Your BEST & WORST shows/performances of the 2011-12 season?

[massofmen]

muscle i am RIGHT there with you with "once".

[After Eight]

"Plus, the lead girl (I don't care to search for her name)was so irritating."

Ain't that the truth. That's one of the main reasons the show is so irritating.

"I found it very unbelievable that the guy would fall in love with her."

In normal circumstances, that would be true. But in this case, the guy is such a wuss that he likes being pushed around. I guess.


SPOILER ALERT

But how much does he really love her, if at all? If, the minute Girl tells him to go back to his ex-girlfriend, he obeys dutifully like the lapdog that he is, his love for Girl couldn't have been that deep then, could it? And the fact that he goes back to someone he doesn't really love shows just what kind of a standup guy Guy is.

What a pair, truly.

[muscle23ftl]

It certainly doesn't belong on Broadway. I've seen high school productions with more sophistication...

[hermajesty]

BEST
Jersey Boys/End Of The Rainbow

WORST
None, everyone tries their best to entertain you.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Ugh, I forgot ON A CLEAR DAY. Definitely in my bottom five of the year. Probably number two.

[followspot]

^^ Agreed - ON A CLEAR DAY was definitely number two.

[blaxx]

It certainly doesn't belong on Broadway. I've seen high school productions with more sophistication...

Is not that, love. It's that you were born with no taste.

Saying that the musical with the most Tony nominations doesn't belong on Broadway and it's worse than a high school show, then praising a show like Bombay Dreams, well...I'm glad you don't work for the theater.

You DO know what sophistication means, right? Oh, wait, I forgot...

[muscle23ftl]

You are just like herpes, you keep coming back! Haha. Get a life.

[HeyMrMusic]

I don't get the hate for Once. To me, it's easily one of the best shows, play or musical, to open in quite a few years. And it's the best use of actors as musicians and musicians as actors. Everything about it is pretty brilliant. I'd be happy if it wins all 11 Tonys.

[Sirius Black]

Best performances in plays:
Tyne Daly - Masterclass
Rosemary Harris - The Road to Mecca
Jim Dale - The Road to Mecca

Worst:
Almost everything else. Saw very little outstanding work this year. Lots of meh plays and meh performances from even the most dependible people (I'm looking at you, Judith Light.)

[Ejm105989]

BEST:
One Man, Two Guvnors
Mountaintop
Seminar (only because Alan Rickman,IMO, saved it w/ his performance)
Ghost

IN THE MIDDLE (Didn't love it, didn't hate it):
Leap of Faith
Godspell
Follies
Relatively Speaking

WORST:
Lysistrata Jones
Spider-Man

[MillieDillmount]

My favorite show that I saw this season is hands down: BONNIE & CLYDE. I so wish it was still playing.

Enjoyable (Just a fun night at the theatre):
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Leap of Faith
Newsies (although it didn't live up to the hype for me, I still enjoyed it)
Godspell
Carrie (I really loved this production - great score)
Pipe Dream
Assistance (Off-Broadway play - I was pleasantly surprised about this show!)

Indifferent:
Ghost (I keep forgetting I saw this show)
Relatively Speaking (LOVED the last sketch, hated / didn't understand the point of the first two)
How I Learned To Drive (Incredible performances - the book wasn't a favorite of mine)
Tokio Confidential (an Off-Broadway musical - I saw it four times and I'm still not sure if I liked it ...)

Worst:
Follies
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (There was many problems with this show)
Other Desert Cities (I saw the ending coming a mile away - I can't stand predictable shows)
Spider-Man (I saw the first version last year - it doesn't belong on Broadway ...)
Merrily We Roll Along

Performances Worth Mentioning:
Melissa van der Schyff (Blanche in Bonnie & Clyde)
Jeremy Jordan (Clyde in Bonnie & Clyde)
Laura Osnes (Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde)
Jessica Phillips (Marla in Leap of Faith)
Molly Ranson (Carrie in Carrie)
Marin Mazzie (Margaret in Carrie)
Christy Altomare (Sue in Carrie)
Elizabeth Reaser ('Lil Bit in How I Learned to Drive)
Norbert Leo Butz (Peck in How I Learned to Drive)
Jill Paice (Isabella in Tokio Confidential)
Da'vine Joy Randolph (Ode Mae Brown in Ghost)
Virginia Kull (Nora in Assistance)


