Let’s face it, as eagerly as theatergoers anticipated the return to live theater in 2021, it was a fairly unremarkable year in terms of productions. And given that the season didn’t fully get underway until September (with the exception of Gloucester Stage’s solid outdoor programming at the Windhover Performing Arts Center in Rockport), there wasn’t a wealth of shows to weigh in on for a top 10 list for the year, and please bear in mind that reviewers did not see all of the shows. So here are the Top 5 lists as submitted by our participating reviewers (with links provided to original Theater Mirror reviews):
Mike Hoban’s picks (in no particular order)
Queens Girl in the World – This was the first show that deeply moved me in 2021. Jasmine M. Rush’s solo performance as a young black girl in 1960’s Queens trying to find her place in the world – between life in her largely black middle-class neighborhood and the more privileged white environment of her middle school – was a tour-de-force. The play was a brilliant portrayal of what it’s like to be the “other”, effectively transcending race.
Tiny Beautiful Things– Tiny Beautiful Things was the perfect re-introduction to live theater last summer, especially coming at time when we felt COVID was waning and the political insanity hadn’t reached a fever pitch. Celeste Oliva’s performance as Sugar, the online advice columnist who uses experiences from her own troubled life to help others, was both touching and hilarious, balancing out the brutally heavy dramatic scenes with her finely honed comic flair. The outdoor setting in Rockport provided a feeling of safety for patrons (who also had to be masked for shows) who were tentatively making their way back to the theater. A second production, the foodie comedy Seared, was also considered for the list.
Teenage Dick – This creative take on Shakespeare’s “King Richard III,” was alternately hilarious and profoundly disturbing. Featuring a pair of differently abled actors in prominent roles (Shannon DeVido and lead Gregg Mozgala), Teenage Dick gave us a three-dimensional portrait of the sociopathic Richard, the teenager with cerebral palsy who will stop at nothing to become president of his class, and the victims he leaves in his wake.
The Sound Inside – This dark two-hander marked the return to indoor theater for a lot of folks, and the production made it worth the wait. The play recounts the brief student-teacher relationship between two damaged souls, cancer-stricken professor Bella Baird (Jennifer Rohn) and 18-year old Christopher (Nathan Malin). The Sound Inside takes some interesting twists before slamming us with an unnerving and unexpected ending.
Fiddler on the Roof – Yeah, I know this is a touring production, but after not seeing high-quality musical theater for nearly two years, this was a reminder of just how wonderful this genre can be. With an exceptional cast and astonishing choreography at the magnificent Emerson Colonial, this would have topped the list in nearly any year – never mind a COVID-shortened one. It’s also worth mentioning Wild: A Musical Becoming at the A.R.T. Despite a book that needs considerable work, this concert production features a bevy of terrific numbers by a cast featuring Idina Menzel, who was nearly overshadowed by her young co-star, YDE.
In the virtual world, two productions I saw deserve a mention. The first was Nervous Theater Company’s Mommy’s Dead and They Buried Her in Moscow, an imaginatively weird take on Chekhov’s The Three Sisters by Boston Conservatory alums, featuring some pretty cool quasi-contemporary pop tunes; and Hype Man, a filmed version of Company One’s 2019 brilliant stage production (featuring the original cast) about a hip-hop group’s struggles to maintain artistic integrity and personal beliefs while chasing fame and fortune.
Michele Markarian: Here are my picks for 2021 (in alphabetical order)
Fiddler on the Roof – This touring production, presented at the Emerson Colonial and led by Israeli Yehezkel Lazarov, is far and away the best production of this much-loved and much produced show I’ve ever seen. The excellent cast can act as well as sing, and the choreography is magnificent. The ending, usually a funereal procession through the streets of Anatevka, is a triumph – you know this scrappy, brave, intelligent bunch is going to do just fine.
Hadestown – Having heard snippets of this catchy score on WERS’s Standing Room Only, I was unprepared for the cleverness of the book, which tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. This Broadway touring cast is superb, and manages to meaningfully convey the answer to the question, even after knowing the outcome, is love worth it? Yes, yes and yes.
Queens Girl in the World – Jasmine M. Rush’s solo turn in Queens Girl in the World is a knockout. Co-produced by The Nora@Central Square Theater, The Front Porch Arts Collective, and The Hangar Theater, Queens Girl in the World is the story of class, race, sex, and belonging. Anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider will relate to the show’s underlying message, which is “Where will I find my place in the world?”
