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Assuming you see or read plays, of course, what is the best play you've ever seen? Or is there a play you've read that you just loved or felt really moved by?

2006-06-19 09:56:59 · 30 answers · asked by Playwright Extraordinaire 2 in Arts & Humanities Theater & Acting

30 answers

If you attend the theater regularly, as I do, you are going always with the hope that you will see a night of Magic. You hope to be transported, moved, riveted in place by all that happens onstage. Nights of Magic are rare. Even if it's the greatest play ever written, or your personal favorite, the variables onstage can make it Magic or just another dull evening with some actors.
The last evening of Magic I saw was a production of I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. It is a one-"man" show, and was played by the amazing Mark Nelson. It was transforming, riveting, magical, and above all never ever did you lose interest in what was going on. So this is my favorite. I've seen dozens of plays, but without all of these elements in place, few of them are Magic.
This just goes to show you how important it is to see theater live.

2006-07-02 03:31:44 · answer #1 · answered by Thom Thumb 6 · 0 0

Hamlet. Hands down. Best play ever written in the history of the word. As for the best production, there were elements of the second Kevin Kline Hamlet at the Public that I liked very much. But I think the definitive performance of the character of Hamlet was Ralph Fiennes several years ago. Absolutely riveting! I know the play inside and out, have performed in it, and I didn't know what would happen next! There is a moment during the grave-digger scene, where he tenderly holds the skull of Yorick and kisses it before he puts it back down. Heartbreaking!

2006-06-22 19:56:26 · answer #2 · answered by Theatregal 2 · 0 0

At the risk of sounding like a Shakespeare snob, I can't help but vote for MacBeth. My second favorite Shakespeare is Twelfth Night.

If you ever get the opportunity, see All I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. It's a collection of vignettes and skits, usually performed by a small cast, that are profoundly moving and very funny. You'll go from laughing to crying within seconds.

2006-06-30 06:34:50 · answer #3 · answered by Cols 3 · 0 0

The best I've seen was a production of "West Side Story" that was played on an outdoor basketball court by a community theatre group. It was innovative and used the environment incredibly well.

The one I've read I was moved mentally and emotionally by is Tom Stoppard's "Travesties." I think it is the complete package, entwining Earnest with James Joyce, Dadasim, and history.

2006-06-19 10:06:25 · answer #4 · answered by blueowlboy 5 · 0 0

Travesties, by Tom Stoppard.
Set in 1917 Zurich, with James Joyce, Lenin and Tristin Tzara, told as an old man's recollections, and all mixed up with the plot and dialogue of Importance of Being Earnest

2006-06-19 13:06:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

El Publico By Federico Garcia Lorca.

I also like Wole Soyinka's The lion and the jewel

Tennessee Williams is excellent

From my country I like La carreta by Rene Marques, Vegigantes by Francisco Arrivi and Maria del Rosario by Carlos Canales

2006-06-19 10:06:58 · answer #6 · answered by Dulcinea 5 · 0 0

Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand

I just love this show! There are, of course, many many that spring to mind, but Cyrano always rises to the top. Great themes, characterization and language. (go for the Hooker translation) A timeless message that never fails to produce an emotional response.

2006-06-20 02:39:54 · answer #7 · answered by Pastor Mac 1 · 0 0

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" is the best play I have ever experienced or read. The movie was adapted AND directed by the playwright (Tom Stoppard) and is first-rate. "Wit" is the most moving play I've ever read. There are several runners up for the first category, especially from Shakespeare, and I dearly love "Cyrano."

2006-06-21 08:22:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Equus

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Waiting for Godot

Man of La Mancha

Sweeney Tood

2006-06-19 14:58:11 · answer #9 · answered by wrathofkublakhan 6 · 0 0

Lend Me a Tenor, Pippin, Nunsense, The Foreigner, Midsummer Nights Dream, I loved all these plays.

2006-06-19 12:15:15 · answer #10 · answered by cowboy_bebop_ed2000 3 · 0 0

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