DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #11: Best Performances and Ensembles in Plays and Musicals in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey Are:
Caroline Aaron as Ruth Zweigman in All the Days at McCarter Theatre Center.
Justin Ariola as Dull in Love’s Labour’s Lost at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Jessica Bedford as Mollie Ralston in The Mousetrap at McCarter Theatre Center.
Ross Beschler as He in He Who Gets Slapped at the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective.
Cassandra Bissell as Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility at People’s Light.
Damon Bonetti as Parolles in All’s Well That Ends Well at the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective.
Christian Borle as Whizzer in Falsettos at The Walter Kerr Theatre.
Emi Branes-Huff as Iris in The Nether at InterAct Theatre Company.
Salty Brine as the MC in The Elementary Spacetime Show at the Arts Bank, University of the Arts.
Tina Brock as Old Woman in Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs at Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium.
Annabel Capper as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre.
Peter Carrier as Roger in A New Brain at Theatre Horizon.
Kim Carson as Chanteuse in Sleeping Beauty: A Musical Panto at People’s Light.
Nick Cearley as Alex in Buyer & Cellar at Bucks County Playhouse.
Jennifer Childs as Sierra Mist in I Will Not Go Gently at 1812 Productions.
William Connell as Jamie Wyeth in Nureyev’s Eyes at Delaware Theatre Company.
Robert Creighton as James Cagney in Cagney the Musical at the Westside Theatre.
Robert DaPonte as Brian in The Jaws Project at Plays and Players Theatre.
Janis Dardaris as Mother Courage in Mother Courage and Her Children at Quintessence Theatre.
Akeem Davis as William in Lobby Hero at Theatre Horizon.
Chris Davis in One-Man Apocalypse Now at the 2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.
Bill Dawes as Rudolf Nureyev in Nureyev’s Eyes at Delaware Theatre Company.
Ben Dibble as Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey at Walnut Street Theatre.
Karli Dinardo as Anita in West Side Story at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Michael Doherty as Sam in Fully Committed at Theatre Horizon.
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Amir in Disgraced at McCarter Theatre Center.
Jennie Eisenhower as Mother in A Christmas Story: The Musical at The Media Theatre.
Cynthia Erivo as Celie in The Color Purple at The Bernard Jacobs Theatre.
Liz Filios as The Muse in An Iliad at Lantern Theater Company.
Christopher Fitzgerald as Ogie in Waitress at The Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
Jack Fry as Albert Einstein in Einstein! in FringeNYC at Under St. Mark’s Theatre.
Laura Giknis as Sister Mary Robert in Sister Act at Walnut Street Theatre.
Laura Giknis in Working: A Musical at Bristol Riverside Theatre.
Hannah Gold as Dr. Jessica Rosel in I Am Not My Motherland at Orbiter 3.
Eleanor Handley as Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Sam Henderson in multiple roles in The Jaws Project at Plays and Players Theatre.
J Hernandez as Ricardo Lopez in The Best of Me at SoLow Fest.
Eric Hissom as Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery in The Color Purple at The Bernard Jacobs Theatre.
Claire Inie-Richards as Vivie Warren in Mrs. Warren’s Profession at Lantern Theatre Company.
Claire Inie-Richards as Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility at People’s Light.
Ashley Izard as Winnie in Happy Days at Quintessence Theatre Group.
Mikéah Ernest Jennings as Jason and Rexy in The Legend of Georgia McBride at Arden Theatre Company.
Dave Johnson as Luigi in The Explorers Club at Delaware Theatre Company.
Emily R. Johnson as Amy in Spine at Inis Nua Theatre Company.
Rob Kahn as Macbeth in Macbeth at The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre.
Annette Kaplafka as Xena in He Who Gets Slapped at the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective.
Cailene Kilcoyne as Veronica Sawyer in Heathers: The Musical at The Eagle Theatre.
