Krapp's Last Tape/Photo: Liz Lauren
Top 5 Shows
“The Brother/Sister Plays,” Steppenwolf
“August: Osage County,” Broadway In Chicago
“Hughie”/”Krapp’s Last Tape,” Goodman
“1001,” Collaboraction
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Steppenwolf
—Brian Hieggelke
Top 5 Play Revivals
“A Streetcar Named Desire,” Writers’ Theatre
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Steppenwolf
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” Steppenwolf Young Adult
“Private Lives,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater
“After the Fall,” Eclipse Theatre
—Dennis Polkow
Top 5 Performances
Brian Dennehy, “Hughie”/”Krapp’s Last Tape,” Goodman
Karen Janes Woditsch, “To Master the Art,” TimeLine
Tracy Letts, “American Buffalo,” Steppenwolf
Amy Morton, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Steppenwolf
Mary Beth Fisher, “Seagull,” Goodman
—Brian Hieggelke
Top 5 Shakespeare
“Twelfth Night,” First Folio
“Macbeth,” Lyric Opera
“Romeo and Juliet,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Lyric Opera
“The Comedy of Errors,” Court Theatre
—Dennis Polkow
Top 5 Dance Productions
Hubbard Street Dance Fall Program
Cloud Gate Theatre of Taiwan, “Moon Water”
Mad Shak, “Blackbird/ Stamina”
Joffrey Ballet, “All Stars”
Sankai Juku, “Hibiki: Resonance from Far Away”
—Sharon Hoyer
Atalee Judy of Breakbone Dance/Photo: Carl Wiedemann
Top 5 Dance Performances That Could Also Be Categorized as Theater or Music (or Both)
Emily Johnson/Catalyst Dance, “The Thank-You Bar”
Big Dance Theater, “Comme Toujours Here I Stand”
Breakbone DanceCo, “Course of Empire”
Chicago Human Rhythm Project, “Rhythm World”
RE|Dance, “Portraits Triptych”
—Sharon Hoyer
Top 5 Shows
“The Four of Us,” Theater Wit
“Shakespeare’s King Phycus,” Strange Tree Group
“The Ghost Sonata,” Oracle Productions
“Aftermath,” Signal Ensemble Theatre
“Electra,” Dream Theatre
—Neal Ryan Shaw
Top 5 New Plays
“The Franklin Expedition,” The Building Stage
“Obscura,” Red Tape Theatre
“Menorca,” 16th Street Theater
“Electra,” Dream Theatre Company
“Dental Society Midwinter Meeting,” At Play Productions
—Neal Ryan Shaw
Top 5 Productions Three Hours Long or Longer
“The Brother/Sister Plays,” Steppenwolf
“August: Osage County,” Broadway In Chicago
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Steppenwolf
“The Seagull,” Goodman
“Uncle Vanya,” Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg at Chicago Shakespeare
—Zach Freeman
Top 5 Touring Shows
“August: Osage County,” Broadway In Chicago
“Shrek the Musical,” Broadway In Chicago
“Wicked,” Broadway In Chicago
“The Lion King,” Broadway In Chicago
“Dreamgirls,” Broadway In Chicago
—Dennis Polkow
Top 5 Musical Revivals
“Carousel,” Light Opera Works
“Hot Mikado,” Drury Lane
“Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen,” Theo Ubique
“Sondheim at 80” Birthday Gala, Ravinia Festival
“The Drowsy Chaperone,” Marriott Theatre
—Dennis Polkow
Top 5 Worst Musicals
“The 101 Dalmatians Musical,” Broadway In Chicago
“She Loves Me,” Writers’ Theatre
“Ragtime,” Drury Lane Oakbrook
“Once on This Island,” Marriott Theatre
“I Do I Do!” Light Opera Works
—Dennis Polkow
Top 5 Operas
“The Damnation of Faust,” Lyric Opera
“Moses in Egypt,” Chicago Opera Theater
“Cosi fan tutte,” Ravinia Festival
“The Mikado,” Lyric Opera
“Pirates of Penzance,” The Hypocrites
—Dennis Polkow
Top 5 Days of Open-Mic Comedy
Mondays at Shambles, 2050 West Division, 8:30pm
Tuesdays at the Pitch, 2142 North Clybourn, 8pm
Wednesdays at Cole’s, 2338 North Milwaukee, 9:30pm
Thursdays at Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 North Green, 8:30pm
Fridays at Lucky Number Grill, 1931 North Milwaukee, 9:30pm
—Emerson Dameron
