Your Top 10 Shows This Decade

[Big Apple2]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 4:55pm

As another decade is coming to a close, I thought it would be nice to see what you guys thought your top 10 shows are the past 10 years.  I'm still compiling mine.  But for those who already got a list, please post away.

[jvoom]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 5:47pm

I'm useless at ranking shows I've seen and I'm not sure if you mean "new shows" but still, I want to say the recent Hello, Dolly! revival may be the best thing I've seen this decade. An absolutely flawless, electric production I'll never forget.

[Ledaero]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 5:57pm

Top 10? That's a real narrow number. I've been working on a Top 100 and that's hard enough. Definitely need a few more weeks to refine and organize everything, might check back in on this thread near the end of the year.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 6:02pm

I’m not ranking these other than chronologically, but here’s my top 10. I’m including revivals

American Idiot
On The Town
Book of Mormon
The King and I
Hamilton
Hello, Dolly!
The Band’s Visit
Angels in America
The Waverly Gallery
Moulin Rouge!

I could easily list 10 more.

[binau]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 6:09pm

Hello, Dolly! (Bernadette)
Follies
The Visit
A Little Night Music (both original and replacement)
Bridges of Madison County
The Band’s Visit
Next to normal (especially Mazzie)

Oklahoma! Revival 
Company (west end)
Caroline, or Change (west end)

Updated On: 11/26/19 at 06:09 PM

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 6:13pm

Significant Other

Bring it On

Hamilton

DEH

Once On This Island revival

Six

The Color Purple revival

Hadestown

JLP

Boys In The Band

 

Updated On: 11/30/19 at 06:13 PM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 6:50pm

You guys above are definitely helping me out! These shows brought me pure joy/catharsis: 9 musicals and 6 plays. If you're only allowed 10, throw out whichever 5 you want.

Original Musicals:

HADESTOWN

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

GROUNDHOG DAY

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS

Act I of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Revivals:

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

THE COLOR PURPLE

ON THE TOWN

Plays:

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

PETER & THE STARCATCHER

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT...

OSLO

THE NANCE

WAR HORSE

 

 

 

 

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 7:12pm

To Kill a Mockingbird
Hamilton
Color Purple Revival
DEH
Come From Away
Hadestown
Waitress
Miss Saigon
Cursed Child
Les Mis Revival

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 7:25pm

1. Hamilton
2. Dear Evan Hansen
3. Matilda
4. Come From Away
5. Beautiful
6. Something Rotten
7. Once on this Island Revival
8. Hello Dolly Revival
9. Hadestown
10. The Prom

Close Call: Groundhog Day, My Fair Lady Revival

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 7:52pm

If it's a list of shows from this decade I personally enjoyed the most my list would probably include shows like Bonnie & Clyde and Doctor Zhivago because I enjoy them immensely in spite of their failure to captivate a larger audience. If you want something more substantive, then yes, Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! was probably the greatest thing I've ever seen and will ever see. Not just Bette Midler but Gavin Creel, Kate Baldwin, David Hyde Pierce, the scenery, the costumes, everything... perfection.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 8:19pm

Plays:
GOOD PEOPLE
BRIEF ENCOUNTER
PETER AND THE STARCATCHER
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
HAND TO GOD
BLACKBIRD
INDECENT
HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD
ANGELS IN AMERICA
TORCH SONG

Musicals:
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS
FOLLIES
AFTER MIDNIGHT
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
FUN HOME
HAMILTON
COME FROM AWAY
NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS THE MUSICAL (probably the most fun I have had at a show in the decade)
HADESTOWN

[Markie27]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:14pm

I have to separate the plays from the musicals.  And I haven’t watched Inheritance yet so my plays may change but I think my top 10 musicals are set in stone already.

