Top 25 State Productions
The Source
Musicals: Les Miserables . . . I’ll admit it, I’m an addict of this magnificent music and the storyline never fails to move me. Even Russell Crowe couldn’t ruin it. Jesus Christ Superstar . . . one musical that affected my thinking forever. Fiddler on the Roof . . . You don’t have to be Jewish to like this timeless story with music much more singable than what’s on Broadway today. Man of La Mancha . . . Okay, I’m a child of the sixties and my idealism still holds. So sue me. Rent . . . a weird choice. I don’t like this show at all, yet it affected me. Is that possible? Gypsy . . . probably the most perfectly written musical of all time. The Music Man . . . only in America could this show ring so true, a delightful harkening back to the nation we once knew, whether it was ever there or not. 1776 . . . again, a show that affected my thinking forever. The authors were insane to pick this as a topic for a musical and it worked. Sweeny Todd . . . Sondheim at his best and most singable. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum . . . . vaudeville meets musical meets slapstick. Just plain funny. Wicked . . . one of the best of the new breed of musicals. Okay, a bit of a chick flick, but I’d rather watch this than Phantom of the Opera. Annie Get Your Gun . . . perhaps more hits-per-minute than any show ever written
Straight shows (non-musicals) Death of a Salesman …done right, there’s not a better American drama and it rings more true today than the day it premiered. Waiting for Godot….proving that I don’t have to understand good theatre to appreciate it. The IC library had a copy of this on LP. I wore it out. A Man for All Seasons . . . a timeless tale of a man’s conscience versus the world’s demands. Arsenic and Old Lace . . . .a textbook case on how to write comedy King Lear . . . to add validity to my list. The Glass Menagerie…. Tennessee Williams got this one right. Ageless. Deathtrap . . . mystery has been difficult for the stage to handle. This one works. Of Mice and Men…just so darned American in its theme and universal in what it says about friendship. Noises Off . . . farce on steroids Cyrano De Bergerac. . . a beautiful story meets a man with the talent to write it.
Performance Art: Cirque de Soleil continues to set the standard for this genre of theatre having become a “hit factory” with their various incarnations. River Dance . . . .is powered by the haunting Celtic music, reintroducing audiences around the world to some of the most beautiful melodies and arrangements in Western Civilization. Let’s hear it for the Irish! The Three Tenors. . . .anyone fortunate enough to hear Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti in concert on the same stage can truly say they have lived.