Stageworthy: The Best of Stage 2019

Saw a little less shows than last year, and added a few concerts that I've included in the final tally. So 2019 I saw 153 different shows but 173 times (basically I did 20 repeats this year alone). (The full list of all the shows I saw is at the bottom of the post). This year I saw shows in Toronto and Stratford, London, NYC, Seattle, Los Angeles, and on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean.

Any shows (same production version) I had seen in previous years are ineligible for this year's list.
For previous years Best of Stage Lists:
Best of Stage 2018 (including What the Constitution Means To Me, Girl From the North Country)
Best of Stage 2017
Best of Stage 2016 (including Waitress, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 and 2 )
Best of Stage 2015 (including Come From Away)
Best of Stage 2014 
Best of Stage 2013  
Best of Stage 2012
Best of Stage 2011 
Best of Stage 2010
Best of Stage 2009
Best of Stage 2008 
Best of Stage 2007

So this year I spent a lot of time rearranging the order of this list. Not because there were no standouts, but because it was a solid set and many of them had reasons to be on top. This may just be the final standings at the time I finally hit post, but I could probably convince myself to switch the order and put any of these unique shows on top. Although I didn't choose this on purpose, I noticed most were written by POC and/or women and/or LGBTQ writers!


Here's the Best of Stage 2019:

1. Octet - Signature Theatre in the Linney Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
A Chamber Choir Musical by Dave Malloy, Directed by Annie Tippe

8 souls singing in acapela about the addictions of technology. Dave Malloy's intricate and complex music and cheeky humour finally meshes in perfect harmony in this esoteric, and quirky little oddball of a musical that feels both specifically of our times, and yet surprisingly universal in our human desires for connection and purpose. The cast works in perfect balance (a weak link would let it all crash), and the intricacies of both the musical notes and emotions keep this musical therapy session finally connected me with a Malloy piece.



2. In the Green - Lincoln Theater Center at LCT3 - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
A New Musical by Grace McLean, Directed by Lee Sunday Evans

A musical about a young Hildegard von Bingen, a medieval woman who would become a nun, healer, composer, theologist, exorcist, and saint. The musical however is specifically about Bingen as a young girl when she is locked up by her Catholic parents into a cell with her mentor Jutta for three decades, a cell space where women are declared dead from the outside world. This glimpse into what might have happened in that cell to make Bingen become the Medieval feminist and powerhouse that she later becomes is thrillingly told with Grace McLean's looping vocals (playing Jutta), using an electronic mic McLean performs into, layering herself into a score that the other female voices adds upon. To say this is weird is an understatement. It is beyond odd. And yet McLean's score is just as weird and exciting, sounding both modern and medieval, and matching the odd life Bingen lived through. Evans' production only adds to the bold storytelling with it's beautiful simple but bold towering set. The abrupt ending and narrative climax felt a bit messy and mysterious, matching the complexity of Bingen's own life story. Fascinating and unlike anything I've seen or heard in a musical before.



3. The Light - MCC Theater in the Frankel Theater at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Loy A. Webb, Directed by Logan Vaughn

It's beautiful to watch a loving beautiful Black couple on the brink of their next step in their relationship, but then the past comes to haunt what is supposed to be a momentous loving moment.  Loy A. Webb's tight two-hander play is a whirl of emotions, with wrenching performances by Mandi Masden and McKinley Belcher III. In an era where we are finally acknowledging MeToo, toxic masculinity, and other damaging behaviours, seeing two people who recognize the society we live in who try hard to avoid the terribleness of it all, still falling victim to the culture of relationships in the modern era, is fascinating and gut punch that knocks the light out of the audience.



