Giving Thanks for the Arts

It's been a painful year for the arts. Individually, many notable figures have left us - Andrew Wyeth, John Updike, and Paul Newman (to name just a few) - whose presence in my life at least was such a given, their passing feels like a death in the family. But what an impressive body of work they left us - something to be savored and admired for generations to come. Many arts venues have disappeared as well. Book stores and galleries have dropped by the wayside (7^th Street in Penn Quarter really took a hit). Theaters have scaled back their operations, seasons contain fewer and more predictable offerings, and productions with smaller casts are the norm.

Despite and throughout all this, the art scene was a great one last year. There were many, many exciting shows and individual performances; their critical success bodes well for the future. A number of venues have consolidated their efforts and look solid going forward. Reviewing the season, I found many reasons to be optimistic about 2010. But chief among them was the outstanding work that they gave us in 2009. So what follows is my very subjective, unscientific, and skewed evaluation - just like the Helen Hayes Awards! - for the best in the arts over the last year.

Once in a Decade: Fritz Scholder Indian/Not Indian - An artist who pushed the limits on representation, probing deep inside his culture and psyche - National Museum of the American Indian; and Every Good Boy Deserves Favor - Tom Stoppard's rumination on political oppression performed with a full orchestra - Olney Theatre Center

Best in Show: All-Gershwin - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, conductor, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, pianist. An all-star cast delivers jazz like it was meant to be played. Can't wait for the CD recording release in March 2010

Virtuoso Performance: Jean-Yves Thibaudet, covering the keyboard from classical to modern jazz, in two command performances with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Best Bookstore for Author Events: Politics & Prose - premier site for mostly free readings and signings

Best Arts Venue: Torpedo Factory - 82 artist studios and 6 galleries provide one stop shopping for your arts needs in all media

Best Reads - Fiction: The Anthologist, Nicholson Baker; Mystery: Well Read and Dead, Catherine O'Connell; Non-Fiction: How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read, Pierre Bayard - quirky, well drawn central characters and a professor with a funny but profound take on literature

Most Entertaining Book Festival: Baltimore, Mount Vernon Square. Charm City spreads out its civilized celebration of the book over a three-day weekend in September, which features theater, music, and art demonstrations as well. Runner-up: National Book Festival, Washington, DC Mall, a crowded one-day event which may be a victim of its own past success

Best Gimmick: Opera in the Outfield - Rossini's Barber of Seville simulcast of Washington National Opera at Nationals' Ballpark. Runner-up: Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with musical score performed by BSO

Sociopath Next Door: In a year featuring killers and miscreants galore, Tim Getman, as Dan, in Night Must Fall, stood out against the rest, giving a Janus-like view of evil - Olney Theatre

Was She Acting?: Sheri Herren as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, was the personification of Everyman's worst nightmare - Keegan Theatre

Off the Bench: Actress: Amy Warren as Karen in August: Osage County; Actor: David Turner as Tristan in The Dog in the Manger. Runner-up: Evan Casey as Mordred in Camelot. These talented actors jump-started every scene they were in

Ensemble: Production: Cast from August: Osage County - Kennedy Center; Group: Patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are a band of brothers - Roundhouse Theatre

Best Theater Venue: Studio Theater - a theater multiplex, with high production values in intimate settings. Runner-up - Olney Theatre

Best Adaptation: Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, by Marilyn Campbell & Curt Columbus, directed by Matthew Gray, this production extracted the essence of the tale of modernity - Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre

Best Musical Venue: Strathmore Music Center - first-rate classical and modern music acts trooping through several times weekly. No need to travel to travel to DC (or Baltimore) for those living north of the Beltway

Best Production for Community/Little Theater: Light in the Piazza, directed by Todd Pearthree - Theatre Hopkins

Less is More: Lincolnesque, directed by Mark Rhea. Good script, fine actors, insightful direction, thoughtful design, and a cozy space win the Green Award - Keegan Theatre

Best Play a Tie: The Dog in the Manger, directed by Jonathan Munby, Shakespeare Theatre Company; August: Osage County, directed by Anna Shapiro, Kennedy Center. The intricate and exuberant Dog succeeded on multiple levels while the unflinching August was dramatic theater at its best

Most Creative: Much Ado About Nothing, Folger Theatre; Runner-up: Seascape, TACT. The Caribbean-themed resetting of Much Ado rang true in this closed society

Dream Design Team: James Kronzer (set), Daniel MacLean Wagner (lighting), Helen Huang (costumes), & Matthew Nielson (sound) all but deliver a Not Guilty verdict in Roundhouse Theatre's production of The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Dramaturgy: Center Stage, Baltimore; Runners-up: Folger Theatre and Arena Stage. Center Stage's magazine-sized hardcopy combined with expansive online features continues to lead the field. Folger and Arena are closing the gap

It Starts at the Top: Andrew Paul, PICT, based on season theme, presence at shows, and theater's audience post-performance education. Runner-up: Joy Zinoman, Studio Theatre, and Jim Petosa, Olney Theatre

The Wisdom of Crowds: The Jersey Boys, The National Theatre. This outstanding show, which succeeded artistically on multiple levels, packed them in daily, setting box office records

Wow Factor: Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus - Greatest Show on Earth, literally - Verizon Center

Until next year ...