Welp, I went to A LOT (14!) of plays/shows this year. Here’s what I thought about them!

• Chicago – The highlight was the guy who played the lawyer holding a note for an extremely long time and motioning for the audience to cheer AS HE KEPT SINGING.
• Jelly’s Last Jam – The guy who played Jelly Roll Morton was in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. He also was clearly hired for his acting and not his tapping. It was big Daveed Diggs in Hamilton energy is what I’m saying. (He was very good, just not as good as the dancers.)
• Clue – This was good but our seats were definitely in outer space. We seriously got vertigo walking to our seats and felt like we could tumble to our deaths at any moment. (They were high up is what I’m saying.)
• Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy – They were all good but the “The Cask of Amantillado” reenactment was my favorite. The actor played both Montresor and Fortunato, so argued with and then slapped himself. It was hilarious.
• Kimberly Akimbo – This was cute, but their plan to rob the bank had me stressed. The highlight was the aunt.
• Back to the Future: The Musical – This was weird. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that. I don’t know how else to describe it. (I also saw this the night of the election, and I highly recommend going to a silly show for not sitting around and stressing about things vibes.)
• Fat Ham – A retelling of Hamlet that imagines the family as Black, and Hamlet and Ophelia as queer. The action takes place at a family barbecue (California has changed me), and there are lots of little nods to the original language of the play (i.e., “There’s the rub,” etc.). Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare play, and I enjoyed this.
• Funny Girl – The woman who played Fanny Brice is PHENOMENAL.
• A Tap of the Creature’s Curse – The tap studio I attended put on a show. I couldn’t participate because I tweaked my knee, but it was fun to see our teacher’s vision come together. Also, the show was good (even without me. I know, terrible).
• MJ – Someone on the interwebs described this as like going to a concert, and I agree. The guy that played Joseph was SO GOOD. It’s a dual role, and I didn’t even realize it until they did one scene change, and he went from playing the manager to Joseph, and I was gobsmacked.
• One of the Good Ones – A play by the creator of the One Day at a Time reboot. The set up was a little flat, but once it got going, it was super fun and funny.
• A Strange Loop – I…didn’t care for this. My friend and I had a long talk after, and it felt like a lot of things were included just for shock value. But it did make us talk and think, so that part worked. The cast was good, and I *LOVED* seeing all the different body types on stage. But, yeah, this one wasn’t for me.
• Dorrance Dance: The Nutcracker Suite – The Nutcracker but make it tap. I always fall asleep during The Nutcracker ballet. I did not fall asleep during this.
• Once Upon a Mattress – This is a fun retelling of The Princess and the Pea story. Also, THE Sutton Foster is the princess, and it was great seeing her doing her Broadway thing. I don’t know why so many of these actual Broadway casts are doing the touring productions but I love this trend and hope it continues.

Fingers crossed I win the lottery to see Wicked before the year is out! Then, I’ll be able to say I saw FIFTEEN plays this year.