just as easily, and be happy with that - he was extraordinary in the revival)

George Hearn - La Cage (singing "I Am What I Am"

Those are the ones that rush forward in my mind, elbowing hundreds of others out of the way, pushing aside Pearl Bailey in Hello, Dolly!, Nathan Lane in the Producers, Stephanie Mills in The Wiz....

But if I have to name the BEST performance on any stage I have EVER seen in my life, I have to say it was Liza Minnelli in concert, two years in a row, in Pittsburgh, 1979 and 1980.  I have never been as astonished since - that one single performer up there on stage could single-handedly bring characters to life so vividly in song, tear the heartstrings one minute and have the audience roaring with laughter the next, and gripping my soul and never letting go....I never got to see greats like Jolson or Garland (before my time), but to me, Liza was a theatrical volcano, channeling bigger-than-life greatness...  Ok!  Back to work! :)

 

Updated On: 11/5/18 at 02:39 PM

[Ftworthguy]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 2:43pm

TNick926 said: "I love thinking about this, and like many here, it seems impossible to name one of the hundreds (or thousands?!) of performances I've seen in my life as the "best", but I like the challenge! Let's go with 5, and see if I can decide on one of those as the BEST...

Brian Dennehy - Death of a Salesman (and interwoven so carefully - Elizabeth Franz!)

Patti LuPone - Gypsy

Jennifer Holiday - Dreamgirls

Stephen Spinella - Angels in America (and the whole cast; I could Andrew Garfield in this spot just as easily, and be happy with that - he was extraordinary in the revival)

George Hearn - La Cage (singing "I Am What I Am"

Those are the ones that rush forward in my mind, elbowing hundreds of others out of the way, pushing aside Pearl Bailey in Hello, Dolly!, Nathan Lane in the Producers, Stephanie Mills in The Wiz....

But if I have to name the BEST performance on any stage I have EVER seen in my life, I have to say it was Liza Minnelli in concert, two years in a row, in Pittsburgh, 1979 and 1980. I have never been as astonished since - that one single performer up there on stage could single-handedly bring characters to life so vividly in song, tear the heartstrings one minute and have the audience roaring with laughter the next, and gripping my soul and never letting go....I never got to see greats like Jolson or Garland (before my time), but to me, Liza was a theatrical volcano, channeling bigger-than-life greatness... Ok! Back to work! :)

"

Brian Dennehy's performance in "Death of a Salesman" was a towering achievement -- Absolutely loved it. 

 

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 2:45pm

For me, there's Tonya Pinkins in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE...and then there's everyone else.

[bfreak]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 2:51pm

All of the principals in 2014's A Raisin in the Sun

Alan Cumming in Cabaret

Michael Cerveris in Fun Home

Jake Gyllenhaal in Sunday in the Park With George

Ben Platt in Dear Evan Hansen

Glenda Jackson in Three Tall Women

Andrew Garfield in Angels in America

Elaine May in The Waverly Gallery

Bette Midler/Donna Murphy and David Hyde Pierce in Hello Dolly

Kelli O'Hara in The King and I

Updated On: 11/10/18 at 02:51 PM

Posted: 11/5/18 at 2:56pm

Frank Langella  Frost/Nixon

Fiona Shaw       Medea

John Gallagher Jr.  Spring Awakening

Alice Ripley        Next to Normal

[Miramar3]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 3:38pm

There have been many.  But Judi Dench as Sally Bowles in "Cabaret" (London, 1968) stands out.  I will never forget it.  Here is Dame Judi rehearsing and then performing "Don't Tell Mama".

 

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 3:54pm

Vespertine1228 said: "I remember seeing A Streetcar Named Desire at BAM, with Cate Blanchett as Blanche, and thinking to myself after it was over "Well I never need to see that again. No one could possibly do it better."

And just because drama always seems to take precedent over comedy in discussions like these, James Corden's comic geniusin One Man, Two Guvnors cannot be overstated."

I chose Colleen Dewhurst bot Moon for the Misbegotten, but debated between she and Cate Blanchett.  I agree with you in that I do not expect to see a Blanche as real as hers again; interestingly, if someone asked me to identify the best movie performance, ever I would pick either Vivien Leigh for Gone With the Wind or Vivien Leigh for Streetcar.  Kudos to Tennessee Williams for writing such great roles; they provide opportunities for great actors to excel; unfortunately, the also provide opportunities for great and not so great actresses to fail miserably, witness Jessica Lange and Natasha Richardson, both of whom I thought were terrible.  Interestingly, i have read that Rachel Weisz and Gillian Anderson have both given great performances, although I have not seen either.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 3:58pm

Natasha Richardson in Cabaret gave a performance that I still have not seen equaled.

