The Best of 2011: The Best Plays I Saw

New York and London are generally regarded as the world's two greatest theater cities. I visited both in 2011 but went to no plays. Only musicals, as is my wont.

But I'm convinced that several of the plays I saw on Chicago stages were every bit as good as what I could have seen on Broadway or in the West End. In fact, some of the productions on my Best of 2011 list have played in or will transfer to one of the meccas, or are the world's first regional stagings.

And my top choice for Best Play of 2011 had its world premiere in my hometown of Skokie. But it starred two Tony winners who would be in demand anywhere.

Two quick notes to keep in mind before I give you my list. Though sometimes the distinction isn't all that clear, even to me, I am ranking the productions I saw, not necessarily the play (i.e. the script) itself. Hence, a classic by Shakespeare is in the middle of the pack, and though many of those listed are new works, not all are. Also, beyond the 15 shows I'll cite below, I only saw 3 additional plays (or non-musical stage works). So omissions may very well be about what I didn't see rather than what I didn't like.

The Best Plays I Saw in 2011 (all in the Chicago area)

1. The Outgoing Tide - Northlight Theatre (my review)
written by Bruce Graham; directed by BJ Jones

2. Clybourne Park - Steppenwolf Theatre (my review)
written by Bruce Norris; directed by Amy Morton

3. Chinglish - Goodman Theatre (my review)
written by David Henry Hwang; directed by Leigh Silverman

4. Red - Goodman Theatre (my review)
written by John Logan; directed by Robert Falls

5. East of Berlin - Signal Ensemble Theatre (my review)
written by Hannah Moscovitch; directed by Ronan Marra 

6. The Merchant of Venice - Broadway in Chicago; Bank of America Theatre (my review)
written by William Shakespeare; directed by Darko Tresnjak

7. The Beauty Queen of Leenane - Shattered Globe Theatre (my review)
written by Martin McDonagh; directed by Steve Scott 

8. The Trinity River Plays - Goodman Theatre (my review)
written by Regina Taylor; directed by Ethan McSweeny

9. Ann - Broadway in Chicago; Bank of America Theatre (my review)
written by Holland Taylor; directed by Benjamin Endsley Klein

10.  The Hot L Baltimore - Steppenwolf Theatre (my review)
written by Lanford Wilson; directed by Tina Landau

Special Mention
(I couldn't count these one-person shows as "plays," but both were very good)

Colin Quinn - Long Story Short (my review)
written by Colin Quinn; directed by Jerry Seinfeld

Carrie Fisher - Wishful Drinking (my review)
written by Carrie Fisher

Honorable Mention

Stage Kiss - Goodman Theatre (my review)
written by Sarah Ruhl; directed by Jessica Thebus

God of Carnage - Goodman Theatre (my review)
written by Yasmina Reza; directed by Rick Snyder

Night and Her Stars - The Gift Theatre (my review)
written by Richard Greenberg; directed by Michael Patrick Thornton