Simon Canuso Kiley as Young Ray in Tommy and Me at Theatre Exile.
Jennie Knackstedt as Fran Kubelik in Promises, Promises at the Ritz Theatre Company.
Kirsten Kunkle as the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors at OperaLancaster.
Jessica Lange as Mary Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night at American Airlines Theatre.
Frank Langella as André in The Father at Manhattan Theatre Club.
Anthony Lawton as James Tyrone in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3.
Anthony Lawton as Don Adriano in Love’s Labour’s Lost at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Danielle Leneé as Shatique in White Guy on the Bus at Passage Theatre Company.
Ethan Lipkin as Frank in Molly Sweeney at Irish Heritage Theatre
John Lopes as the King of France in All’s Well That Ends Well at the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective.
Deirdre Madigan as Pam in Exit Strategy at Philadelphia Theatre Company.
Mary Martello as Mrs. Kitty Warren in Mrs. Warren’s Profession at Lantern Theatre.
Brian McCann as Lavatch the Clown in All’s Well That Ends Well at the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective.
Forrest McClendon as The Cook in Mother Courage and Her Children at Quintessence Theatre.
Laural Merlington as Countess Rousillon in All’s Well That Ends Well at the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective.
Kenny Morris as Junior in Funnyman at Arden Theatre Company.
Euan Morton as Paul in Cake Off at Bucks County Playhouse.
Christopher Patrick Mullen as Costard in Love’s Labour’s Lost at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Irungu Mutu as George in The Language Archive at Bristol Riverside Theatre.
Patrick O’Hara as Albin in La Cage aux Folles at City Theater Company.
Steve Pacek as Gordon Schwinn in A New Brain at Theatre Horizon.
Steve Pacek as Snail in A Year with Frog and Toad at Arden Theatre Company.
Mary Louise Parker as Georgie in Heisenberg at Manhattan Theatre Club.
Ian Merrill Peakes as Charles Condomine in Blithe Spirit at The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Ian Merrill Peakes as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
Matt Pfeiffer as Ray Didinger in Tommy and Me at Theatre Exile.
Ben Platt as Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen at The Music Box Theatre.
Ned Pryce as Young Tommy in Tommy and Me at Theatre Exile.
Kirsten Quinn as Molly in Molly Sweeney at Irish Heritage Theatre.
Michele Ragusa as Rita in Cake Off at Bucks County Playhouse.
Erik Ransom as Edward II and Christopher Marlowe in More Than All the World at Theater for the New City.
Jared Reed as Truffaldino in The Servant of Two Masters at Hedgerow Theatre Company.
Matt Reher as Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises at the Ritz Theatre Company.
Patricia Richardson as M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias at Bucks County Playhouse.
Jane Ridley as Juliana in The Other Place at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3.
Tim Rinehart as the Proprietor in Assassins at Eagle Theatre.
Megan Rucidlo as Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird at The Media Theatre.
Bailey Ryon as Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden at Arden Theatre Company.
Bob Schmidt as Old Man in Eugène Ionesco’s The Chairs at Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium.
Amanda Schoonover as Clara Bow in The It Girl at Simpatico Theatre.
Leah Siegel as Jib in Jib: or, The Child Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was at Christ Church Neighborhood House.
Angela Smith as Josie Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3.
Alexandra Spadoni as Charlotte in Antagonyms at Curio Theatre Company.
Ryan Spahn as Ricky in Exit Strategy at Philadelphia Theatre Company.
Nicole Stacie in Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope at New Freedom Theatre.
Griffin Stanton-Ameisen as Woodnut in The Nether at InterAct Theatre Company.
Jenny Lee Stern in Working: a Musical at Bristol Riverside Theatre.
Tom Teti as Tommy McDonald in Tommy and Me at Theatre Exile.
Michael P. Toner as Phil Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3.
Mary Tuomanen as Marjorie in The Jaws Project at Plays and Players Theatre.