4. Searching for Marceau - Tottering Biped Theatre at Toronto Fringe Festival at Tarragon Theatre Extraspace - Toronto, ON
Created by Trevor Copp, Richard Beaune, and Robin Patterson

Might be biased here since Trevor Copp is a childhood friend, but even knowing his family and past, didn't prepare me for Copp's sort of auto-biographical (with some artistic license) about his artistic pursuit for miming (yes mime), and the reason for his pursuit of perfecting as an artist. Powerful yet with oddly funny moments, it's a memoir of an artist in search of a hero, and an ode to the artistic pursuit with all its highs and lows, and a glimpse at the reasons behind it.



5. Heroes of the Fourth Turning - Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Will Arbery, Directed by Danya Taymor

The fact that Will Arbery managed to write a play about religious people in middle America with conservative politics and beliefs, and I still found them fascinating, and dare I say it, at times charming, is a testament to the play and the cast. The play's five characters are the exact types of people I would tend to avoid in real life, but it's a beautiful glimpse into their world and thoughts without, fleshing out a world far from my east-coast-liberal-city-slickers. It's a slice-of-America play that doesn't belittle its characters or treat them in contempt.



6. Underground Railroad Game - Ars Nova at Greenwich House Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Created by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard, Directed by Taibi Magar

Finally caught this as it toured back to New York on its journey to blaze and burn through what we are taught about America's history and the Underground Railroad. Created and performed by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard, we go on a wild ride as two teachers teach a class audience about America's dark history using a teachable game, as things devolve into a surreal outrageous "lesson".



7. Slave Play - Golden Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Jeremy O. Harris, Directed by Robert O'Hara

Trying to speak about this play without revealing what happens or why without a spoiler is almost impossible. I will say this surprisingly hilarious new play by Jeremy O. Harris takes many unexpected twists and turns as it knocks perceptions off their pristine white pedestals. Maybe it goes too far, and the final scene, while powerful, is it necessary? But it's bold, and on Broadway (via NYTW), with a cast fully on board, in a production that literally sticks a mirror to the audience to force us to look at ourselves and our reactions to Harris' audacious Slave Play.



8. ANTIGONE: 方 - Young People's Theatre Mainstage - Toronto, ON
Written by Jeff Ho, Directed by Stephen Colella and Karen Gilodo

The Greek tragedy Antigone with allusions to the Hong Kong yellow umbrella movement and Chinese authoritarian state is a powerful statement. The spring production happened before the current Hong Kong protests started later this summer. Stephen Collela and Karen Gilodo's production, in Christine Urquhart's haunting set and costumes, feels both timeless and scarily a bit foretelling, in Jeff Ho's clever update that questions where alliances and family must stand amongst country and politics.



9. America Verbatim:
The Courtroom - Gordon Moot Courtoom at Fordham University of Law - New York City, NY
Transcripts Arranged by Arian Moayed, Directed by Lee Sunday Evans

Is This A Room - Vineyard Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Conceived and Directed by Tina Satter

Two new plays taken verbatim directly from transcripts, showing the harshness of the American justice system. Arian Moayed and Tina Satter have edited down court transcripts and FBI recordings, respectively, dissecting the injustices in the American system. The true cases of Elizabeth Keathley, legal immigrant who is ordered for deportation after a mistaken technicality, and the whistleblower Reality Winner, who leaked info of Russian interference in the last American election, are brought to tense and suspenseful reenactments in simple but taught productions by Evans and Satter. The Courtroom, presented around New York City in situ in courtroom settings, with a rotating cast that included Ruthie Ann Miles and Kathleen Chalfant at my performance, is simply presented as a court case being seen live, but with the audience allowed to watch the emotions that occurs behind the courtroom words. Satter, working with redacted FBI transcripts of Reality Winner's arrests, keeps the redacted moments into the plays, with dramatic black outs, punctuated by music and a lighting design that accentuate Emily C. Davis' fragile recreation of Winner's plight. Both plays give human faces to an unbudging law system that fails to see humanity behind the black and white letters of the law.