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 6:16pm

Chita and Gwen in Chicago, at the height of their powers. I was a teen that liked musicals at the time, but after that performance I was obsessed. Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag was sublime. Bless my parents for springing for excellent seats. We still talk about that night.

Also
Tonya Pinkins in Caroline, or Change.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 7:35pm

Many are called (to mind), but few are chosen: a tie between John McMartin in FOLLIES (1971) and Hugh Jackman in THE BOY FROM OZ (2003).

[Br0adway]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 8:16pm

Tied between Loren Lott (Ti Moune) from OOTI and Rachel Bay Jones (Heidi Hansen) from DEH. Everything about their performances made me love their shows even more. I’d pay so much money to travel back in time to see both in those roles again.

[smallworld]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 8:42pm

Euan Morton in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH

[markypoo]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 8:54pm

I have to chime in re. Brian Dennehy in Salesman.
Working himself into such a fit of anger - with his face growing blood red - I thought he was going to have a stroke on stage.
What made it better is that I snuck into the show for free...

[east side story]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 9:01pm

Billie Piper, YERMA

This entire production was a godsend, but Piper’s performance absolutely gutted me. And those final moments? I left Park Avenue Armory shaking.

Updated On: 11/5/18 at 09:01 PM

[qafgenius122]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 9:01pm

The two that come immediately to mind are;

Alice Ripley - Next to Normal
Ben Platt - Dear Evan Hansen

And because I really want to include two more performances from non-musical plays

Tracy Letts - Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Jan Maxwell - Scenes from an Execution

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 9:10pm

qafgenius122 said: "Tracy Letts - Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

I'll second Tracy Letts in Virginia Woolf.  What a stunning achievement that performance was.

I'll add:

Nina Arianda in Venus in Fur 

Stephen Lang in A Few Good Men.

[sorano916]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 9:31pm

I saw Cate Blanchett in "A Streetcar Named Desire" from the front row at the Kennedy Center. Yeah, that performance will last me a lifetime. Never need to see that show again because no one will top that.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 11/5/18 at 9:49pm

The first 10 that come to mind:

Nina Arianda in Venus in Fur
Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens
Ellen Greene in Little Shop of Horrors
Glenda Jackson in Three Tall Women
Tracy Letts in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Patti LuPone in Gypsy
Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Amy Morton in August: Osage County
Alice Ripley in Next to Normal

[Demitri2]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 6:41pm

My top ten plus:

Angela Lansbury as MAME

Barbra Streisand in FUNNY GIRL

Barbara Harris in THE APPLE TREE

Luba Lisa in THE PAJAMA GAME

Ann Sothern in GYPSY

Geraldine Page in THE LITTLE FOXES

Gwen Verdon in CHICAGO

Sandy Duncan in PETER PAN

Anita Morris in NINE

Douglas Sills in THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL

Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner in SIDE SHOW

Rachel York in DESSA ROSE

Jill Paice in MATILDA

Laura Benanti in SHE LOVES ME

The third guy from the left in the shower scene in TAKE ME OUT

I didn't mention Liza Minnelli but feel I should. Thanks to my theatre-going family, I was able to see her in three musicals while she was still in her teens (17, 18 and 19) and was truly impressed. I found it remarkable that this young girl could generate so much electricity and attention on stage in her own unique way ably carrying off leading roles with much deserved success. She was quite a force in those early years.  

 

 

[Malinda5000]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 6:49pm

For Musical - Stephanie Mills in The Wiz (Original Run)

For Play - Cicely Tyson in The Corn Is Green

[Impossible2]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 6:50pm

Billy Piper - Yerma

Gillian Anderson - Streetcar Named Desire

Frank Langella - The Father

Fiona Shaw - Medea

Imelda Staunton - Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf/Gypsy

 

[openstage2]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 6:56pm

Colm Wilkinson and the original cast performing in Les Miserables. “One Day More”

[BwayLB]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 7:48pm

Christopher Sieber as Albin/Zaza in the national tour of La Cage Aux Folles

[Maceball]

Posted: 11/6/18 at 9:06pm

Elaine Stritch - At Liberty

[Square Peg2]

Posted: 11/7/18 at 6:54am

The idea of choosing the best performance I've ever seen is hurting my brain, but one that is staying with me after a recent overloaded theatre trip to NY is Yvonne Woods in Uncle Vanya. I'll happily admit it's influenced by over-association with the character, but her balance of vulnerability and hope was heartbreaking. It's rare for a human to be so beautifully transparent.