Jessica Wagner as Patsy Cline in A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline at Bristol Riverside Theatre.
Jessica Walter as Ouiser in Steel Magnolias at Bucks County Playhouse.
Ryan Walter as Richard III in Richard III at The Mechanical Theater.
Russ Widdall as Robert F. Kennedy in Roseburg at New City Stage.
Dan’yelle Williamson as Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act at Walnut Street Theatre.
Meghan Winch as Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Shakespeare in Clark Park.
Greg Wood as Mr. Sims in The Nether at InterAct Theatre Company.
Greg Wood as Ray in White Guy on the Bus at Passage Theatre Company.
Frank X as Jaques in As You Like It at Lantern Theater Company.
Evan Zes as himself in Rent Control in the Fringe Encore Series at SoHo Playhouse.
BEST ENSEMBLES OF 2016 IN PLAYS IN PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, AND DELAWARE ARE:
The Ensemble of A New Brain at Theatre Horizon.
The Ensemble of A Taste of Things to Come at Bucks County Playhouse.
The Ensemble of Charles Busch’s The Divine Sister at Bucks County Playhouse.
The Ensemble of Cirque du Soleil Paramour at The Lyric Theatre.
The Ensemble of Dear Evan Hansen at The Music Box Theatre.
The Ensemble of Dementia Americana in FringeNYC at Teatro LATEA at the Clemente.
The Ensemble of Dublin by Lamplight at Inis Nua Theatre Company.
The Ensemble of Found at Philadelphia Theatre Company.
The Ensemble of La Cage aux Folles at City Theater Company.
The Ensemble of Lobby Hero at Theatre Horizon.
The Ensemble of More Than All the World at Theater for the New City.
The Ensemble of Nothing to See Here at Found Theater Company.
The Ensemble of Omeletto: Like Hamlet, Only Scrambled at Ombelico Mask Ensemble.
The Ensemble of Oscar Wilde: From the Depths at Lantern Theater Company.
The Ensemble of Peter and the Starcatcher at Walnut Street Theatre.
The Ensemble of Radiant Vermin at Inis Nua Theatre Company.
The Ensemble of Sense and Sensibility at People’s Light.
The Ensemble of 1776 at The Media Theatre.
The Ensemble of Shadow House at the Philadelphia Opera Collective and PhilaLandmarks.
The Ensemble of Stupid Fucking Bird at Arden Theatre Company.
The Ensemble of The Explorers Club at Delaware Theatre Company.
The Ensemble of The Invisible Hand at Theatre Exile.
The Ensemble of The Piano Lesson at McCarter Theatre Center.
The Ensemble of The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning at Inis Nua Theatre Company.
The Ensemble of The Rocky Horror Show at Bucks County Playhouse.
The Ensemble of Time Is on Our Side at Simpatico Theatre.
The Ensemble of Tommy and Me at Theatre Exile.
HOW WE SELECTED OUR HONOREES
DCMetroTheaterArts writers were permitted to honor productions and concerts, dance, and operas that they saw and reviewed and productions and concerts and dance performances that they saw but did not review. Every honoree was seen. These are not nominations. There is no voting.
The staff is honoring productions, performances, direction, and design in professional, community, university, high school, and children’s theatres, and are also honoring the same in musical venues. We are honoring work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Philadelphia, PA, New Jersey, and Delaware.
LINKS:
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #1: Best Musicals in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #2: Best Musicals In Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #3: Best Musicals in Professional Theaters in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #4: Best Plays in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #5: Best Plays In Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #6: Best Plays in Professional Theaters in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #6: Best Plays in Professional Theaters in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #7: Best Performances and Ensembles in Musicals in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #8: Best Performances in Musicals in Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #9: Best Performances and Ensembles in Plays in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #10: Best Direction in Musicals in Professional Theatres in DC/MD/VA.
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #11: Best Performances and Ensembles in Plays and Musicals in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.