This is the first year I've seen enough shows in a season to do this! I feel accomplished! :P

[kyl3fong2]

BEST:
Ghost
Evita
Death of a Salesman

IN THE MIDDLE:
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

WORST:
Lysistrata Jones
Leap of Faith


PERFORMANCES I ENJOYED:
Laura Osnes, "Bonnie & Clyde"
Jeremy Jordan, "Newsies" and "Bonnie & Clyde"
Reeve Carney, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark"
Caissie Levy, "GHOST"
Richard Fleeshman, "GHOST"
Ricky Martin, "Evita"

[Kad]

Worst performance for me was Christina Kirk in Clybourne Park. One of the worst professional performances I have seen recently.

[Auggie27]

Most disappointing, or perhaps biggest missed opportunity: the ON A CLEAR DAY revisal. An aesthetically unappealing production, indifferent casting, save Mueller, and a blown chance to turn one of the most exquisite (and for some of us, beloved) scores into something magical. The show so lacked that critical ingredient, magic, of the simplest theatrical type, it was a sad occasion. Late in act two, when several members of the company spread out across to the stage to sing a chamber version of one of the most haunting numbers, "She Wasn't You," we saw but a glimpse of what might've been. Everything else, what was the word I used? Sad.

[Buddy Plummer2]

Best:
1 Merrily We Roll Along at ENCORES
2 Follies
3 One Man Two Guvnors
4 Once
5 Newsies
6 Peter and the Starcatcher
7 Jesus Christ Superstar AND Evita (Two truly outstanding productions, IMO)
8 Nice Work If You Can Get It
9 Silence! The Musical & Queen of the Mist
10 Carrie (It certainly was not perfect, but it was still truly outstanding)

Honorable Mention- Mary Zimmerman's Candide at Huntington Theatre Company (Really one of the most incredible theatre experiences I've ever had)

Favorite Moments in Theatre:
1 The final half hour of "Merrily" at Encores. I swear I've never been moved that deeply by a production.
2 The entirety of Jenn Harris's performance in Silence, a true master class in comedic acting.
3 The final curtain call of the final performance of Huntington's Candide... The one that lasted a full ten minutes.
4 Jan Maxwell spitting acid eight times a week during "Could I Leave You?" in Follies
5 NYTW tie: The opening pre show of Once and Christian Borle having his hand chopped off
6 The look on each of the newsie's faces at the end of "Seize the Day", and the rapturous ovation that ensues
7 The unfurling of the Chrysler Building in Spider-Man, one of the most incredible stage pictures I've ever seen.
8 Kelli O'Hara flipping backwards repeatedly on a bed, Jennifer Laura Thompson's never ending gown, and Judy Kaye's chandelier acrobatics making Nice Work officially the most divalicious new musical
9 Sam disappearing in the middle of the stage during the finale of Ghost... seriously... I STILL don't know how it's done.
10 "We Beseech Thee"- I'm sorry, but those trampolines... I do have problems with this show, but that scene was so well done)

Honorable Mention: Hugh Jackman's "Tenderfield Saddler"... my god he's a gifted performer

(And my votes for the Tonys this year: Newsies and Once TIE, Follies, One Man, Two Guvnors, and Master Class)


Worst:
5 Love Never Dies (Gorgeous set... but those lyrics... WTF?)
4 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
3 Beau Bridges in H2$ (Perhaps the most unprofessional thing I've ever seen... ever)
2 Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark 2.0 (I actually quite enjoyed 1.0... it was a mess... but what an enjoyable mess )
1 Leap of Faith

and I'll go one more:

Most Excited for in 2012/13:
Matilda
Into the Woods at SitP

[somethininthestars]

Dear labwyfan, muscle23ftl, aftereight, jakebloke, and massofmen:

i could weep for joy!

i am not the ONLY person in the world who really really really disliked ONCE. (Just, apparently, the only person i've ever met in real life.)

thank you.

[choitoy]

I hate living on the other side of the country sometimes.

But I did see Follies in DC. It gets both my best and worst.

The whole show was magical, and I loved it.

Except Regine gave the worst ever performance I have ever seen on a professional stage in my whole 20 years of regular theater attending. I'm sorry love, but it was a disaster of epic proportions. I can't wait to get to LA to see Mary Beth give a better performance of Solange.

[Smaxie]

Where are all of these high schools with better than Broadway productions? I keep hearing about them.

