The Best of 2014

Rebekah Brockman, Tom Pecinka
in Arcadia
Photo: Joan Marcus

Aaah, the joys of being an online reviewer. I don't get paid, and I often have to buy my own tickets, but I don't have to see shows that don't interest me. This may be why I always have robust "best of" lists--I'm choosing among shows I was predisposed to like. This doesn't mean I love everything. I saw some serious stinkers this year (Your Mother's Version of the Kama Sutra, Architecture of Becoming, Nothing on Earth (Can Hold Houdini), Bullets Over Broadway, Intimacy). But on a whole, I had a very exciting year in the theatre.

Stats:

• Saw approximately 80 shows total (hard to know whether to count repeats, walk-outs, cabaret with theatre people, etc)
• 12 on Broadway
• 39 Off-Broadway
• 10 Off-Off-Broadway
• The rest at the Delacorte, New York Philarmonic, Yale, Kennedy Center in DC, Encores!, etc.
• Number of shows I rate B or higher: 39

Alisha Spielmann, Chinaza Uche
in Jane the Plain
. Photo: Deborah Alexander

Here are my favorites. I couldn't get it down to 10 It's 17 shows, but I paired some to make the list look like 15. 

The list is in alphabetical order, not order of preference.

• And I and Silence
• Arcadia and Indian Ink: Tom Stoppard at his best. Twice.
• Bootycandy
• Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Vividly theatrical and moving. Succeeded in having the audience glimpse what it's like in another person's mind. 
• The Fatal Weakness
• Love and Information
• Machinal
• Grounded
• Jane the Plain
• Little Night Music and Next to Normal: Both at the Gallery Players. 
• Puppet Titus Andronicus
• Red-Eye to Havre de Grace
• Row after Row
• Stage Kiss: A flat-out funny comedy about the gray area between a real kiss and a stage kiss. Jessica Hecht killed.
• Sticks and Bones

Dominic Fumusa, Jessica Hecht
in Stage Kiss
Photo: Sara Krulwich

What I'm looking forward to seeing in 2015: A Delicate Balance, Fun Home on Broadway, Cabaret with Emma Stone, Hamilton, Month in the Country, and all the other shows that come my way.

Happy New Year, everyone. May your 2015 be filled with joy, good health, and lots of wonderful shows.