https://www.centertheatregroup.org/news-and-blogs/news/2015/january/ The latest news from Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, home of the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre. https://www.centertheatregroup.org/news-and-blogs/news/2015/january/2014-in-review-the-best-in-la-theatre/ Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0800 Center Theatre Group https://www.centertheatregroup.org/news-and-blogs/news/2015/january/2014-in-review-the-best-in-la-theatre/ <h1>2014 in review: The best in LA theatre</h1> <p><span class="posted">by <a href="http://thegrid.centertheatregroup.org/index.php/articles/author/1">Center Theatre Group</a> | Posted on January 5, 2015</span></p> <h2>By all accounts, 2014 was a great year for Los Angeles theatre. Click the links below to look back at the critical favorites from the past 12 months.</h2> <p><a href="http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/curtain-call-13-shows-earned-standing-ovation-2014/"><strong>Curtain Call: 13 Shows That Earned a Standing Ovation in 2014</strong></a> by Craig Byrd [LAMag.com]<br> Dec. 17, 2014</p> <p>"No man (or woman) is an island," Byrd writes, "but you wouldn't know it from the year in theater that's about to end. Solo shows of all kinds dominated 2014." Among his favorites was The Broad Stage's presentation of <em>An Iliad</em>, starring Denis O'Hare in an "utterly compelling" performance.</p> <p><a href="http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/curtain-call-13-shows-earned-standing-ovation-2014/">See the rest of Byrd's favorites »</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-ca-mcnulty-theater-list-20141221-column.html"><strong>Charles McNulty's best stage shows of 2014</strong></a> [LATimes.com]<br> Dec. 19, 2014</p> <p>Two Center Theatre Group shows made McNulty's cut this year: Rebecca Gilman's <em>Luna Gale</em> — "a portrait of contemporary America in which everyone is chasing an elusive miracle" — and Christopher Durang's <em>Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike</em>, the "Tony Award-winning Chekhovian mash-up [that] was even better in Los Angeles than it was in New York."</p> <p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-ca-mcnulty-theater-list-20141221-column.html">See the rest of McNulty's favorites »</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-schreiber/top-10-la-theatre-productions-from-2014_b_6397174.html"><strong>Top 10 LA Theatre Productions from 2014</strong></a> by Brad Schreiber [HuffingtonPost.com]<br> Dec. 31, 2014</p> <p>Topping this list is the Ensemble Studio Theatre LA production of <em>The Ugly One</em> by Marius von Mayenburg: "An utterly hilarious, pitch-black comedy that is perfect for Southern California audiences, as it deals with the perception of physical beauty and the willingness to go to surgical extremes to achieve that state."</p> <p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-schreiber/top-10-la-theatre-productions-from-2014_b_6397174.html">See the rest of Schreiber's favorites »</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/12/25_highlights_of_la_theater_in.php"><strong>25 highlights of LA theater in 2014</strong></a> by Don Shirley [LAObserved.com]<br> Dec. 31, 2014</p> <p>Among the 225 productions Shirley saw in Greater Los Angeles last year, his favorites included another Checkhovian mash-up, The Theatre @ Boston Court’s production of <em>Stupid Fucking Bird</em>. Aaron Posner’s “dazzling treatment of <em>The Seagull</em>," he wrote, "shattered the fourth wall in a way that Checkhov might not have liked — but it certainly amused and moved me."</p> <p><a href="http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2014/12/25_highlights_of_la_theater_in.php">See the rest of Shirley's favorites »</a></p>