Judging from the shows I saw in 2016, New York theater has had a better year than in 2015. This year I awarded **** (Very Good) ratings to 17 shows. Last year there were only 9.
Here are my 4-star shows listed alphabetically:
Butler
The Color Purple
Dear Evan Hansen
Eclipsed
Fiddler on the Roof
The Golden Bride
Hamilton
“Master Harold” …and the Boys
Noises Off
Old Hats
Sense & Sensibility
She Loves Me
Shuffle Along
Sweat
Thank God for Jokes
Turn Me Loose
The Wolves
Only 3 shows received my * (Poor) rating, as compared to 8 last year.
In alphabetical order they are:
Boy
Newsical: The Musical
Our Mother’s Brief Affair
Incidentally, a few people asked whether I had ever awarded a show 5 stars. The answer is yes: The Piano Man and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 2013 and a previous version of Old Hats in 2012. Let’s hope that with the new rating system it won’t be too long a wait until the first A+.
I hope you had many enjoyable theatrical experiences this year and will have even more in the coming year.
With best wishes for the Holiday Season,
Bob Sholiton
3 comments:
Thanks, Bob --
I haven't made a list yet -- still a few weeks to go -- but one of my Top 5 for sure is "Tiny Beautiful Things." I hope that you're planning to see that one.
Art C.
I'm always interested in your reviews, so please do keep on posting them. Of the plays that I saw which you critiqued, I'd lower The Wolves. Despite the engaging way it was staged, the authentic sound of the dialogue, the little individual dramas among the team members as they lived in the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and the fine acting, I felt that the sum of the parts lacked sustained drama; the ending in fact seemed like a tacked-on effort to wring a heightened effect from an otherwise muted play.
Thanks for your comments.
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