What did the best in Connecticut theater add up to in 2012?
My four favorite shows were all world premieres, two of them musicals and two of them plays. Beyond that fresh quartet, I was smitten by two additional musical revivals from our local producing theaters and another from a touring company — all three productions breathed new life into established and familiar works. There was also a sublime Shakespeare, a splendid revival of an American family classic and a surprising — and forgotten — gem from the '70s.
My Top 10 (and then some) list always comes with a disclaimer: I did not see everything that professional companies produced and presented in the state. Who could? I'm sure there were terrific shows, performances, designs and direction that I missed — and I regret that.
Connecticut is one of the centers of American Theater, not just because of its many Tony Award-recognized producing theaters, but also for its developmental programs, its historic presenting houses, its excellent university stages and its many creative smaller theaters, all stoking the artistic fires for its sophisticated, discriminating and engaged audiences.
It also has many theaters that embrace the challenges of creating new work and in reviewing the shows I've seen this year, it was especially true.
So in order of my most favorite shows:
The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno at Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven. This ended up being my favorite show of the year though it was such a strong year that more than half of the shows on the list were contenders for that honor.
Eno's play was so strange and yet so familiar. He created a cozy theatrical landscape where language received a workout, as it was de-constructed, made trivial, made tedious, made profound — sometimes all at once. But once I surrendered to its stream-of-conscious, staccato rhythms, it really got to me — and stayed with me. It was a quirky and serious reflection on life, death and existence that also took time to ponder the significance of breath mints. In the end, there was nothing else like it this year.
February House, music by Gabriel Kahane, book by Seth Bockley, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven. There have only been a handful of times when I felt I was in the presence of an original musical voice in the theater and I felt that way about Kahane and this haunting show. His music and lyrics were a natural expression of the great artists who lived in this Brooklyn rooming house in the early '40s which was the subject of the work, yet he made it entirely his own.(The show transferred off-Broadway to The Public Theatre and thankfully a CD was made of the show. Maybe it's just me, but I the New Haven version was better.)
A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, music by Steven Lutvak, lyrics by Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman, book by Freedman, Hartford Stage. The title may be clunky ("Love & Murder: A Gentleman's Guide" would be better) but this musical confection was a good-taste treat, directed with an exquisite eye for witty detail by director Darko Tresnjak. It also had glorious musical performances, especially Jefferson Mays as the man audiences loved seeing die again and again and again.
Marie Antoinette by David Adjmi, Yale Repertory Theatre. Adjmi's surreal look at the madness of politics, power and celebrity got a wild and woolly (as in sheep) dream of a production with Hartt School grad Marin Ireland giving a hysterically funny, fierce and touching performance as the original material girl. It was visually stunning, comically inspired and politically pointed. It deserves a New York production.
Into the Woods, music by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, Westport Country Playhouse. Mark Lamos directed a production that placed the emphasis on the transformative powers of story telling — especially the story telling ways of the theater — and in so doing made the show especially moving.
Carousel, music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics and by Oscar Hammerstein II. Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam. Again, the director — in this case Rob Ruggiero — brought new life in a revival, due in no small part to the outstanding casting and voices, especially James Snyder as a vibrant, vital Billy Bigelow.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Westport Country Playhouse. That the play is a great one is not exactly a revelation. I have seen many productions of the work over the decades and I don't recall a bad one but this one, directed by Phylicia Rashad, was of particularly fine, honest and compassionate. My heart was full when I left the theater,
Sty of the Blind Pig by Philip Hayes Dean. TheatreWorks in Hartford. Brenda Thomas gave an unforgettable performance as the righteous, manipulative mother and Krystel Lucas as her submissive, sensitive daughter in this rarely done 1971 domestic comedy-drama set in Chicago at the dawn of the Civil rights era. Yes, there was symbolism aplenty and it's far from a perfect work, but Tazewell Thompson found a gem and made it shine.
A Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare, Yale Repertory Theatre. Liz Diamond's directed a graceful, tasteful production of a problematic, schizo play by the Bard. Beautifully designed sets by Michael Yeargan and a solid cast led by a riveting performance by Rob Campbell as King Leontine, the production was perfectly balanced as it celebrated the power of transformation — where revenge turns to romance, cruelty to forgiveness, despair to joy and yes, winter into spring.
Les Misérables, touring production, Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, Hartford. Are we tired of "Les Miz" yet? I thought I was (and I still have the movie to see). But this outstanding touring production and a great ensemble cast made a connection that all other productions — even the original — lacked for me. A theory: The absence of the ever-turning turntable put the focus on where the show belonged: the story and its characters and this cast was terrific.
Honorable Mention: Satchmo at the Waldorf by Terry Teachout at Long Wharf Theatre's Stage II; William Shakespeare's The Tempest at Hartford Stage; Bell, Book and Candle at Long Wharf Theatre and Hartford Stage; Metamorphosis at Playhouse on Park; Harbor at Westport Country Playhouse; and the Come Fly Away touring company at the Bushnell.
