23 most memorable moments on stage in 2017

One last curtain call for these performers whose perfectly crafted moments linger indelibly in our memories.

The ensemble of
Burning Doors, Belarus Free Theatre

There is no word for Burning Doors other than indelible. As powerful as it can be to witness outstanding performances that concern repression and torture and dehumanization, it is overwhelming to witness performances by artists who are giving first-person witness to repression and torture and dehumanization. The breathtaking stamina and exertion demonstrated by the performers beggars description, and the sophisticated exploration of the effects of oppression, and the mutability of oppressor as against oppressed, was fascinating.– Christopher Henley

Terrance Fleming
The Cradle Will Rock, Iron Crow Theatre

You think you’re in for a reenactment of an historical night of American theater, but then The Cradle Will Rock gets rolling and before long you’re plunged into a musical production that is scarily germane and leaves you feeling rattled and exhilarated. Larry Foreman (Terrance Fleming, magisterial and swaggering), a union rabble-rouser arrested for “carrying concealed, deathly leaflets,” contributes a bones-rattling rendition of the title song “The Cradle Will Rock” that makes you want to run into the streets and start a revolution. – Jayne Blanchard

The dancers
Crazy for You, Signature Theatre

The best dancing I have ever seen at Signature or maybe any theater in the DC area! – Barbara Bear, Gary Maker Audience Award recipient, 2014

Miche Braden
The Devil’s Music: Bessie Smith,  Mosaic Theater of DC

Maybe this doesn’t cut it – after all, this is an out of town show that’s had Bessie Smith treading the boards for the past seventeen years. Mosaic can only get credit officially as a booking agent.  Nonetheless, I settled in for an evening where I could totally relax with the kind of “knowing” this ensemble had.  And Miche Braden, as Bessie Smith, masterfully gave us the real thing – something so raunchy, sassy, and  heartfelt that we were back in the days. There was a moment when she swished her skirts and seduced us with her tongue, I could smell the sweat, sawdust, cheap perfume, and liquor in that bar and I was transported. – Susan Galbraith

Stephen Scott Wormley
Dorian’s Closet, Rep Stage

Dorian’s Closet centers on the drop-dead gorgeous and talented drag queen Dorian Corey who was known as much for his generosity and care of the children in his “house” (a family of transsexuals or drag queens competing in balls) as for his glitz. An electrifying Stephen Scott Wormley plays Dorian and gets to sing one of the showstopper, the Act One heart-piercer, “I Shot an Arrow,” shot through with rich emotion and wistfulness as Wormley’s exquisite phrasing frames this quiet ballad about dashed aspirations. – Jayne Blanchard

Sarah Barker
Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight, Avant Bard

Lauren Gunderson’s play about Enlightenment-era scientific genius and mistress of Voltaire La Marquise du Chatelet—the Emilie of the title—sparkles with wit, intelligence and passion both carnal and creative. Sara Barker is on fire as Emilie, pure light and energy as she seeks to explain and understand the mysteries of the universe—and love. – Jayne Blanchard

Michael Harris
Fiddler on the Roof, Compass Rose

Compass Rose’s Fiddler, the scene where Chava (Marina Jansen) attempts a reconciliation with Tevye (Michael Harris) after he has disowned her for marrying a Russian. The entire shtetl of Anatevka is being emptied and all the Jews have been forced to abandon their homes. Tevye’s family will be scattered across the globe and he may never see his older daughters and their families again, and this is almost certainly the last he’ll ever see of her. He still can’t bring himself to look at her, but just before Chava departs, Tevye says under his breath, “God be with you.” I forgot that moment was coming. Harris nailed it, and it moved my cold, grinchy heart. – John Geoffrion

Michael Mainwaring
In the Heights, Olney Theatre Company and Round House Theatre co-producers

With the last two seasons, Olney has risen to new heights indeed. And this show,co-produced with Round House Theatre, reminded us we weren’t in Kansas — or suburban Maryland — anymore. Marvelous staging and dancing. Solid performances.  But for me the standout energy was Michael Mainwaring as Sonny. It takes high wattage to be alongside Broadway talent in a musical. (He had the role originally played on Broadway by Robin de Jesus, who, in the Olney production, had the lead role of Usnavi.) Mainwaring had a kind of headlong, moment to moment ecstatic energy that is unforgettable.  – Susan Galbraith

