Year in Review: Theater audiences dug joy, energy of deeply connected casts

Beyond that, casts who were deeply connected to each other and the material delivered strong work, such as the all-star ensembles in Shakespeare Tavern’s “Pericles,” True Colors Theatre’s “That Serious He-Man Ball” or City Springs’ “Spamalot.”

Below, in no particular order, our critics -- myself, Alexis Hauk, Jim Farmer, Rachel Garbus and Luke Evans -- share favorite highlights from local stages throughout this banner year.

– Benjamin Carr

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“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” Horizon Theatre

If you missed the chance to see this spectacular mounting of Dave Malloy’s celebrated electropop musical adaptation of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” never fear. After enjoying an a near sold-out run, ”Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812″ will return to Horizon for an encore performance in early 2024.

Immersive, incandescent, funny and very, very sexy, the two-and-a-half-hour show blazed by in the blink of an eye, sizzling with self-aware wit and its tongue firmly in cheek at the Russian tome source material’s complexity.

But while the music and lyrics were fantastic, the secret sauce to this show’s success was its blindingly talented cast -- particularly Alexandria Joy as sweet but naïve Natasha and Jordan Patrick as Anatole, a card-carrying member of Moscow’s seductive scoundrel hall of fame.

If comets are anything like stars, let’s wish upon this one right now . . . that there may be more theatrical magic that works this well across more of Atlanta’s stages next year. -- AH

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“Upline,” Atlanta Fringe Festival

This May festival’s lineup of short theater programs, determined by lottery, usually contains several gems. This year’s most stunning production was Atlanta native Megan Stern’s bonkers, one-woman-show “Upline,” which won the festival’s top prize for good reason. In under an hour, Stern played three separate, distinct and unstable characters recruiting the audience into a pyramid scheme to sell bottles of lotion. She climbed over chairs, smiled without blinking for a creepy amount of time, changed into several costumes, gave birth while live on Instagram, entertained and even taunted the audience into submission. It was amazing. -- BC

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Credit: Casey G. Ford

Credit: Casey G. Ford

“Passing Strange,” Theatrical Outfit

As crafted by composer, lyricist and writer Stew, ”Passing Strange” disassembled and reconstructed the particulars of a coming-of-age story we all recognize, never giving us anything close to boilerplate.

As an added bonus, we had award-winning writer, director and performer Thomas Jones III, founder and co-artistic director of gone-but-never-forgotten Jomandi Productions, at the helm. And with a go-for-broke cast, this show was insightful and smart about what it means to strive for truth in art and the pitfalls therein. Plus, it was just so damn fun. -- AH

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“Oh, to Be Pure Again,” Actor’s Express

This affecting, deeply personal Actor’s Express production about young women coming of age while at a Christian summer camp required its tremendous ensemble to play its characters with extreme emotional vulnerability. “Oh, to Be Pure Again” explored the strength that can be found when you’re free to examine your own sexuality and the damage that can be caused by the evangelical obsession with virginity. Playwright Kira Rockwell’s script was heart-wrenching and beautiful. -- BC

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“Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” Actor’s Express

Put ”Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on any stage and the queers of the city will gather. That was proven this past July with this standout production at Actor’s Express, directed by Quinn Xavier Hernandez. Niko Carleo and Christina Leidel traded off the titular role and both brought their own unique interpretations to the character. The role is as demanding as it is exciting, and these performers gave it their all. They had us laughing and cheering one moment as Hedwig tore through the crowd with abandon -- then our hearts were ripped out the next. I defy anyone to claim they did not cry during Isa Martinez’s heartrending rendition of “The Long Grift.” A joyous, cathartic and riotously queer experience. -- LE

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“Assassins,” Jennie T. Anderson Theatre

Jennie T. Anderson Theatre’s Overture Series, which produces musicals rarely staged and never seen in Atlanta for brief weekend concert runs, kicked off 2023 with several literal bangs, as the gunshots of Stephen Sondheim’s excellent “Assassins” rang out in January. Directed by Clifton Guterman, the cast included Jordan Patrick, Craig Smith and a scene-stealing Michael Joshua Williams as the real and aspiring killers of American presidents. -- BC

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Credit: Casey Gardner Ford

Credit: Casey Gardner Ford

“Prayer for the French Republic,” Actor’s Express

”Prayer for the French Republic” won the Suzi Bass awards for Best Play and Principal Performer (Carolyn Cook) with good reason. Set in Paris and split between the interconnected timelines of 2016 and 1945, the story is united by one single Jewish family spanning five generations. It was a heart-rending, hilarious, unflinchingly brutal and ultimately nourishing tale of connection, identity, freedom and fear.

