The theatre scene in St. Louis in 2010 turned out to be another year filled with fine productions and superb performances. Despite the economic barriers faced by all the local theatre companies many continued to take risks, presenting material that challenged audience expectations, but entertained them as well. And so, I'm presenting my own top ten of 2010, to honor the shows that beguiled and entranced me this past year.
The year got off to a bright start with Upsteam Theater's wonderful presentation of Michael Huffman's witty translation of the Peter Suskind play, The Double Bass. J. Samuel Davis delivered a pitch perfect performance, making this disgruntled musician into something very special indeed. Philip Boehm continues to bring the world to St. Louis through his choices, and we're all the more enlightened by his efforts.
August: Osage County graced the stage of the Fox theatre soon after, and this much-anticipated show certainly lived up to expectations. Estelle Parsons was completely captivating as the acid-tongued matriarch, Beverly Weston, who rides rough shod over her wildly dysfunctional brood. Even a spectacular multi-story set was dwarfed by the dramatic and hilarious work of this terrific ensemble led by Parsons.
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis continued their own strong season with an absolutely brilliant and compact production of Dostoyevsky's classic work, Crime and Punishment. An exceptional cast (Jimmy King, Amy Landon and Triney Sandoval) combined with excellent direction (Stuart Carden), and clever scenic design of Gianni Downs to produce a home run. Only a handful of shows came anywhere close to the intensity level of this production.
If there's any group capable of generating similar sparks it's New Line Theatre, and their dark and decadent production of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party blew me away. Scott Miller's impeccable direction, as well as his sharp work on the ivories pounding out this genre-hopping blend of space age bachelor pad music and cool jazz, brought this black comedy to life in fine fashion. Jeffrey Pruett's performance as the scary clown named Burrs was especially memorable.
The Black Rep took an interesting look at friendship with their stellar presentation of Yasmina Reza's Art. Ron Himes, Tim Schall and Robert A. Mitchell are well cast, and do wonderful work under Andrea Frye's direction, as three close friends whose bonds are tested when one purchases a particular piece of abstract art. All three deliver, but Mitchell's ingratiating work as Yvan adds the spice that really made this show cook.
Continuing with the theme of exceptional ensemble work, the New Jewish Theatre put together one of the funniest shows of the year with their production of Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor. This loving recreation of the goings-on within the writer's room of revered 1950's fare like "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour" was a laugh riot in the hands of talented comedic actors like Alan Knoll and Bobby Miller. This was easily one of finest productions of one of Simon's works that I've been privileged to see.
While some might view a presentation of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita as a safe choice, New Line Theatre's incendiary production was anything but, infusing this modern classic with a rock and roll edge that served the material particularly well. Taylor Pietz (Eva Peron), Todd Schaefer (Juan Peron) and John Sparger (Che) do stunning work under Scott Miller's direction, neatly bringing these characters to life with a genuine sense of enthusiasm and energy that I've found lacking in other productions. This stripped-down, rocking rendition of Evita was truly inspired.