10. Please Stand Clear - Rebels Theatre at Toronto Fringe Festival at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
Written by Ross Hammond, Directed by Raeburn Ferguson

Two men meet on a subway platform. One is about to jump. The other... seems interested in the results. A bizarre situation where one man lays his life and hope on the (subway) line while the other man acts even more bizarrely. Ross Hammond's bizarre yet fascinating and bizarrely funny script can be intense as it delves into the humanity of strangers and our duties to each other. Hammond as the odd man, and Anthony Di Feo as the possibly jumper, are a beautiful pairing of juxtapositions, in a terrifically acted gripping two-hander that draws us into each distinct man's life.




Honourable Mentions (in alphabetical order):

A Million Billion Pieces - Young People's Theatre Studio - Toronto, ON
Written by David James Brock, Music by Gareth Williams, Directed by Philip Akin

A Very Expensive Poison - The Old Vic Theatre - London, UK
Written by Lucy Prebble, Based on the Book by Luke Harding, Directed by John Crowley

Boy Falls From the Sky - Toronto Fringe Festival at Supermarket Restaurant and Bar - Toronto, ON
Written by Jake Epstein, Directed by Robert McQueen

Do You Feel Anger - Vineyard Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Mara Wilson-Greenberg, Directed by Margot Bordelon

Hadestown - National Theatre in the Olivier Theatre - London, UK
Music, Lyrics, and Book by Anaïs Mitchell, Directed by Rachel Chavkin

The Huns - Toronto Fringe Festival at Streetcar Crowsnest's Guloien Theatre - Toronto, ON
Written by Michael Ross Albert, Directed by Marie Farsi

Mojada - The Public Theatre in the LuEsther Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Luis Alfaro, Directed by Chay Yew

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story - 2b theatre company at Tarragon Theatre Mainstage - Toronto, ON
Created by Hannah Moscovitch, Ben Caplan, and Christian Barry

Piaf/Dietrich - CAA Theatre - Toronto, ON
Written by Daniel Große Boymann and Thomas Kahry, Adapted by Erin Shields, From the Translation by Sam Madwar, Directed by Gordon Greenberg

Six - Arts Theatre - West End - London, UK
Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss

Small Island - National Theatre in the Olivier Theatre - London, UK
Adapted by Helen Edmundson, Based on the Novel by Andrea Levy, Directed by Rufus Norris 




Solid revivals of (in alphabetical order):

All My Sons - Headlong and The Old Vic Theatre - London, UK
All My Sons - Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54 - Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Arthur Miller, Directed at The Old Vic by Jeremy Herrin, Directed at Roundabout by Jack O'Brien

The American Clock - The Old Vic Theatre - London, UK
Written by Arthur Miller, Directed by Rachel Chavkin

Blood Wedding - Young Vic Theatre - London, UK
By Federico García Lorca, In a new version by Marina Carr, Directed by Yaël Farber

Choir Boy - Manhattan Theatre Club at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Directed by Trip Cullman

Death of a Salesman - Young Vic Theatre - London, UK
Written by Arthur Miller, Directed by Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell

Fiddler on the Roof  - Menier Chocolate Factory at Playhouse Theatre - West End - London, UK
Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Book by Joseph Stein, Directed by Trevor Nunn

Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish - Stage 42 - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Book by Joseph Stein, Directed by Joel Grey

Fires in the Mirror - Signature Theatre in the Linney Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY
Written by Anna Deavere Smith, Directed by Saheem Ali

Much Ado About Nothing - The Public Theatre at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park - New York City, NY
Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Kenny Leon

Rosmersholm - Duke of York's Theatre - West End - London, UK
Written by Henrik Ibsen, In a New Adaptation by Duncan MacMillan, Directed by Ian Rickson

Summer and Smoke - Almeida Theatre at the Duke of York's Theatre - West End - London, UK
Written by Tennessee Williams, Directed by Rebecca Frecknall




Breakthrough Performances (in alphabetical order):

The cast of In the Green: Rachael Duddy, Ashley Perez Flanagan, Grace McLean, Mia Pak, Hannah Whitney