MUSICALS

1. Sunday in the Park with George (2017 Revival)
2. Fun Home
3. Kinky Boots
4. Once on this Island (2018 Revival)
5. Into The Woods (2015 Fiasco Revival)
6. Hamilton
7. Falsettos (2016 Revival)
8. Waitress
9. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014 Revival)
10. Oklahoma! (2019 Revival)

 

PLAYS

1. Angels in America (2018)
2. Torch Song (2019)
3. Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (because of Audra)
4. The Boys in the Band (2018)
5. The Iceman Cometh (Nathan Lane & Brian Denehy Revival at BAM)
6. The Ferryman
7. The Jungle
8. Significant Other
9. Life Sucks.
10. Uncle Vanya (Hunter Theater Project 2018)

 

[Miserent]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:21pm

Once On This Island
Hello, Dolly!
The Color Purple (2015 revival)
Hadestown
End of the Rainbow
Sister Act
Sunday In The Park With George (Gyllenhaal/Ashford)
War Paint
Sunset Boulevard
The Band’s Visit

[mpkie]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:28pm

I only started attending circa 2015 but definitely would watch these again periodically if given the chance -

Book of Mormon

School of Rock

Les Miserables

My Fair Lady

Dear Evan Hansen

Fiddler On the Roof

Oslo

Hello Dolly

Beetlejuice

She Loves Me

Edit: Okay I have to cheat and put an 11th since I put another play above:

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Updated On: 11/26/19 at 10:28 PM

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:29pm

1. Hadestown.
2. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
3. The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Paper Mill Playhouse. Forever bitter it didn’t transfer.
4. Six.
5. Les Miserables.
6. Book of Mormon.
7. Hamilton.
8. The Prom.
9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
10. Oklahoma! 2019 Revival

Updated On: 11/26/19 at 10:29 PM

[helvizz]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:40pm

1. Next to Normal with the replacement cast (2010)

2. Hello, Dolly (2017)

3. La Cage Aux Folles (2010)

4. Pippin (2013)

5. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014)

6. She Loves Me (2016)

7. Hamilton (2015)

8. Dear Evan Hansen (2016)

9. Come From Away (2017)

10. The Humans (2016)

Honorable mention to the Spring Awakening revival, because it gave the show a new meaning and for the first time in my life I cared for Melchior. The show just isn't my cup of tea (not the best book/lyrics), but I loved the production overall.

I'm almost sure the 2014 The Glass Menagerie revival and Hadestown would've made it to the list if I had been able to watch them. I might still watch Hadestown, but I'll always be biter about missing what appears to have been one of the most glorious and perfectly-cast productions of  this Tennesee Williams classic.  

Updated On: 11/26/19 at 10:40 PM

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 10:50pm

Looking down this list, I think it's safe to say that the 2010s have been one of the best decades for film in a very long time.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 11/26/19 at 11:18pm

Plays (In Decent Order):

The Ferryman

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Sound Inside

A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanchette production)

The Normal Heart

Slave Play

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night

The Crucible (Van Hove Production)

King Charles III

Three Tall Women

(Note: I was unable see Angels in America, which probably would have made the list, based on my past view of the work, and the loud praise the recent production received)

 

Musicals (In Decent Order):

Oklahoma

Moulin Rouge

Hamilton

The King and I

Dear Evan Hansen

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Bandstand

Hello Dolly

The Great Comet

She Loves Me

(Note:a production of Evita that I saw in Sarasota would have ranked third, and a production of (of all things) The Sound of Music would have ranked in the middle, probably right after Bandstand.  I have never liked SOM live, but this production was just outstanding and made a strong case for SOM being much better than I thought, and definitely worth reviving with the right director.  Similarly, a production of Merrily We Roll Along which I saw in Boston 2 - 3 years ago would have been somewhere in the middle of the list).

I did not see the revival of Angels in America.

My least favorite Play:  Gary, wirth honorable mention to A Doll'sHouse - Part 2 (not because it was bad; I thought the concept was really stimulating, but the execution really was a let-down...to me, it was an idea for a play, not a play.  IMO it should have been much more fleshed out.

My Least Favorite Musical:  Tootsie (but i did not see things like Amazing Grace, Disaster, Getting the Band Together, Head Over Heels, and the show about the Rabbi at CITS).

 

I note that the top of both lists favor the past 2 seasons.  I have not forgotten prior seasons, in fact -- being anal-retentive -- i went back to remember what opened each season on Broadway, and guessed that the Blanchette Streetcar was early the time period.  I would also pointout that, looking back, that a couple of early seasons  in the past decade were to me pretty uninteresting.

