Despite the significant and ongoing challenges of producing both nonprofit and commercial theater following the pandemic shutdown, 2023 was full of extraordinary productions, particularly strong revivals of great musicals.
Below is our annual top 10 list of best shows.
1. Parade: Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry’s unapologetically dark musical tragedy, which explores anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and mob violence, received a griping and thrilling Broadway revival starring Ben Platt as Leo Frank (who, in the early 20th century, was wrongfully accused and convicted of murder and then murdered himself by outlaws) and Micaela Diamond as his courageous wife Lucille. It was just announced that a national tour will debut in 2025.
2. Merrily We Roll Along: More than four decades after it crashed and burned in its debut, the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s bittersweet, uniquely structured musical of lost love, friendship, and dreams has become an unlikely smash hit thanks to Maria Friedman’s smart and sensitive direction and a knockout cast led by Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez.
3. Sweeney Todd: After years of scaled-down deconstructions, Sondheim’s musical thriller has returned to its original epic scope and scale thanks to a full-size orchestra, multi-story scenic design, and terrific lead performances from Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford (who will soon be replaced by Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster). This is “Sweeney” at its most sweeping, satisfying, and mesmerizing.
4. Peter Pan Goes Wrong: A sequel to “The Play That Goes Wrong” arrived in the form of an inventive slapstick comedy imagining of an amateur production of “Peter Pan” plagued by endless mishaps, mistakes, and injuries. One hopes the show (which received a limited Broadway run) will resurface soon.
5. Spamalot: The supercharged Broadway revival of the 2005 Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of the 1975 film classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” maintains the glitzy, freewheeling, and fast-paced showmanship of the original production (but with a new equally daffy and game cast) while also exerting a stronger impact due to the genuine need in the world today for the cathartic release of pure old-fashioned musical comedy.
6. A Doll’s House: Henrik Ibsen’s once revolutionary 1879 drama, which is difficult to stage today without feeing stodgy, received a seamless, direct, and fresh reexamination, which removed period detail and traditional production elements and relied primarily on the compelling performance of Jessica Chastain, who faced the audience for two straight hours, looking radiant, exposed, and vulnerable.
7. Prima Facie: Jodie Comer gave an all-out, genuinely exhilarating performance in Suzie Miller’s tightly constructed, provocative, #MeToo era courtroom thriller about a successful criminal defense attorney who suddenly finds herself on the witness stand. Even if you disagreed with its views on law and justice, there was no denying that it made for gripping and urgent theater.
8. Days of Wine and Roses: Adam Guettel’s new musical, which is about to transfer to Broadway following its Off-Broadway debut, depicts a married couple (played by Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James) in 1950s New York whose lives are shattered by alcohol addiction. The score, intended to reflect the difficult emotional circumstances, is sharp, jazz-like, and jarring.
9. Wolf Play: Inspired by a 2013 Reuters investigation of an underground online “child exchange,” Hansol Jung’s take-no-prisoners parenting drama featured an actor taking on the persona of both a six-year-old adopted boy and a lone wolf (or rather a boy who thinks of himself as a wolf). The highly theatrical production conjured the world through the boy’s point of view.
10. The Light in the Piazza: The City Center Encores! production of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’ 2005 musical romance showcased its rich score and complex, introspective characters, with Ruthie Ann Miles giving a triumphant leading performance.
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