The cast of Octet: Adam Bashian, Kim Blanck, Starr Busby, Alex Gibson, Justin Gregory Lopez, J.D. Mollison, Margo Seibert, Kuhoo Verma

The cast of Please Stand Clear: Anthony Di Feo, Ross Hammond

The cast of Six: Almie Atkinson, Vicki Manser, Alexia McIntosh, Millie O'Connell, Natalie Paris, Jarneia Richard-Noel

Andrew Bancroft in Freestyle Love Supreme
Gillian Bartolucci in The Weight of It All
Sophia Anne Caruso in Beetlejuice
Emily Davis in Is This A Room
Chris Dwan in Enter Laughing
Aneesa Folds in Freestyle Love Supreme
Andy Grotelueschen in Tootsie
Rob Houchen in The Light in the Piazza
Stephanie Hsu in Be More Chill
Eponine Lee in The Winter's Tale
Connor Lucas in The Adventures in Pinocchio
Arthur MacKinnon in Lights! Camera! Odd Jobs!?
Tiffany Martin in The Winter's Tale
Kyle McArthur in Superhero
Brenock O'Connor in Sing Street
Laura Piccinin in Every Silver Lining
Andy Sellers in Touching the Void
Tara Travis in Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Anjana Vasan in Summer and Smoke
Allison Wither in Every Silver Lining




Great Performances (in alphabetical order):

The Chers of The Cher Show: Stephanie J. Block, Micaela Diamond, Teal Wicks

The main cast of Gary; A Sequel to Titus Andronicus: Nathan Lane, Kristine Nielsen, Julie White

The cast of Heroes of the Fourth Turning: Jeb Kreager, Julia McDermott, Michelle Pawk, Zoë Winters, John Zdrojeski

The cast of The Huns: Jamie Cavanagh, Breanna Dillon, Cass Van Wyck

The cast of The Light: McKinley Belcher III, Mandi Masden

The cast of Lungs: Claire Foy, Matt Smith

The cast of Slave Play: Ato Blankson-Wood, James Cusati-Moyer, Sullivan Jones, Joaquina Kalukango, Chalia La Tour, Irene Sofia Lucio, Annie McNamara, Paul Alexander Nolan

The cast of Three Men on a Bike: David DiFrancesco, Matt Pilipiak, Victor Pokinko

The cast of Underground Railroad Game: Jennifer Kidwell, Scott R. Sheppard


Eileen Atkins in The Height of the Storm
Hayley Atwell in Rosmersholm
Maev Beaty in The Front Page
Quincy Tyler Bernstine in Marys Seacole
Corbin Bleu in Kiss Me Kate
Alex Brightman in Beetlejuice
Danielle Brooks in Much Ado About Nothing
Tom Brooke in A Very Expensive Poison
Evan Buliung in Dear Evan Hansen
MyAnna Buring in A Very Expensive Poison
Tom Burke in Rosmersholm
Sharon D. Clarke in Death of a Salesman
Trevor Copp in Searching for Marceau
Joel Cumber in The Adventures of Pinocchio
Arthur Darvill in Sweet Charity
André De Shields in Hadestown
Sheldon Elter in Bears
Jake Epstein in Boy Falls From the Sky
Patsy Ferran in Summer and Smoke
Sally Field in All My Sons
Santino Fontana in Tootsie
Amber Gray in Hadestown
Julie Halston in Tootsie
Arinea Hermans in The Adventures of Pinocchio
Conrad Ricamore in Soft Power
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer in Beetlejuice
James McArdle in Peter Gynt
Seana McKenna in Yaga
Jonny Lee Miller in Ink
Jayne Lewis in Piaf/Dietrich
Daniel MacIvor in Let's Run Away
Matthew Needham in Summer and Smoke
Eva Noblezada in Hadestown
Patrick Page in Hadestown
Annie Parisse in Long Lost
Wendell Pierce in Death of a Salesman
Louise Pitre in Piaf/Dietrich
Jeremy Pope in Choir Boy
Jonathan Pryce in The Height of the Storm
Jonelle Sills in A Million Billion Pieces
Steven Skybell in Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish
Sarah Stiles in Tootsie
Corey Stoll in Macbeth
Alexis Nicolas Trudel in Alegria: In A New Light
Brandon Uranowitz in Burn/This
Benjamin Walker in All My Sons
Michael Benjamin Washington in Fires in the Mirror
Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Dying City
Charlayne Woodard in "Daddy"
Colin Woodell in Dying City


