Here are Maryland Theatre Guide’s staff’s favorite productions and performances during the 2011 theatre season (from January – December 2011). The productions and performances highlighted in bold received the most nods by the MTG staff. Congrats to all the shows and performances that made our lists. As you can see – there were some ties. Thanks to all the DC area theatres who gave us so many wonderful productions this past year.
Favorite Musical
Annie at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Baltimore.
FELA! at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Follies at The Kennedy Center. (TIE)
Grease at Olney Theatre Center.
Hairspray at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.
Hairspray at Signature Theatre. (TIE)
The Hollow at Signature Theatre.
I Like Nuts The Company at The Capital Fringe Festival.
Jersey Boys at National Theatre.
Oliver! at Damascus Theatre Company.
The Boy Detective Fails at Signature Theatre.
The Sound of Music at Olney Theatre Center.
Who’s Your Bhagdaddy at The Capital Fringe Festival.
White Christmas at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia.
The Wild Party at Teatro101.
Xanadu at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Baltimore.
Favorite Performance in a Musical
Jessica Lauren Ball as Maria in The Sound of Music at Olney Theatre Center.
Ellie Borzilleri as Nancy in Oliver! at Damascus Theatre Company.
Danny Burstein as Buddy in Follies at The Kennedy Center.
Joseph Leo Bwarie as Franki Valli in Jersey Boys at National Theatre.
Carolyn Cole as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray at Signature Theatre.
Steve Custer as Frenchy Cabazon in Cannibal The Musical at Landless Theatre Company.
Crystal Freeman as Effie White in Dreamgirls at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Baltimore.
Nick Greek as Horatio in I Like Nuts (The Musical) at The Capital Fringe Festival.
Jan Maxwell as Phyllis Stone in Follies at The Kennedy Center.
Kevin McAllister as Burrs in The Wild Party at Teatro 101.
Crystal Mosser Anderson as Juliana in F***ing Up Everything at The Capital Fringe Festival.
Cathy Mundy as Mrs. Johnstone in Blood Brothers at Silhoutte Stages.
Matthew Myers as Nelson in Who’s Your Baghdaddy in The Capital Fringe Festival.
Kadejah One as Effie White in Dreamgirls at Riverside Center Dinner Theater.
Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan in Peter Pan at Wolf Trap.
Chris Rudy as Mary Sunshine in Chicago and as himself in I Left My Heart, A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett, both at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia.
Sahr Ngaujah as Fela Kuti in FELA! at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Stephen Gregory Smith as Bill Argo In The Boy Detective.
Favorite Play
A View From The Bridge at Rockville Little Theatre.
Becky’s New Car at The Bay Theatre Company.
Beertown at dog & pony dc.
Lost in Yonkers at Compass Rose Studio Theater.
Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
OR at Rep Stage.
The Birds at George Washington Carver School for Arts and Technology.
The Carpetbagger’s Children at Ford’s Theatre.
The Chosen at Theater J at Arena Stage.
The Green Bird at Constellation Theatre Company.
The Heir Apparent at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Silver Spring Stage.
Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
OR at Rep Stage.
Return to Haifa at Theater J.
Ruined at Arena Stage.
Savage in Limbo at MetroStage.
Stop Kiss at No Rules Theatre Company.
Uncle Vanya at The Kennedy Center.
Favorite Performance in a Play
Araba Brown as Sara Josephine James aka Destiny in Gypsy and the Bully Door, Ocean Ana Rising, Inc. at The Capital Fringe Festival.
Lucinda Merry-Browne as Grandma Kurnitz in Lost in Yonkers at Compass Rose Studio Theater.
Natascia Diaz as Savage in Savage in Limbo at MetroStage. (TIE)
Michael Galizia as Eddie in A View From The Bridge at Rockville Little Theatre.
Edward Gero as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus, at Round House Theatre.
Janet Luby as Becky as Becky’s New Car in The Bay Theatre Company.
Jenny Jules as Mama Nadi in Ruined at Arena Stage. (TIE)
Jenn Mikulski as Antipholus of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors, at Reisterstown Theatre Project.
Jennifer Mendenhall as Secretary in Imagining Madoff at Theater J.
Paul Morella as Scrooge and other characters in A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas at Olney Theatre Center.
Joshua Morgan as Danny Saunders in The Chosen at Theater J at Arena Stage
Brendan Murray as Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Silver Spring Stage.
