Best theatre of 2018

As always, there was much I enjoyed* in Toronto and occasionally elsewhere.  This is a somewhat generous list in that I am listing plays when I may have only enjoyed certain elements, i.e. the script or the acting or the general feeling of inspiration and not necessarily all of them.  I do know that a few of these I cooled on after further reflection, but I'll remain in the generous frame of mind for the time being.

Jan.
The Wedding Party  @Crows Nest
Lear -- The Groundlings @ Harbourfront
A Delicate Balance by Albee -- Soulpepper
Mustard by Kat Sandler -- Tarragon
Krapp's Last Tape -- Video Cabaret @ Theatre Passe Muraille

Feb.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller -- Hart House
Bang Bang by Kat Sandler -- Factory Theatre
Dark Heart by Genevieve Adams -- Assembly Theatre
The Humans by Karam -- Canadian Stage
Richard III -- Shakespeare Bash'd
Jerusalem @ Crows Nest
No Foreigners -- Fu-Gen @ Theatre Centre

March
Come From Away -- Mirvish
Three Tall Women -- Broadway
The Overcoat by Panych -- Canadian Stage

April
Punk Rock by Simon Stephens -- Howland Company @ Crowsnest
Vanbrugh’s The Provoked Wife -- George Brown
Fear and Misery of the Third Reich by Brecht -- George Brown
Prairie Nurse -- Factory Theatre

June
Stephen Fry's Mythos: Gods -- Shaw Festival
Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph

July
Entrances & Exits -- Toronto Fringe
Police Cops in Space -- Toronto Fringe
A Kev 'n' Cal Mystery -- Toronto Fringe

August
The Private Life of the Master Race (cabaret version of Brecht's Fear and Misery of the Third Reich) -- Theatre Centre

September
Portia's Julius Caesar -- Shakespeare in the Ruff @ Withrow Park
The Tempest -- Stratford
Long Day's Journey into Night -- Stratford
Napoli Milionaria! -- Stratford
A Number by Caryl Churchill -- Solar Stage @ Wychwood Theatre

October
The Wolves -- Howland Company @ Crowsnest

November
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel -- Toronto Irish Players
Durang, Enough Said -- East Side Players
Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill -- Soulpepper
Kill the Poor by George F. Walker -- Assembly Theatre
Caucasian Chalk Circle by Brecht -- George Brown
The Theory of Accelerated Hotness -- Assembly Theatre
Space Opera Zero -- Eldritch Theatre @ Red Sandcastle

I actually did not see any shows in December, which is a bit rare for me.  I found out about A Christmas Carol at Campbell House too late and all the tickets were gone.  As I said earlier, I'll see if they bring it back in 2019, and I'll go then.  I did actually see a play in May, but really disliked all aspects of the show (unlike most local critics), so I'll stay schtum.

For sure, this was a very different year in theatre for me, as I participated in Fringe, which sucked up a huge amount of my time.  Although the reviews for Final Exam weren't particularly kind, most people that actually went had a good time and we came very close to selling out three dates.  I don't think you can ask for much more than that.  However, I don't think I'll enter another show into Fringe again, as it really was too much work.  I actually saw close to 10 Fringe shows, going for the full immersion experience, but I'll just list the 3 that were the funniest.

The oddest highlight for sure was Space Opera Zero, which was a gonzo SF extravaganza (put on by only 3 actors) at Red Sandcastle.  But what makes it stand out is that it is built on the bones of Middleton's The Changeling.  What a hoot!  I will definitely see if Eldritch Theatre attempts something similar next year.

Another surprise was George Brown's production of Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle.  It had essentially been turned into a musical.  In some cases they were singing the original dialogue, and in a few other cases it seemed that they had added songs to comment on the action.  I had debated taking my son, though they had originally said the production ran close to 3 hours.  In the end, they cut one intermission and tightened it up to something closer to 2 hours 15 minutes.  Had I known, I would have taken him, and I think he would have enjoyed it.  C'est la vie...

Between Shaw and Stratford, I enjoyed the spectacle of The Tempest (taking my son) and the sets and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the plot of Eduardo De Filippo's Napoli Milionaria! (though my goodness did they mis-market this as a heart-warming comedy!).  Panych's The Overcoat at Canadian Stage also was very impressive on the spectacle side of things and the singing was also strong.

The best musical I saw was Come from Away by far.  I'd say the best play overall I saw was Karam's The Humans at Canadian Stage, which did live up to my expectations, while other things I had looked forward to fell a bit (or a lot) short.

It's hard to say what 2019 will bring.  I am slated to see a couple of things done by George Brown, and I'll probably check out Shakespeare Bash'd doing Othello in Feb.  It's looking very unlikely that I will get out to Rochester to see Yankee Tavern, but I haven't completely given up hope.  I've pretty much given up on Tarragon (after yet another boring, uninspiring season) and I am so not interested in the so-very-woke offerings at Factory and Theatre Passe Muraille (to say nothing of the furor over at Buddies in Bad Times, which is so incredibly depressing).  I've also cut way, way back at Soulpepper to the point where I can't even put a mini season of 4 plays together, so I'll just try to drop by a couple of times to go the rush ticket route for an evening of Pinter shorts and possibly Frayn's Copenhagen (though I have to admit this one doesn't really grab me).  I am expecting storefront theatre to largely fill in the gaps, and in one case jailfront theatre (one company is putting on Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Don Jail, and I definitely need to see when tickets go on sale for that).  I'm reasonably optimistic that, in the end, I'll see as much interesting theatre in 2019 as I did in 2018.

* Out of curiosity, I looked at Glenn Sumi (of Now) and his top 10 list for 2018.  As it happens, I saw 6 of his 10, but only put 4 in my list above, but I'm not going to indicate the two where we disagree.  I will say, however, that the minute I heard Every Brilliant Thing was going to rely very heavily on audience participation, I crossed it off my list of things to see and haven't regretted that decision for a moment.  Many critics loved it, but Carly Maga of the Star was much more on my wavelength and didn't like it particularly much.  I am certain I would have hated it.