____________________________________________________

Here is every Stage Show I saw in 2019 in alphabetical order. All reviews are based on a 5 stars system (Workshop, Labs, Readings, Concerts and Cabarets are not graded):

1887 (Ice Show) x2 - The Ice Rink on Harmony of the Seas - ***1/2

A Doll's House, Part 2 (Play) - CAA Theatre - Toronto, ON - **

The Adventures of Pinocchio (Musical) - Young People's Theatre Mainstage - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Alegria: In A New Light (Circus) x2 - Cirque de Soleil under The Big Top at Ontario Place - Toronto, ON - ****

Alice By Heart (Musical) - MCC Theater in the Newman Mills Theater at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

All About Eve (Play) - Noel Coward Theatre - West End - London, UK - ***

All My Sons (Play Revival) - Headlong and The Old Vic Theatre - London, UK - ****

All My Sons (Play Revival) - Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54 - Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

The American Clock (Play Revival) - The Old Vic Theatre - London, UK - ****

A Million Billion Pieces (Play) - Young People's Theatre Studio - Toronto, ON - ****

Anastasia (Musical) x2 - National Tour at Ed Mirvish Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

ANTIGONE: 方 (Play) - Young People's Theatre Mainstage - Toronto, ON - ****1/2 (Review)

Art (Play Revival) - Soulpepper Theatre Company in the Bailie Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts - Toronto, ON - **

As You Like It (Musical) - Seattle Rep in the Begley Wright Theatre - Seattle, WA - ***1/2

A Very Expensive Poison (Play) - The Old Vic Theatre - London, UK - ****

Backstreet Boys: DNA World Tour (Concert) - Scotiabank Arena - Toronto, ON

The Band's Visit (Musical) - National Tour at Ed Mirvish Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***

Bears (Play Revival) - Factory Theatre Mainspace - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Beautiful Man (Play) - Factory Theatre Mainspace - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Beetlejuice (Musical) - The Winter Garden Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

Be Kind, Rewind (Musical) - Edge of the Sky at Toronto Fringe Festival at Randolph Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***

Be More Chill (Musical) - Lyceum Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Bend it Like Beckham (Musical) - Bluma Apel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Ben Platt: Sing To Me Instead (Concert) - Meridian Hall - Toronto, ON

Betrayal (Play Revival) - Harold Pinter Theatre - West End - London, UK - ***1/2

Blood Wedding (Play Revival) - Young Vic Theatre - London, UK - ****

Boy Falls From the Sky (Musical) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Supermarket Restaurant and Bar - Toronto, ON - ****

The Brothers Size (Play Revival) - Soulpepper Theatre Company in the Michael Young Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts - Toronto, ON - ***

Burn/This (Play Revival) - Hudson Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Camp Morning Wood: A Very Naked Musical (Musical) - Peter Jay Sharp Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2

Canadian Music Theatre Project (Musical Workshop) - Sheridan Theatre at Sheridan College - Oakville, ON
Grow (Musical)
Hoarding: A Musical (Musical)
Pump Up the Volume (Musical)

The Cher Show (Musical) - Neil Simon Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Choir Boy (Play Revival) - Manhattan Theatre Club at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

Clothesswap (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at The Textile Museum of Canada - Toronto, ON - ***

Columbus The Musical (Musical) x3 - Royal Theater on Harmony of the Seas - ***1/2

Come Find Me (Musical Workshop) - York Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY

