Where Theater Shone Brightest in 2023

The theater world saw a series of setbacks in 2023, as companies and venues across the country grappled with layoffs, postponements, limited performance schedules, and even closures — the legacy of a prolonged pandemic and with other factors at play. New York has hardly been immune from this behind-the-scenes drama, particularly in the nonprofit sector, despite a few high-profile successes such as the Alicia Keys musical, “Hell’s Kitchen,” which opened recently at the Public Theater and is set to transfer to Broadway next spring.Yet it was off-Broadway where theater truly thrived over the past year, with new works and fresh interpretations of established pieces spotlighting seasoned and rising artists alike. Here, roughly in order of arrival, are 16 productions — including several Broadway entries — that stood out, and in doing so offered hope for the year ahead.‘Wolf Play‘ South Korean-born playwright Hansol Jung’s harrowing, haunting account of an orphaned boy who finally finds love after being “rehomed,” had its premiere off-Broadway in 2022, but a return engagement reinforced its emotional wallop. Not since seeing “War Horse” more than a decade ago have I been so moved by puppetry, used here — under Dustin Wills’s vital direction, with the support of a flawless cast — to capture the deep need for connection that animates all of us. Katie Holmes and Eddie Kaye Thomas in ‘The Wanderers.’ Joan Marcus‘The Wanderers‘ Two generations of a Jewish family were represented by a pair of couples — one deeply religious, one decidedly secular, both impacted by enduring patriarchal norms — in this characteristically eloquent, compassionate, and fearless new play by Anna Ziegler, centered on a Philip Roth-worshiping author struggling with his marriage and his legacy. ‘Parade‘ Director Michael Arden and an ace design team brought a sweeping theatricality to this Broadway revival of the Alfred Uhry/Jason Robert Brown musical tracing the real-life prosecution and persecution — and eventual murder — of Leo Frank in the early 20th century, featuring wrenching lead performances by Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond. ‘Shucked‘ Broadway’s sleeper hit of the year focused on corn, in the literal and figurative senses, marrying a juicy score by Nashville veterans Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally to an aggressively, irresistibly goofy book by the librettist of “Tootsie,” Robert Horn. Jack O’Brien’s direction culled scrumptious performances, including a show-stopping, Tony Award-winning turn by Alex Newell.‘Fat Ham‘ James Ijames’s uproarious, Pulitzer Prize-winning sendup of “Hamlet,” set in a Black community in the contemporary South, arrived on Broadway following an acclaimed run at the Public with its splendid company — lovingly helmed by Saheem Ali — and its effervescent wit and big, pulsing heart very much intact.Marcel Spears and Calvin Leon Smith in ‘Fat Ham.’ Joan Marcus‘Uncle Vanya‘ Steve Carell will have his work cut out for him when he makes his Broadway debut in the title role of this Chekhov classic next spring: I’ve never seen a more absorbing, moving production of the play than this achingly intimate one, staged in small spaces throughout New York City last summer, with a sterling ensemble led by David Cromer. ‘Flex‘ You didn’t have to be a basketball fan to savor Candrice Jones’s spicy, heartwarming comedy, centered on a team of teenage girls struggling on and off the court and featuring a multi-talented cast directed with warmth and sass by Lileana Blain-Cruz (and impeccably coached by Amber Batchelor, of the nonprofit Ladies Who Hoop).‘Swing State‘ During a year in which polarization reached yet another peak — in government and in public opinion, regarding numerous crises — it was good to have back playwright Rebecca Gilman’s brave, sane, and deeply humane voice. Without once using the R-word or the D-word, her study of community and loss in a small town exposed the ultimate insignificance of petty party politics, and promoted the increasingly undervalued virtue of empathy. ‘Job‘ Fresh off his four seasons in “Succession,” the great actor Peter Friedman got another tasty vehicle in this crackling psychological thriller by Max Wolf Friedlich. Playing a middle-aged crisis therapist assigned to a brilliant but seemingly unstable young tech exec — portrayed by Sydney Lemmon, a worthy partner — Mr. Friedman expertly surveyed the riveting twists packed into Mr. Friedlich’s riff on modern culture and conflict.Sydney Lemmon and Peter Friedman in ‘Job.’ Emilio Madrid‘Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors‘ Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s satirical spin on Bram Stoker’s horror classic was a blast of inspired mischief, given extra bite by a string of virtuosic comic performances zestily directed by Mr. Greenberg. ‘Merrily We Roll Along‘ It was a given that Maria Friedman’s sublime off-Broadway production of the tricky Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical would move uptown, but stars Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe — not to mention the swinging orchestra, conducted by Joel Fram — wound up shining even more brightly in a bigger house.‘I Can Get It For You Wholesale‘ Longtime Sondheim collaborator John Weidman tweaked his father Jerome Weidman’s book for this 1962 musical to recapture the grit of the latter’s novel about an unscrupulous businessman in the 1930s garment industry. His revisions, and a terrific cast masterfully directed by Trip Cullman, made the show resonate even more powerfully in the wake of rising antisemitism. ‘Harmony‘ Barry Manilow and lyricist/librettist Bruce Sussman’s account of the Comedian Harmonists, a half-Jewish vocal group that found glory in Weimar Germany but shattered as the Nazis rose to power, also cut more deeply amid the tensions following Hamas’s barbaric attack and the breakout of war in Gaza. Yet under Warren Carlyle’s typically sparkling direction, the production was also transcendently joyful.Chip Zien in ‘Harmony.’ Julieta Cervantes‘Scene Partners‘ John J. Caswell Jr.’s study of a 75-year-old widow pursuing Hollywood dreams was an exercise in inspired absurdism, made all the more hilarious and moving by the presence of the divine Dianne Wiest in the lead role.‘The Gardens of Anuncia‘ Michael John LaChiusa’s gorgeously lyrical tribute to the great dancer and choreographer Graciela Daniele, featuring Broadway veteran Priscilla Lopez, was another triumph for women of a certain age, directed and co-choreographed by Ms. Daniele herself with predictable vigor and grace. ‘Appropriate‘ A Pulitzer finalist, Brendan Jacobs-Jenkins made a stunning Broadway bow as original playwright with this tragicomic testament to the toxic legacy of racism, featuring a blazing performance by Sarah Paulson and closing the year with a bang, literally — several loud noises, in fact. (No spoilers: See it.)Correction: Chekhov was the writer of “Uncle Vanya.” An earlier version misidentified the writer.

Where Theater Shone Brightest in 2023

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