StageBuddy theater reviewers have come together to compile a list of Top Off-Broadway Theater of 2013. These shows left a lasting impression visually, intellectually, and emotionally, changing the ways we experience theater. We look forward to what 2014 will produce. In alphabetical order:
(UP Theater Company at St. Jude Cultural Center) UP Theater Company produced this gem of a show, written by Ricardo Pérez González under the direction of David Mendizábal. It tells the mystical story of two lost brothers, connected by dreams that foreshadow a lurking doom that will change them both forever. (Read our review here.)
(La MaMa Experimental Theatre at Ellen Stewart Theater) B. Madonna is the contemporary telling of the myth of Peresphone, inspired in part by La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart. A sublime, haunting work of art. (Read our review here.)
(Manhattan Theater Club at City Center) Under the direction of Trip Cullman, playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney takes us into the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys: the lead character Pharus, wonderfully played by Jeremy Pope, must find courage to express his truth.
(Irish Repertory Theatre) The Irish Repertory Theatre has revived this classic of Irish Theater (the second part of Sean O'Casey's Dublin Trilogy) in an excellent production directed Charlotte Moore. With compelling performances from all of the lead actors, the play examines the effects of the Irish Civil War on the country's working class. Now extended through January 26th. (Read our review here.)
(The Movement Theater Company at Harlem School of the Arts) The Movement Theater Company produced this spoken word elegy about seven gay men dealing with the death of a friend. Written by Harrison Rivers and directed by David Mendizábal.
(LCT3 at Lincoln Center Claire Tow Theater) J.C. Lee's new play leads us to question everything we hear and know. May Adrales directs this mystery, which suggests the terrifying notion that we can never really control how our children will turn out. (Read our interviews with Lee and Adrales.)
(The Play Company at Chashama) This site-specific drama makes brilliant use of multimedia: the audience is given headphones, which permits playwright and performer Andy Bragen to climb on top of six-foot high cabinets and wander away for a phone call, without us missing a word. This world premiere, directed by Davis McCallum, is a melancholy, affecting one-man show by playwright/actor Andy Bragen. (Read our review here.)
(The Baited Bear Players at Teatro LATEA) The Baited Bear Players presented this Shakespeare comedy directed by Douglas N. Honorof. The cast's mastery of the period's language and dialect turned Teatro LATEA into a vibrant English town. (Read our review here.)
(Pig Pen Theater Company at The Gym at Judson) This new musical play is Pig Pen Theater Company's charming tale of an old man whose job it is to gather the light spilled from the moon. The seven-man company of recent Carnegie Mellon grads takes story-telling to the next level.
(The Lion Theatre on Theatre Row) This 1986 musical satire about a local beauty pageant had us smiling from ear to ear. Featuring music by Marvin Hamlisch and book/lyrics written by Broadway legend Howard Ashman. (Read our review here.)
Contributors: Paul Notice, Al Pesant, Tami Shaloum, and Glenn Quentin.
StageBuddy reviewers pick their favorite theater performances of 2013.