Come From Away (Musical) x2 - Phoenix Theatre - West End - London, UK - ***** (Best of Stage 2015)
Come From Away - Elgin Theatre - Toronto, ON - *****

The Convert (Play Revival) - Young Vic Theatre - London, UK - ***

The Courtroom (Play) - Gordon Moot Courtoom at Fordham University of Law - New York City, NY - ****1/2

"Daddy" (Play) - The New Group in the Linney Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Dear Evan Hansen (Musical) x3 - Royal Alexandria Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Death of a Salesman (Play Revival) - Young Vic Theatre - London, UK - ****

Dog Man: The Musical (Musical) - Theatreworks USA at the Lucille Lortel Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Do You Feel Anger (Play) - Vineyard Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

Drama 101 (Musical) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Robert Gill Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Dying City (Play Revival) - 2nd Stage at the Tony Kisser Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Enter Laughing (Musical Revival) x2 - York Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Every Silver Lining (Musical) - Toronto Fringe Theatre at Al Green Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Fiddler on the Roof (Musical Revival) - Menier Chocolate Factory at Playhouse Theatre - West End - London, UK - ****1/2

Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish (Musical Revival) - Stage 42 - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

The Fine Line (Circus) x4 - Aqua Theater on Harmony of the Seas - ****

Fires in the Mirror (Play Revival) - Signature Theatre in the Linney Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

Fool for Love (Play Revival) - Soulpepper Theatre Company in the Michael Young Theatre at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts - Toronto, ON - ***

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Play Revival) - Broadhurst Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Freestyle Love Supreme (Musical Improv) - Booth Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

The Front Page (Play Revival) - Stratford Shakespeare Festival in the Festival Theatre - Stratford, ON - ***

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus (Play) - Booth Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Girl From the North Country (Musical) x3 - Royal Alexandra Theatre - Toronto, ON - **** (Best of Stage 2018)

Grease (Musical Revival) x3 - Royal Theater on Harmony of the Seas - ***

Hadestown (Musical) - National Theatre in the Olivier Theatre - London, UK - ****

Happy Talk (Play) - The New Group in the Linney Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts 1 and 2 (Play) - Lyric Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - **** (Best of Stage 2016)

The Height of the Storm (Play) - Manhattan Theatre Club at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Play) - Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

Hideaway Heist (Circus) - Aqua Theater on Harmony of the Seas - ***1/2

Hillary and Clinton (Play) - Golden Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2

The Huns (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Streetcar Crowsnest's Guloien Theatre - Toronto, ON - ****

Hurricane Diane (Play) - New York Theatre Workshop - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka (Play) - Playwrights Horizons - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Ink (Play) - Manhattan Theatre Club at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

In the Green (Musical) - Lincoln Theater Center at LCT3 - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

iSkate (Ice Show) x2 - The Ice Rink on Harmony of the Seas - ***

Is This A Room (Play) - Vineyard Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

I Swallowed The Moon Made of Iron (Play) - Canadian Stage at the Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Kiss Me Kate (Musical Revival) - Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54 - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

The Last Ship (Musical) - Princess of Wales Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***

Let's Run Away (Play) - Canadian Stage at the Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Life Sucks (Play) - The Wild Project at Wheelhouse Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

The Light (Play) - MCC Theater in the Frankel Theater at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

The Light in the Piazza (Musical Revival) - Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre - London, UK - ***

Lights! Camera! Odd Jobs!? (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Annex Theatre - ****

Lilies; Or, The Revival of a Romantic Drama (Play Revival) - Buddies in Bad Times Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***

Linda Vista (Play) - 2nd Stage at the Helen Hayes Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2

Little Black Dress (Musical) - CAA Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***1/2

Little Shop of Horrors (Musical Revival) - Stratford Festival in the Avon Theatre - Stratford, ON - ***1/2

Long Lost (Play) - Manhattan Theatre Company in New York City Center Studio Stage I - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2

Lungs (Play Revival) - The Old Vic Theatre - London, UK - ****

Macbeth (Play Revival) - Classic Stage Company - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

