NEW YORK CITY: The arts-and-culture magazine in the theater of One World announces its top-10 picks for the world's best theater of 2011. Click here to read the article.
At the top of the hierarchical list are Radio Muezzin (Germany/Egypt), a documentary work by the Swiss director Stefan Kaegi; Macbeth After Shakespeare (Slovenia/Croatia), staged by Ivica Buljan; and David Henry Hwang's Broadway play Chinglish, which originated at the Goodman Theatre of Chicago.
Of Radio Muezzin, the global roundup, "My picks for the world's best theater of 2011, states" "You might say that Radio Muezzin stages a Western country's (Germany's) attempt to promote diverse Egyptian voices abroad. It is also about the Egyptian government's decision to use technology to silence individual voices. In Sarajevo [where Gener saw this documentary theater]..., it was about the triumph of a group of passionate muezzins to perform the story of their lives despite the decision of one of their own to almost sabotage Kaegi's outstanding show."
Macbeth After Shakespeare, a Slovenian/Croatian staging of the Heiner Muller drama, is described as "stunning" and "a revelation."
The article praises Hwang's Chinglish quite simply "the best American play of 2011."
J.T. Rogers's Blood and Gifts is "the world's greatest example of a political drama that hits your heart and mind." And Sleep No More "will go down in history as the classic example of a site-specific theater masterpiece."
Moreover, the Romanian director's explosive staging of Faust at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival and the National Theatre of the French community in Brussels is praised as "the greatest Romanian production of this decade."
The Belarus Free Theatre's Being Harold Pinter, which made stops in Chicago and New York City, is described as "a landmark in the history of Pinter productions."
In addition to the top-10 selections, in the theater of One World's best-of-the-year list includes 10 honorable mentions and 15 special mentions from the U.S. and around the world.
The Telling Orchestra from Norway "is hailed as "unquestionably the best theatrical performance by a pavilion at the 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space.
Film and theater director Loy Arcenas's re-staging of Ralph Pena's Flipzoids "confirms this play's status in the canon of American drama," says the article, adding that Septimus and Clarissa, Ripetime's staging of Ellen McLaughlin's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway is "one of the best stagings of Woolf's work I've seen."
Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark was named this year's best comic play.
The Broadway revival of Anything Goes is praised as "a joy from start to finish" -- "a kick-ass lush production that you will not likely ever see in a long while (if you don't go see it now)."
Here are my picks for the world's best theater of 2011:
1) Radio Muezzin (Germany/Egpyt)
2) Macbeth After Shakespeare (Slovenia/Croatia)
3) Chinglish (USA)
4) Silviu Purcarete's Faust (Romania)
5) Being Harold Pinter (Belarus)
6) When Father Was Away on Business (Serbia)
7) more...more...more...future (Democratic Republic of Congo)
8) Blood and Gifts (USA)
9) Sleep No More (U.K./USA)
10) Cries and Whispers (Netherlands/Sweden)
The honorable mentions are:
11) The Telling Orchestra (Norway)
12) Flipzoids (USA)
13) The Book of Mormon (USA)
14) Septimus and Clarissa (USA)
15) Correspondences (Haiti/Mali/South Africa/France)
16) The Normal Heart (USA)
17) Anything Goes (USA)
18) Prometheus Landscape II (Belgium)
19) By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (USA)
20) Silenciados (Spain)
in the theater of One World made a point of expressing enthusiasm for 15 others shows which are given special mention.
These Special Mentions are:
1) Honey Brown Eyes, written by Stephanie Zadravec and directed by Erica Schmidt (USA)
2) Invasion! by Jonas Hassen Khemiri and directed by Erica Schmidt (Play Company, USA)
3) Kom Ta Min Hand (Come, Take my Hand) at the Swedish Theatre Biennial in Gavle (Sweden)
4) Arcadia written by Tom Stoppard and directed by David Leaveaux (Broadway)
5) Hypermnesia (Serbia/BITEF), written by Serbian and Bosnian actors, and staged by Bosnian director Selma Spahic at MESS Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
6) Venus in Fur written by David Ives (Manhattan Theatre Club on Broadway, USA)
7) Queen of the Mist, the musical by Michael John LaChiusa (Transport Group, New York, USA)
8) Go Back to Where You Are by David Greenspan (Playwrights Horizons, USA)
9) Heaven on Earth by Charles F. Mee and directed/choreographed by Dan Safer (Witness Relocation, USA)
10) Angel of Swedenborg by Ping Chong and the Great Jones Repertory (La MaMa E.T.C., USA)
11) Unnatural Acts by Plastic Theatre, directed by Tony Speciale (Classic Stage Company, USA)
12) Lucia’s Chapters of Coming Forth By Day written and directed by Sharon Fogarty (Mabou Mines, USA)
13) Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire (Manhattan Theatre Club on Broadway, USA)
14) Broadway revival of Follies by Stephen Sondheim (USA)
15) Gardenia by Alain Platel & Frank van Laecke, Les Ballet C de la B (Belgium).
