DRAMAURGE AWARDS 2011

Put 2011 down as a year of dichotomies. The plays were on the whole shorter, the casts smaller, and offerings more predictable, but there seemed to be more to choose from and the production values - whether on a big budget or small - were quite high. As in the past, I looked for, and counted myself lucky to have seen, plays that were moving, provocative, and entertaining theatrical experiences: The kind of show that left me with that ineffable sense of "Wow!" as I walked out the door. I found at least ten that fit the bill.

For acting, design, and production, I looked for the difficult made (to appear) easy and tended to favor creativity and harmony with the playwright's and/or director's vision. Perhaps I've passed over an outstanding performance or design element in favor of, what seemed to me, a more challenging part or more focused production. This is, as I've also said, a very subjective process. Nonetheless, this was an exceptional year for performance and design and I had a number of tough choices I've called ties (hey, it works for the Helen Hayes!). And I haven't seen them all - this is admittedly a limited list of plays - but it isn't restricted to a narrow field of view, one that takes in a particular, select group of theaters. Even if you're off the beaten track, we've got you covered!

Best in Theater 2011 (In Chronological Order - Not Ranked)

The Homecoming, by Harold Pinter, Dir. Irene Lewis, Center Stage

The Comedy of Errors, by William Shakespeare, Dir. Aaron Posner, Folger Theatre

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, Dir. Pam MacKinnon, Steppenwolf Theatre production at Arena Stage

House & Garden, by Alan Ayckbourn, Dir. Andrew Paul & Melissa Hill Grande, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre (PICT)

Pop! book & lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman, music Anna K. Jacobs, Dir. Keith Alan Baker, Hunter Styles, & Jennifer Harris, Studio Theatre

Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris, Dir. Howard Shalwitz, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

OR, by Liz Duffy Adams, Dir. Michael Stebbins, Rep Stage

The Rivals, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Dir. David Schweizer, Center Stage

Wit, by Margaret Edson, Dir. Richard Pilcher, Bay Theatre Company, Annapolis

A Behanding in Spokane, by Martin McDonagh, Dir. Rick Snyder, Profiles Theatre, Chicago

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Performance & Design

Lead Actor - (tied) Martin Giles as Teddy Platt in House & Garden, PICT & Bruce Alan Rauscher as Kreton in Visit to a Small Planet, The American Century Theater

Lead Actress - Rena Cherry Brown as Dr. Vivian Bearing in Wit, Bay Theatre Company

Supporting Actress - Christine Nielsen as Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Center Stage

Supporting Actor - Jefferson A. Russell as Capt. Beatty in Fahrenheit 451, Round House Theatre

Supporting Actor Multiple Roles - (tied) Joseph Anthony Foronda as HYH et al in Yellow Face, Silk Road Theatre Project with Goodman Theatre & Jason Odell Williams as Charles II et al in OR, Rep Stage

Supporting Actress Multiple Roles - Sarah Marshall as Woman Over 60 and others in Golden Dragon, Studio Theatre

Essentially Solo Performance - Nigel Reed as the eponymous star in Barrymore, Rep Stage

Director - David Schweizer, The Rivals, Center Stage

Ensemble Acting - Clybourne Park, Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company

Set - Caleb Wertenbaker, The Rivals, Center Stage

Costumes - David Burdick, The Rivals, Center Stage

Lighting - (tied) Ruth Hutson, Fahrenheit 451, Round House Theatre & Jay Herzog, Barrymore, Rep Stage

Music & Sound - Steve LeGrand, Fahrenheit 451, Round House Theatre

Ensemble Design - (tied) Visit to a Small Planet, TACT & Pop! Studio Theatre

Special Mention - Emily Townley as Pauline and Kimberley Gilbert as Anna in A Bright New Boise, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Mundy Spears as Nurse Susie Monahan in Wit, Bay Theater Company; Deidre Madigan as Veronica in God of Carnage, Pittsburgh Public Theater; Stephen Culp as Deeley in Old Times, Shakespeare Theatre Company; Ted van Griethuysen as Fitz & W.H. Auden in The Habit of Art, Studio Theatre; and David Margulies as Sir Anthony in The Rivals, Center Stage

To all those artists who I mentioned - and the many more I didn't - I want to say: Thank You and Good Luck in 2012!