Marys Seacole (Play) - Lincoln Theater Center at LCT3 - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (Ballet) - New Adventures at Ahmanson Theatre - Los Angeles, CA - ***1/2

Measure for Measure (Play Revival) - Canadian Stage Company in High Park Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON - ***

Merrily We Roll Along (Musical Revival) - Roundabout Theatre Company in the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

The Merry Wives of Windsor (Play Revival) - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - London, UK - ***

Mo5aic (Concert) - Royal Theater on Harmony of the Seas

Mojada (Play) - The Public Theater in the LuEsther Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****

Moulin Rouge!: The Musical (Musical) - Al Hirschfeld Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Much Ado About Nothing (Play Revival) - The Public Theatre at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park - New York City, NY - ****

My Bonnie Lass (Musical Workshop) - Theatre Sheridan in the Studio Theatre - Sheridan College - Oakville, ON

The Neverending Story (Play Revival) - Stratford Festival in the Avon Theatre - Stratford, ON - ***

News Play (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Annex Theatre - ***

Night Feed (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Tarragon Theatre Extraspace - ***

The Night of the Iguana (Play Revival) - Noël Coward Theatre - West End - London, UK - ***

Octet (Musical) - Signature Theatre in the Linney Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (Musical) - 2b theatre company at Tarragon Theatre Mainstage - Toronto, ON - **** (Review)

The Other Josh Cohen (Musical) - Westside Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Play) - WP Theater at McGinn/Cazale Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2

Ouvre La Porte, Fermez La Bouche (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse - Toronto, ON - ***

Panama Hattie (Musical Revival) - York Theatre's Musicals in Mufti - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Peter Gynt (Play) - National Theatre's Olivier Theatre - London, UK - **1/2

The Phantom of the Opera (Musical) - Majestic Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Piaf/Dietrich (Musical) x2 - CAA Theatre - Toronto, ON - ****

The Play That Goes Wrong (Play) - Ed Mirvish Theatre - Toronto, ON - ***

Please Stand Clear (Play) - Rebels Theatre at Toronto Fringe Festival at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace - ****

The Princess is the Pauper (Musical) - Toronto Fringe Festival at St. Vladimir's Theatre - Toronto, ON - *1/2

Rascal Flatts: 2019 Summer Playlist Tour (Concert) - Budweiser Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON

Romance Romance (Musical Revival) - Above the Stag Theatre - London, UK - ***1/2

Rosmersholm (Play Revival) - Duke of York's Theatre - West End - London, UK - ****

Scadding (Play) - Common Boots at Toronto Fringe Festival at Scadding Court Community Centre - Toronto, ON - **1/2

Sea Life/A Life (Play Revivals) - Hudson Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***
Sea Wall - **1/2
A Life - ***

Searching for Marceau (Play) - Tottering Biped Theatre at Toronto Fringe Festival at Tarragon Theatre Extraspace - Toronto, ON - ****1/2

Seared (Play) - MCC Theater in the Frankel Theater at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Sing Street (Musical) - New York Theatre Workshop - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Six (Musical) - Arts Theatre - West End - London, UK - ****

The Skivvies (Concert) - Joe's Pub at The Public Theater - New York City, NY

Slave Play (Play) - Golden Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

Small Island (Play) - National Theatre in the Olivier Theatre - London, UK - **** (Review)

Soft Power (Musical) - The Public Theater in the Newman Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

The Sound Inside (Play) - Studio 54 - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Spice Girls: Spice World 2019 Tour (Concert) - Wembley Stadium - London, UK

Square Go (Play) - 59E59 Theaters in Theatre C - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Summer and Smoke (Play Revival) - Almeida Theatre at the Duke of York's Theatre - West End - London, UK - ****

Superhero (Musical) - 2nd Stage in the Tony Kisser Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***

Sweet Charity (Musical Revival) - Donmar Warehouse - London, UK - ***1/2

Take That: Greatest Hits Live 2019 (Concert) - London, UK

The Tape Escape (Experience) - Outside the March at Queen Video - Toronto, ON - ***