At the top of the hierarchical list are Radio Muezzin (Germany/Egypt), a documentary work by the Swiss director Stefan Kaegi; Macbeth After Shakespeare (Slovenia/Croatia), staged by Ivica Buljan; and David Henry Hwang's Broadway play Chinglish, which originated at the Goodman Theatre of Chicago.
Of Radio Muezzin, the global roundup, "My picks for the world's best theater of 2011, states" "You might say that Radio Muezzin stages a Western country's (Germany's) attempt to promote diverse Egyptian voices abroad. It is also about the Egyptian government's decision to use technology to silence individual voices. In Sarajevo [where Gener saw this documentary theater]..., it was about the triumph of a group of passionate muezzins to perform the story of their lives despite the decision of one of their own to almost sabotage Kaegi's outstanding show."
 |
| Radio Muezzin | Photo by Amer Kuhinja |
Macbeth After Shakespeare, a Slovenian/Croatian staging of the Heiner Muller drama, is described as "stunning" and "a revelation."
The article praises Hwang's Chinglish quite simply "the best American play of 2011."
 |
| Jennifer Lim in Chinglish by David Henry Hwang |
J.T. Rogers's Blood and Gifts is "the world's greatest example of a political drama that hits your heart and mind." And Sleep No More "will go down in history as the classic example of a site-specific theater masterpiece."
Moreover, the Romanian director's explosive staging of Faust at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival and the National Theatre of the French community in Brussels is praised as "the greatest Romanian production of this decade."
The Belarus Free Theatre's Being Harold Pinter, which made stops in Chicago and New York City, is described as "a landmark in the history of Pinter productions."
In addition to the top-10 selections, in the theater of One World's best-of-the-year list includes 10 honorable mentions and 15 special mentions from the U.S. and around the world.
The Telling Orchestra from Norway "is hailed as "unquestionably the best theatrical performance by a pavilion at the 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space.
Film and theater director Loy Arcenas's re-staging of Ralph Pena's Flipzoids "confirms this play's status in the canon of American drama," says the article, adding that Septimus and Clarissa, Ripetime's staging of Ellen McLaughlin's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway is "one of the best stagings of Woolf's work I've seen."
Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark was named this year's best comic play.
The Broadway revival of Anything Goes is praised as "a joy from start to finish" -- "a kick-ass lush production that you will not likely ever see in a long while (if you don't go see it now)."
 |
| Sutton Foster in Anything Goes at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre |
Here are my picks for the world's best theater of 2011:
1) Radio Muezzin (Germany/Egpyt)
2) Macbeth After Shakespeare (Slovenia/Croatia)
3) Chinglish (USA)
4) Silviu Purcarete's Faust (Romania)
5) Being Harold Pinter (Belarus)
6) When Father Was Away on Business (Serbia)
7) more...more...more...future (Democratic Republic of Congo)
8) Blood and Gifts (USA)
9) Sleep No More (U.K./USA)
10) Cries and Whispers (Netherlands/Sweden)
The honorable mentions are:
11) The Telling Orchestra (Norway)
12) Flipzoids (USA)
13) The Book of Mormon (USA)
14) Septimus and Clarissa (USA)
15) Correspondences (Haiti/Mali/South Africa/France)
16) The Normal Heart (USA)
17) Anything Goes (USA)
18) Prometheus Landscape II (Belgium)
19) By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (USA)
20) Silenciados (Spain)
in the theater of One World made a point of expressing enthusiasm for 15 others shows which are given special mention.
These Special Mentions are:
1) Honey Brown Eyes, written by Stephanie Zadravec and directed by Erica Schmidt (USA)
2) Invasion! by Jonas Hassen Khemiri and directed by Erica Schmidt (Play Company, USA)
3) Kom Ta Min Hand (Come, Take my Hand) at the Swedish Theatre Biennial in Gavle (Sweden)
4) Arcadia written by Tom Stoppard and directed by David Leaveaux (Broadway)
5) Hypermnesia (Serbia/BITEF), written by Serbian and Bosnian actors, and staged by Bosnian director Selma Spahic at MESS Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
6) Venus in Fur written by David Ives (Manhattan Theatre Club on Broadway, USA)
7) Queen of the Mist, the musical by Michael John LaChiusa (Transport Group, New York, USA)
8) Go Back to Where You Are by David Greenspan (Playwrights Horizons, USA)
9) Heaven on Earth by Charles F. Mee and directed/choreographed by Dan Safer (Witness Relocation, USA)
10) Angel of Swedenborg by Ping Chong and the Great Jones Repertory (La MaMa E.T.C., USA)
11) Unnatural Acts by Plastic Theatre, directed by Tony Speciale (Classic Stage Company, USA)
12) Lucia’s Chapters of Coming Forth By Day written and directed by Sharon Fogarty (Mabou Mines, USA)
13) Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire (Manhattan Theatre Club on Broadway, USA)
14) Broadway revival of Follies by Stephen Sondheim (USA)
15) Gardenia by Alain Platel & Frank van Laecke, Les Ballet C de la B (Belgium).
No comments:
Post a Comment