Steven Shriner as Richard in Fools Call it Fate at Mobtown Players.
Mundy Spears as Prudence in Beyond Therapy at Bay Theatre Company.
Nancy Robinette (Grace Ann), Kimberly Schraf (Cordelia), and Holly Twyford (Sissie) of The Carpetbagger’s Children at Ford’s Theatre.
Derek Smith as Antonio in Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Tom Story as Andy Warhol in Pop! at Studio SecondStage.
Erica Sullivan as Vanda in Venus in Fur at The Studio Theatre.
Holland Taylor in Ann at The Kennedy Center.
David Emerson Toney as Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Rachel Zampelli as Callie in Stop Kiss at No Rules Theatre Company.
Favorite Family/Children’s/Young Actors’ Production
A Year With Frog and Toad at Kensington Arts Theatre.
Charlotte’s Web at Adventure Theatre.
Children of Eden at Musical Theater Center.
Christmas Tidings at Way Off Broadway.
Dr. Dolittle at Imagination Stage.
Jack and the Bean-Stalk at 1st Stage.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Drama Learning Center.
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical at The Kennedy Center.
Mirandy and the Brother Wind at Adventure Theatre.
Pascal’s Aquarium at Capital Fringe Festival 2011.
Ragtime at The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts.
Rapunzel at Pumpkin Theatre.
The Rough-Faced Girl at Synetic Family Theater.
Spring Awakening at Act Two @ Levine.
The Wizard of Oz at The Puppet Co.
Favorite Performance in a Childen’s/Family/Young Actors’ Production
Felicia Curry as Lilly in Lilly and the Purple Plastic Purse at Adventure Theatre.
Felicia Curry as Mirandy in Mirandy and Brother Wind at Adventure Theatre.
Elisa Dugan as Rapunzel in Rapunzel at Pumpkin Theatre.
Leora Goldbloom-Helzner as Eve, in Children of Eden, at Musical Theater Center.
Caitlyn Joy as Columbine in The Commedia Pinocchio at The Fun Company at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre.
Kelly Ann Nealon as The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Drama Learning Center.
Michael Perrie Jr. as Prince Brian in Rapunzel at Pumpkin Theater.
Christopher Piper in multiple roles in The Nutcracker at The Puppet Co.
Danny Pushkin as Avery/Gander/Lurvy/Carter in Charlotte’s Web at Adventure Theatre.
Tia Shearer as Trixie in Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical at The Kennedy Center.
Vishal Vaidya as Augustine in Pascal’s Aquarium at The Capital Fringe Festival.
SOLO PERFORMANCE
Favorite Solo Performance
Joe Brack as Crumpet the Elf in The Santaland Diaries at City Artistic Partnerships at The Shop at Fort Fringe.
Tommy, “The Rev,” Nugent in Preacherman at The Capital Fringe Festival.
R. Michael Oliver in Embodying Poe at The Capital Fringe Festival.
Nigel Reed in Barrymore at Rep Stage.
Adam Ruben in Please Don’t Beat Me Up: Stories and Artifacts from Adolescence at The Capital Fringe Festival.
Favorite Concert/Recital/Cabaret
Hanson at The State Theater.
Marc Kudisch: What Makes Me Tick at Signature Theatre.
McDonogh Idol at McDonogh School.
Audra MacDonald at WPAS at The Kennedy Center.
Alexandra Silber Performs ‘London Still’ at the Barbara Cook’s Spotlight Series at The Kennedy Center.
NSO: Some Enchanted Evening: the Music of Rodgers and Hammerstein at The Kennedy Center.
Three Divas at Wolf Trap.
Villains from Young Artists of America at The Music Center at Strathmore.
Favorite University Production
Dead Man Walking at American University.
Company at American University.
A Grand Night for Singing at Montgomery College.
The Language of Infinity at Catholic University.
The Laramie Project at University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Favorite MUST SEE Production of 2011
Beertown at dog&pony dc.
Billy Elliot at the Kennedy Center.
The Chosen at Theater J at Arena Stage.
Hairspray at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.
Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Peter Pan at Wolf Trap.
Return to Haifa at Theater J. (TIE)
Ruined at Arena Stage.
The Lion King at Hippodrome Theatre.
Uncle Vanya at The Kennedy Center. (TIE)
Who’s Your Baghdaddy? At The Capital Fringe Festival.
The Wild Party at Teatro10.