The Tempest – John Douglas Thompson turns in a commanding, nuanced performance as Prospero, in Commonwealth Shakespeare’s exceptional production of The Tempest. This was an exhilarating piece from start to finish, with an adept, sure-footed cast and mellifluous vocals. The Boston Common was truly transported into an island; despite knowing the ending, one couldn’t be too sure.
Wild: A Musical Becoming – Despite an incredulous book, American Repertory’s production of Wild features an excellent cast and a captivating, toe-tapping score. Idina Menzel shines as the mother of a teenager who is more ecologically and less economically concerned than her mother. The cast is full of young talent, and you get the sense that Menzel is not just the mother in the show, but the mother of a new generation of performers whose promise is bright.
Internet Theater – lest we forget about our online productions in the better part of 2021, here are two that standout for me:
A Brimful of Asha – A Why Not Theatre Production presented by ArtsEmerson, A Brimful of Asha stars its authors, real-life mother and son Asha Jain and Ravi Jain, respectively, as mother and son. Asha wants to arrange a marriage for the not-so-eligible Ravi – he is, after all, an actor, not a doctor or engineer – a fate that Ravi is resisting. The two play off each other wonderfully, and the show’s resolution, that love is the strongest bond of all, is hopeful and heartwarming.
Next Time – Candle House Collective presented this piece, by Evan Neiden, which involves you, the audience member, and a person on the other end of a telephone. The stage is a room with a closed door in your home; the prop is a pad of paper and pencil in front of you. This show was the perfect antidote to the insular experience of Zoom, home offices and seclusion – it was provocative, funny and engaging. Thank you, Candle House, for this experience.
Shelley A. Sackett: In descending order, here are my top five picks of the productions I was able to attend:
The Sound Inside – Written by Adam Rapp; Directed by Bryn Boice.
SpeakEasy Stage’s production was a trifecta of what makes for exalted theater: flawless script, acting and directing. It didn’t just hit a home run over the Green Wall; it launched it into outer space. The two-hander featured award-winning performances by Jennifer Rohn and Nathan Malin as professor and student caught in physical, emotional and intellectual webs of their own weaving. Spot on direction by Bryn Boice and intuitive lighting by Devorah Kengmana were icing on the cake.
The Merchant of Venice –Written by William Shakespeare; Directed by Igor Golyak.
Actor’s Shakespeare Project, under the magnificent brilliance of inventive Golyak, updated the well-known Shakespearean play with masks, mime and mayhem to sound a warning bell about the pernicious prevalence of anti-Semitism today. As always, Nael Nacer’s performance (this time as Shylock) is worth the price of admission.
Witness –Written by Nana Grinstein; Directed by Igor Golyak.
Arlekin Players Theater/Zero-Gravity Lab presented (and will continue to present from January 14-23) another groundbreaking experimental virtual piece that explores and bears witness to the involuntary migratory experience of Jews throughout history. Hands down, Igor Golyak is the most creative, passionate and committed presence in the Boston theater scene right now, and his voice is an important clarion call to all of us that prejudice and social injustice are by no means rear view issues.
All Is Calm–Written by Peter Rothstein; Directed by Ilyse Robbins.
Greater Boston Stage Company’s documentary musical told a well-known true WWI story almost exclusively through a cappella song. On Christmas Day in 1914 enlisted men on both sides celebrated the day and their shared humanity. Although there is no ambiguity that ‘All Is Calm’ referenced Christmas, director Ilyse Robbins and her talented cast transcended that to deliver a universal message of peace that rose above specificity of time, place and religion. The result was elegant, hopeful and — yes — calming.
Teenage Dick –Written by Mike Lew; Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel.
Huntington Theatre Company presented the thinly disguised riff on Shakespeare’s ‘King Richard III.’ This time, the setting is a High School and Richard has cerebral palsy (as does the actor playing him). Although the writing sometimes misses its mark, the play leaves the audience in the delicious place of questioning our assumptions about more than the characters and plot. Starring Gregg Mozgala and the scene-stealing, indomitable Shannon DeVido.
Honorable Mentions:
Baskerville – Written by Ken Ludwig; Directed by Jim O’Connor.
Gloucester Stage Company’s theater-en-plein-air with a uniformly brilliant cast of five playing more than 40 roles was a welcome breath of fresh air.
Be Here Now –Written by Deborah Zoe Laufer; Directed by Courtney O’Connor.
Lyric Stage Company’s deceptively profound production with a standout performance by Barlow Adamson questioned whether happiness is really all it’s cracked up to be.