The Thin Place (Play) - Playwrights Horizons in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Three Men On A Bike (Play) - Pea Green Theatre Group at Toronto Fringe Theatre at Tarragon Theatre Mainspace - Toronto, ON - ****

Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Tarragon Theatre Mainspace - Toronto, ON - ****

Tina (Musical) - Aldwych Theatre - West End - London, UK - ***

Tootsie (Musical) - Marquis Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***1/2

Touching the Void (Play) - Duke of York's Theatre - West End - London, UK - ***1/2

Tree (Musical) - Young Vic Theatre - London, UK - ****

Twelfth Night (Play Revival) - Tottering Biped Theatre at Royal Botanical Gardens' Shakespeare at the Rock - Burlington, ON - ***

Underground Railroad Game (Play) - Ars Nova at Greenwich House Theatre - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - ****1/2

The Underlying Chris (Play) - 2nd Stage in the Tony Kisser Theater - Off-Broadway - New York City, NY - **1/2

Waitress (Musical) x2 - National Tour at Ed Mirvish Theatre - Toronto, ON - **** (Best of Stage 2016)

The Weight of It All (Play) - Toronto Fringe Festival at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace - Toronto, ON - ****

Westlife: The Twenty Tour (Concert) - O2 Arena - London, UK

What the Constitution Means To Me (Play) - Helen Hayes Theatre - Broadway - New York City, NY - ***** (Best of Stage 2018)

Will Barratt Vocal Showcase (Concert) - Jazz on 4 on Harmony of the Seas

The Winter's Tale (Play Revival) - Shakespeare in the Ruff at Withrow Park - Toronto, ON - ***

Yaga (Play) - Tarragon Theatre Mainspace - Toronto, ON - ***


__________________________________________________________________
Previous Best-of Lists:

Best of 2018 List:
Best of Stage 2018

Best of 2017 List:
Best of Stage 2017

Best of 2016 List:
Best of Stage 2016

Best of 2015 List:
Best of Stage 2015

Best of 2014 List:
Best of Stage 2014

Best of 2013 List:
Best of Stage 2013

Best of 2012 Lists:
Best of Music 2012
Best of Stage 2012

Best of 2011 Lists:
Best of Music 2011
Best of Television 2011
Best of Stage 2011


Best of 2010 Lists:
Best of Music 2010
Best of Television 2010
Best of Stage 2010
Best of Movies 2010


Best of 2009 Lists:
Best of Music 2009
Best of Television 2009
Best of Stage 2009
Best of Movies 2009


Decadeworthy - The Best of 2000-2009 Lists:
SYTYCDworthy (w/ Videos) - List Format
Theatre of the Decade
Best Films of the Decade
Favorite Films of the Decade
Television of the Decade
Television of the Decade - 1 Season Wonders


Best of 2008 Lists:
Best of Music 2008
Best of Television 2008
Best of Stage 2008
Best of Movies 2008
Best of Television Fall '07 - Winter '08 List


Best of 2007 Lists:
Best of Music 2007
Best of Television 2007
Best of Movies 2007
Best of Stage 2007
Best of 2007 (The Final Wrap Up)
Best of Television Fall '06 - Winter '07 List


Best of 2006 Lists:
Best of Music 2006
Best of Television 2006
Best of Movies 2006
Best of 2006
Best of Television Fall '05 - Winter '06 List


Best of 2005 Lists:
Best of Television 2005
Best of Movies 2005




Photo of ANTIGONE: 方 by Cylla von Tiedemann
Photo of The Courtroom by Maria Baranova
Photos of Heroes of the Fourth Turning, The Light, Octet, Slave Play by Joan Marcus
Photo of In the Green by Julieta Cervantes
Photo of Is This A Room by Carol Rosegg
Photo of Underground Railroad Game by Ben Arons Photography

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com