20 Best Shows of 2011

1. I don't believe in outer space (William Forsythe Company @ BAM)

2. KIN (by Bathsheba Doran; directed by Sam Gold @ Playwrights Horizons)

3. The Method Gun (Rude Mechanicals @ Dance Theater Workshop)

4. A Small Fire (by Adam Bock; directed by Trip Cullman @ Playwrights Horizons)

5. Radio Play (Reggie Watts & Tommy Smith @ Performance Space 122)

6. Invasion! (by Jonas Hassen Khemiri; directed by Erica Schmidt for Play Company @ Walkerspace)

7. Go Back To Where You Are (by David Greenspan; directed by Leigh Silverman @ Playrights Horizons)

8. The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G (by Qui Nguyen; directed by Robert Ross Parker for Vampire Cowboys @ Incubator Arts Project)

9. Our Lot (by Kristin Newbom and W. David Hancock; directed by May Adrales for Clubbed Thumb @ Here)

10. The Cherry Orchard (adapted from Chekhov by John Christopher Jones; directed by Andrei Belgrader @ Classic Stage Company)

11. Now the Cats With Jewelled Claws (by Tennessee Williams; directed by Jonathan Warman @ LaMama)

12. Veux Carre (by Tennessee Williams; directed by Elizabeth LeCompte for The Wooster Group @ Baryshnikov Arts Center) 

13. The Tempest (by William Shakespeare; directed by David Herskovits for Target Margin @ Here)

14. 2 Kilos of Sea (Deganit Shemy & Company @ Baryshnikov Arts Center)

15. Your Brother, Remember? (Conceived, directed, edited, performed by Zachary Oberzan for Under The Radar @ Dixon Place)

16. Here At Home (by Eric Bland; directed by Shannon Sindelar for 31 Down @ Bushwick Starr)

17. Born Bad (by Debbie Tucker Green; directed by Leah C. Gardiner @ Soho Rep)

18. The Bardy Bunch (by Stephen Garvey; directed by Jay Stern for FringeNYC @ LaMama)

19. Sweet and Sad (written and directed by Richard Nelson @ The Public Theater)

20. Walk Across America for Mother Earth (by Taylor Mac; directed by Paul Zimet for Talking Band @ LaMama)

Best of 2011: #1 - I don't believe in outer space

Extra credit always goes to the first time I discover a new company/artist, and this was the case with William Forsythe Company and I DON'T BELIEVE IN OUTER SPACE this year at BAM.  The piece was at once weird and uncomfortable and funny in the way it created its own reality on stage at the Opera House in Brooklyn. Forsythe created a series of images, with both props and bodies that were playful at times and threatening at other times highlighted by the way he used Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" which at times had the audience giggling and at times silent.  Special thanks to the friend who recommend I see this.

Best of 2011: #2 - Kin

Bathsheba Doran's play KIN was a rich treat. The attention to detail was perfectly matched by Sam Gold's excellent production performed by a perfect ensemble. KIN unfolded across various locations, included seemingly random characters and situations all woven together beautifully, all coming together like a picture slowly coming into focus. KIN was an amazing experience and an excellent play. Kudos to Playwrights Horizons for producing this kind of theater.

Best of 2011: #3 - The Method Gun

The Austin-based Rude Mechanicals brought their show, THE METHOD GUN, to NYC for an all-too-brief run at Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts).  To be completely honest, about half-way through METHOD GUN, I felt lost and disengaged, however by the end, with the big coup de theatre and lovely denouement I was completely won over and a little misty-eyed. I would see this show again in a minute!

Best of 2011: #4 - A Small Fire

Adam Bock's A SMALL FIRE was a big triumph. He took what could have been a melodramatic disease-of-the-week premise and lifted it to extensional proportions. It also didn't hurt that it was given a sublime production at Playwrights Horizons with a cast that included Michele Pawk and Reed Birney and possibly the best direction that Trip Cullman has done to date.

Best of 2011: #5 - Reggie Watts' RADIO PLAY

Dark and musical, Reggie Watt's RADIO PLAY at Performance Space 122 was a surreal experience; like a 1940's radio play on acid.  There was no real "plot" to speak of, but Watt's and a cast of four performed vignettes with vocal precision and confidence. Even now I can't really tell you what it was all about, but it was quite a trip and it stuck with me enough to land at #5.

Best of 2011: #6 - Invasion!

The Play Company's INVASION! started off with an unforgettable bang - the kind of thing you wish would happen more often in the theater and it freaked the audience out.  At the performance I attended, I thought a known theater journalist was actually going to strike what turned out to be one of the actors.  And the rest of the play lived up to the bravura beginning.  The play was so tuned in to  contemporary America that it is hard to believe it was written by the Swedish playwright, Jonas Hassen Khemiria. Since I don't speak or read Swedish, special acknowledgement must go to Rachel Willson-Broyles for what must be a masterful translation. Long live Abul Kasem!