Under the deft direction of artistic director Freddie Ashley, the audience was moved to consider themes which may, unfortunately, be eternal (and all too relevant to our current moment) -- themes around bigotry, trauma, identity and what it means to truly belong to a place. Watching this top-tier cast rip through such powerful text, holding us in the palm of their hand through each twist and turn of dialogue, felt like a sacred ritual all its own. -- AH

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“Cullud Wattah,” Actor’s Express

The subject matter of Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s award-winning ”Cullud Wattah” may be hard stuff, but this Actor’s Express production was easy to love. A stellar ensemble cast, anchored by the superb Parris Sarter, lit up a beautifully decorated set by Bailey McClure-Frank and Nick Battaglia. A grueling intermission interlude by Sarter hammered home the emotional toll of the Flint water crisis, while moments of levity kept the audience laughing and rooting hard for this beautiful family. After seeing this play, drinking clean water from the tap has never been quite the same. -- RG

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“English,” Alliance Theatre

This Pulitzer Prize-winning work about a group of Iranian citizens in Tehran opening their possibilities by learning a new language took the Hertz Stage in August. At times hilarious and heartbreaking, the Sanaz Toossi script, directed by Shadi Ghaheri, emphasized empathy for immigrants, who hope and dream for brighter futures away from oppressive cultures. The cast and crew of ”English” were uniformly excellent. --BC

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Credit: Casey Gardner Ford

Credit: Casey Gardner Ford

“Home, I’m Darling,” Synchronicity Theatre

In ”Home, I’m Darling,” British playwright Laura Wade took a familiar theme -- the rigid and suffocating gender roles baked into the marriage and family structure of the mid-20th century and the role that pop culture played in propagandizing it -- and flipped it around.

In Synchronicity’s staging, the result was a polished and darkly funny meditation on the seductive but unreliable pull of nostalgia -- anchored by a dynamite lead performance from Bethany Anne Lind and clever direction from Synchronicity Artistic Director Rachel May. -- AH

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“one in two,” Out Front Theatre

Much darker than Out Front’s usual selection, Donja R. Love’s ”one in two” is a searing, unflinching look at the lives of queer black men struggling with HIV. Direction from J.L. Reed was sensitive and empathetic, with welcome moments of sensuality. The show was anchored by Michael Ward’s affecting performance and ambience provided by Beate M. Czogalla’s atmospheric lighting design. Rarely has a show been so loud in its quietness, allowing for the intimate moments to sit and breathe, trusting that the impact will be felt without the production needing to push. This is the type of queer theater that Atlanta needs to see more. -- LE

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“Dracula,” Havoc Movement and Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern

Was blood ever this much fun? This high-flying adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic novel was devilishly entertaining from the first glimpse of blood-red eyes. ”Dracula” stayed loyal to Stoker while compacting a lengthy story into the perfect amount of stage time. Havoc Movement’s talented performers pulled off fabulous stunts, from sword fights and hand-to-hand combat to undulating aerial silks. An ingenious move turned Dr. Van Helsing into a woman, played with fierce dedication by an electric Mary Ruth Ralston. This satisfying production stalked the imagination long after the blood had washed away. -- RG

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Credit: Greg Mooney

Credit: Greg Mooney

“Good Bad People,” True Colors Theatre

Easily the standout of the season for True Colors, ”Good Bad People” tells the story of the Johnson family’s attempts to cope with the death of their son and brother at the hands of police violence. A moving play with a layered thematic goal: to challenge the notion that Black people must be unproblematic to be deserving of justice and to examine what it means to grieve in the midst of a media storm. This thematic complexity was carried on the backs of the brilliant cast, with Veanna Black and Asia Rogers portraying Amiri’s oil-and-water sisters and the grand dame of the show, Terry Henry, sinking her teeth into the role of Miriam, Amiri’s acerbic, well-educated and emotionally ruined mother. -- LE

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“Tiny Beautiful Things,” Theatrical Outfit

What at first seems like it might be schmaltzy turned into a work of staggering impact. Staged by Theatrical Outfit and directed by Amber McGinnis, ”Tiny Beautiful Things,” adapted by Nia Vardalos from Cheryl Strayed’s book, was one of 2023′s standout productions. Maria Rodriguez-Sager played Sugar, who hesitantly takes a job as an anonymous online advice columnist and ultimately realizes the power in what she does -- and the necessity. As always, Sager was terrific, and Robin Bloodworth, Candy McLellan and Stephen Ruffin rounded out the cast as a varied group of letter writers. This was the kind of word-of-mouth show that built momentum until the final weekends were at capacity. Nothing moved me this season like Bloodworth’s shattering confession of how he lost a loved one. -- JF

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“The Humans,” Theatrical Outfit

Theatrical Outfit’s mission statement for the 2022-2023 season may very well have been “tenderly moving universalist drama,” and damn, did they deliver it well. Closing out one of the theater’s most successful seasons in recent memory, ”The Humans” delves into the multifaceted dynamics of the Blake family as they gather for a Thanksgiving meal. Artistic Director Matt Torney took the reins as director, helming a stellar cast who maneuvered their way through Stephen Karam’s naturalistic dialogue with skill and precision. Though Allan Edwards and Lala Cochran perhaps received the most focus, I’m not inclined to call them standouts because the rest of the cast was just so good. The relationships felt so real and finely calibrated, it felt impossible to look away. -- LE

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“The White Chip,” Dad’s Garage and Theatrical Outfit

Former Atlantan (and Dad’s Garage artistic director and co-founder) Sean Daniels turned his battle with alcoholism into ”The White Chip,” a drama staged by Theatrical Outfit and Dad’s Garage early this year. Very personal and specific, this version was exceptionally well-directed by Theatrical Outfit’s Matt Torney and Dad’s Garage’s Tim Stoltenberg. It also boasted a dynamite cast. Andrew Benator starred as Steven, Daniels’ alter ego, and the actor delivered one of his sharpest, most multileveled performances. In various roles, Gina Rickicki and Tom Key brought out the play’s richness, emotion and unexpected humor. -- JF

Credit: ArtsATL

Credit: ArtsATL

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