It was a starry year on Broadway and beyond, as a Hollywood slump drove A-listers east to light up marquees (and juice ticket prices). This is not that list! For every celebrity vehicle, there were dozens (and dozens) more potent productions powered by the chemistry of companies in perfect sync. On D.C. and New York stages, powerhouse ensembles were the year’s MVPs, whether lending a spirit of reinvention to the classics or an original stamp on riveting premieres. Here were my favorites.
10. ‘Twelfth Night’
Folger Theatre’s seductively cheeky production of the Bard’s most reliable crowd-pleaser was executed in bawdy high style by director Mei Ann Teo as a gender-fluid rager. The tale of eligible aristocrats beguiled by shipwrecked twins hinges on mistaken identities — and desires undeterred by disguises. Casting a predominantly queer and nonbinary ensemble toyed provocatively with the play’s themes: Why presume that desire could ever be neatly contained? Or that outward appearances matter at all? Toss out preconceived notions, and life (and in this case, Shakespeare) can be a total blast.
9. ‘Paradise Blue’
A side door to Studio Theatre became a portal to a Detroit jazz club in director Raymond O. Caldwell’s mesmerizing, immersive production of Dominique Morisseau’s drama of urban displacement. In light of Logan Circle’s own history of gentrification (and Studio’s anchoring place in the neighborhood), there was a rare air of meta resonance to the show, about the denizens of a Black-owned hangout facing an uncertain future. The performances were all the more thrilling to witness up close, especially Anji White as a cunning survivalist who traffics in seduction.
8. ‘Vanya’
Okay, okay. Andrew Scott sneaked his way onto this non-starry, ensemble-driven list because his one-man turn off-Broadway as a full ensemble in Chekhov’s pastoral tragicomedy was a protean marvel. (Plus, Scott’s celebrity is so low-key that people still think of him as the Hot Priest from “Fleabag.”) In a fleet adaptation by Simon Stephens, Scott emphasized coy yearning and wry humor for the sexiest and most amusing “Uncle Vanya” of the many onstage in recent years. If you missed it, the production is available to stream from London’s National Theatre, where it originated.
7. ‘Downstate’
For those who crave thorny, complex narratives that confront rather than affirm their values, nothing beat this Studio Theatre production directed by outgoing artistic director David Muse. Yes, the play by Bruce Norris (Pulitzer winner for “Clybourne Park”) is about men convicted of child sexual abuse. And yes, it persuasively argues that condemning them as evil would be too simple by half. (Praising it has triggered backlash for both myself and my predecessor as The Washington Post’s theater critic.) It’s also impeccably written, surprisingly funny and, as performed by this superb ensemble, a testament to what it means to be imperfectly human.
6. ‘Damn Yankees’
A pitch-perfect revamp of a beloved musical (about America’s most beloved pastime) is tricky to pull off, but this Broadway tryout from director-choreographer Sergio Trujillo made a lot of winning plays: updating the nostalgia factor to the early aughts, diversifying the playing field and ratcheting up the comedy while beautifully showcasing the original score. Some Washingtonians may bristle that the musical’s underdog team is not the Senators but the Baltimore Orioles. Would it really be baseball without a few gripes from the stands?
5. ‘Purpose’
D.C. native Branden Jacobs-Jenkins brought home his second Tony Award in two years for this blistering and hilarious family drama about the legacy of the civil rights movement. Set in the Chicago home of a power couple among the Black political class, the play demonstrates what Jacobs-Jenkins does best: threading incisive social insights into rollicking entertainment. The Steppenwolf Theatre Company production, directed by Phylicia Rashad, was stunningly acted across the board, including by Kara Young (who also won her second Tony in two years) and Alana Arenas as an aggrieved outsider spilling the evening’s most scalding hot tea.
4. ‘Dead Outlaw’
This wild (and mostly true) musical about a mediocre vagabond whose body was inadvertently mummified and not laid to rest for more than half a century was both daringly original and criminally underappreciated. The show, with a folk-tinged rockabilly score (by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna) and captivating yarn of a book (by Itamar Moses), made an ambitious transfer uptown after an acclaimed off-Broadway run in 2024. The production from director David Cromer remained ingeniously compact, like an indoor fireworks display — dazzling, dynamic and with a hint of danger. Cult status seems assured.
3. ‘In the Heights’
The musical that put “Hamilton” impresario Lin-Manuel Miranda on the map enjoyed a vibrant and maximally affecting revival at Signature Theatre, courtesy of director James Vásquez. Though the characters aren’t Founding Fathers, just regular folks living in a close-knit (read: gossipy) neighborhood, their stories have plenty to say about American ideals. The show’s full-throated celebration of an immigrant community — a balm during trying times — was amplified by the intimate staging, which sat audiences as though on the sidewalks.
2. ‘The American Five’
Those fortunate enough to see the showdown between Renea S. Brown (as Coretta Scott King) and Ro Boddie (who’s played MLK more times than most) in this excellent historical drama won’t soon forget Brown booming, “I’m Martin Luther Queen, baby!” First-time playwright Chess Jakobs delivered a smart and enthralling take on a well-read chapter of the civil rights movement, animating its storied figures with wit, vitality and, most striking, fallibility. Titled for the five great minds who contributed to the writing of the “I Have a Dream” speech, it was an extraordinary debut and a reminder of the fierce collaboration required to effect meaningful change.
1. ‘Liberation’
Nearly everyone from my closest friends to strangers on the street ask me what show they should see, and Bess Wohl’s heartfelt and galvanizing tribute to the 1970s women’s movement has been my top answer for months. When I saw the play’s off-Broadway premiere in April, I was floored — moved, and even a bit giddy over its vitality and moral clarity — but conflicted, too. Haven’t we been here and done this already? Of course we have, and the play knows that. It’s also conflicted, grappling with how progress is made and how it feels to lose. And it’s tremendously entertaining — and playing through Feb. 1, with the original company intact — so it remains atop my list until then.
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