 

 

Updated On: 11/27/19 at 11:18 PM

[bear88]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 2:04am

​​​​​​​These aren't in any particular order. I'm probably leaving out one or two shows, and I also ended up leaving off some shows even from my honorable mention list that I tossed into a "Memorable Shows" category. My list is biased towards tours and regional productions, because I don't live anywhere near New York City and spent 1993 through 2016 not going there. So my list is heavy on more recent productions.

• Hamilton
• Fun Home (SF touring production)
• Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (SF touring production)
• Hadestown
• Oklahoma! revival
• My Fair Lady revival
• Angels in America (Berkeley Rep)
• Vietgone (ACT in San Francisco)
• The Jungle (Curran in San Francisco)

Honorable mentions: Sunday in the Park With George (SF Playhouse); Sweat (ACT in SF); Sweeney Todd (Hillbarn Theater); The Humans (SF tour); Hello, Dolly! (SF tour); Head Over Heels (Curran out-of-town tryout)

Memorable shows (for one reason or another): Shuffle Along, The Book of Mormon, Dear Evan Hansen, Much Ado About Nothing (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Seascape (ACT in San Francisco); Grey Gardens (Ahmanson); Next to Normal (Broadway by the Bay - Redwood City); In the Heights (PCPA - Santa Maria, California); La Cage Aux Folles (San Francisco Playhouse);  Bright Star (Curran); A Christmas Carol (Notre Dame - Belmont)

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 6:36am

In no particular order:

The Band's Visit

Come From Away

Venus in Fur

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2012)

The King and I (Marin Mazzie)

Something Rotten!

Pippin

The Sound Inside

The Winslow Boy

All The Way

 

Honorable Mention:

Fun Home

Fiddler on The Roof (Both Danny Burstein production and Yiddish production)

Oslo

Waverly Gallery

Anything Goes (2011)

Once

And 4 Off Broadway gems:

Jesus Hopped the "A" Train at Signature NY

Athol Fugard's The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek at Signature NY

Harry Clarke with Billy Crudup

Sweeney Todd (Barrow St. Theater with Hugh Panaro and Carolee Carmello)

And yes, I would have included Hamilton but I figured it already had more than enough votes from everyone else.

Updated On: 11/27/19 at 06:36 AM

[JVJ93]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 8:17am

Fun Home (Public Theatre)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (2012)
The Glass Menagerie (2013, John Tiffany)
Fly By Night (Playwrights Horizons)
Torch Song (Second Stage)
Great Comet (46th Street Kazino
Mary Jane (NYTW)
Angels in America
Once on This Island
Merrily We Roll Along (Huntington Theatre Co)

Honorable Mentions

Pippin
Spring Awakening (Deaf West)
The Boys in the Band
Heather Headley in The Color Purple. I felt like I was Levitating out of my seat when she was onstage
To Kill A Mockingbird
Indecent

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 8:21am

(In No Particular Order)

1. HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (2014 Revival)
2. TORCH SONG (2017/2018 Revival)
3. HELLO, DOLLY (2017 Revival)
4. WIT (2011 Revival with Cynthia Nixon)
5. THE PROM
6. COME FROM AWAY
7. THE CHER SHOW
8. THE BOYS IN THE BAND (2018 Revival)
9. CABARET (Alan Cumming/Emma Stone)
10. SPRING AWAKENING (2015 Revival)

Honorable Mention (if I could extend to 15):
- KINKY BOOTS
- THE WAVERLY GALLERY
- THE LAST SHIP (with Sting)
- SUNSET BOULEVARD
- ANGELS IN AMERICA (2018 Revival)

[Ledaero]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 9:13am

^ "No particular order" and then you rank them lmao

[Miserent]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 9:17am

I'm not sure how I forgot to include The Prom on my list, what an unexpected, joyful surprise that show was.  I loved it.

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/27/19 at 9:41am

I've included only new shows but opened it up to off-Broadway. There have been some incredible works in the past decade! Here are ten that knocked me out:

Taylor Mac’s 24 Hour History of Popular Music

An Octoroon

Scottsboro Boys

Hamilton

Indecent

The Inheritance

Guards at the Taj

Waitress

born bad

What the Constitution Means to Me