[Gypsy9]

Ky13fong2: I am glad that you enjoyed EVITA and the performance by Ricky Martin. It's nice to finally read something positive about Ricky Martin and EVITA in general. I, too, enjoyed seeing Ricky Martin and was overall impressed with the production. However, I did not care for Elena Roger's singing-- it was pinched and nasal.

[HeyMrMusic]

Where are all of these high schools with better than Broadway productions? I keep hearing about them.

I'd also like to know. Now, I will humble myself and say that the best of my high school's productions cannot even match the worse that I've seen on Broadway.

[Sauja]

I’ll do favorite and least favorite instead of best and worst because I know myself well enough to be aware that I enjoy a monstrosity of failed ambition much more than a show or performance that is simply mediocre.

Favorite show on Broadway: Once
Off-Broadway: Sons of the Prophet or born bad (the former for being so sprawling and fun and thoughtful and exciting. The latter for being tight, controlled, and devastating.)

Least favorite show on Broadway: Private Lives (here’s why I didn’t go with best/worst. For me this production was just joyless—at least at Ghost I got a great laugh out of the subway rap)
Least favorite show Off-Broadway: Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling (okay, this was actually just the worst)

Favorite performance on Broadway: Nina Arianda in Venus in Fur
Off-Broadway: Taylor Mac in Midsummer Night’s Dream (did this squeak by in this season? Regardless, I adored him in it)

Least favorite performance on Broadway: Elena Roger in Evita
Off-Broadway: Katherine Waterston in The Cherry Orchard and Dreams of Flying, Dreams of Falling

And shows that provoked responses that most baffled me:
Leap of Faith (Not an extraordinary musical, but compared to so much of what's out there, I found it so innocuous and was entertained enough to find it passable) And Gatz (I'd rather read the book).

[keb2]

Adored:
Newsies
Lysistrata Jones

Liked a lot, but didn't love as much as the above:
Peter and the Starcatcher
Anything Goes with Stephanie J Block

Liked in spite of flaws:
Death of a Salesman (I really hate the play itself, heresy, I know)
Spider-Man
How to Succeed with Darren Criss (apparently I saw one of his better/best performances? His first Wednesday matinee)
Our Town (off-Broadway production from a couple years ago came to LA with a new (?) cast and was wonderful! But I still don't like the play)

Didn't love because of flaws, but had some good elements:
Bonnie & Clyde
Clybourne Park (in LA)
Seminar
Porgy & Bess (it was still really good, I just didn't love it)
Asuncion (off-Broadway)
War Horse (finally got around to seeing it!)
Godspell
Bring It On

Can't wait to see:
Once
One Man, Two Guvnors

and I saw some very wonderful theatre in LA, but I doubt most people reading this care about that.

[jv92]

From what I've seen this season-- still to see THE LYONS and two others probably.

BEST PRODUCTIONS
1) THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE (Signature)
2) OTHER DESERT CITIES (Booth)
3) NEWSIES (Nederlander)
4) FOLLIES (Marquis)
5) MYTHS AND HYMNS (Prospect Theater Co.)

BEST PERFORMANCES
1) Danny Burstein in FOLLIES
2) Jane Alexander in THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE
3) Jan Maxwell in FOLLIES
4) Tyne Daly in MASTER CLASS
5) Stockard Channing in OTHER DESERT CITIES

I'm feeling positive. No Worst list.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Another alteration to my list! I finally saw CLYBOURNE PARK last night. And with the divide on here over it, I was very skeptical. I must admit, though, that I really loved it. It would definitely place somewhere on my top ten list. Christina Kirk is giving an absolutely horrific performance, but everyone else is spot-on and sure, the writing is a bit heavy-handed, but I found it to be a fulfilling, satisfying, topical, and funny play that I have no issue in saying, hope wins the Tony Award for Best Play this season.

[ZoeTheGoat]

Best Broadway:
Once
Clybourne Park
Death of a Salesmen
Streetcar Named Desire
Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway

Best Off-Broadway:
Silence!
Carrie
Lonely, I'm Not

Not so good:
Godspell
Chinglish
Magic/Bird (No story)
Leap of Faith (The book was bad, great performances)
Lysistrata Jones

Not so good Off-Broadway:
CX/CQ

Still haven't seen One Man or The Lyons. Across the board this kinda seems like what most people thought.