Dawn Ursula
Intimate Apparel, Everyman Theatre

Every moment Dawn Ursula is onstage is a quiet revelation in Lynn Nottage’s play about Esther, a turn-of-the-century African American seamstress with gifted hands who revels in an epistolary affair with a worker on the Panama Canal until he comes to New York to marry her and reality painfully crashes into romantic dreams. But Esther’s wedding night will sear into your soul, as she stands before her new husband in the lingerie she finally gets to make for herself—hoping for tenderness and to be held like a precious jewel—and instead the night is full of crossed signals, awkwardness, yearning and disappointment. – Jayne Blanchard

Natascia Diaz
Jesus Christ, Superstar, Signature Theatre

You know when you hear a song that you know by heart, have known for decades, and it suddenly sounds completely new to you? That happened to me when I experienced Natascia Diaz’s version of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” in Signature’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar. It’s a gentle, building, character-driven rendition of a song that most singers treat with far less subtlety. – Missy Frederick

Megan Graves
Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook! Adventure Theatre

It takes real talent to take a character featured in over two dozen books, personify her, and take her to another level, but that’s just what Megan Graves did in Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook! at Adventure Theatre.  From her opening lines she nails the outspoken, impetuous almost six-year-old Junie.  Costume Designer Eric Abele also earns a major assist with his wonderfully exaggerated version of her omnipresent bow and her colorful outfit.   – Steve McKnight

Lisa Hodsoll
Laura Bush Killed a Guy, The Klunch

From the moment she entered the room in her polished white suit and pearls, Lisa Hodsoll’s portrayal of former First Lady Laura Bush The Klunch’s production of Laura Bush Killed a Guy by Ian Allen was electrifying. In a one-person show that ran the gamut from B-movie camp, to dark humor to emotional realism, Hodsoll’s Bush was grounded, believable and affecting. It was a pitch-perfect performance from the genteel Texas accent to the wickedly sharp timing. And, it was absolutely hilarious. Hodsoll’s unforgettable Laura Bush made me laugh more than anything else I saw in 2017. – Amy Couchoud

Jon Hudson Odom
An Octoroon, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

The show took us for a ride where there were so many moments when we caught ourselves laughing then felt ashamed, shocked even, and fell into awkward silence. This was brave writing. and an equally shocking production — as only Woolly can. I will never forget when Jon Hudson Odom, in whiteface as the slave owner, began abusing one of his slaves and caught himself filled with power and enjoying that power. His tirade and then his shocked silence followed by a look to us in the audience of both shame and complicity exposed the character, the actor, and all of us present watching to the bone.– Susan Galbraith

Eddie Korbich & Donna McKechnie
Pajama Game, Arena Stage

One of the great joys in theatre is watching experienced Broadway pros effortlessly charm the audience with skills that go far beyond technical ability.  Eddie Korbich and Donna McKechnie provided a small moment of magic singing “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again.”  While I won’t be so impolite as to reveal their ages, I am jealous of how they still have such physical dexterity and dancing talent at an age where many are contemplating artificial joints.  – Steve McKnight

The Chorus
Ragtime, Ford’s Theatre

I’ll admit it. I’m a crier when it comes to musical theater. But tears probably flowed hardest for me at the conclusion of Act 1 of Ford’s Theatre’s Ragtime, as the chorus of mourners cried out for peace and justice, singing, “We’ll never get to heaven ‘till we reach that day.” The show was a stark reminder of how far we have to go in order to get there. – Missy Frederick

Lizan Mitchell
A Raisin in the Sun, Arena Stage

Lizan Mitchell as Lena Younger and Joy Jones as Beneatha Younger in Arena Stage’s production of A Raisin in the Sun. (Photo: C. Stanley Photography)

I can still picture the formidable Younger onstage, her body physically shaking with emotion, as she delivered her character’s hard truths in this classic play. I feel privileged that I had the honor of witnessing such a tour de force performance of an iconic role.– Missy Frederick

The audience of
The State, Forum Theatre

Forum Theatre’s The State was a thrilling experiment in participatory performance. When the audience entered, all they were met with was a table with a microphone, a trash can, and a small box. If you checked your program, you’d get a hint: It’s “concept” is by Bulgarian playwright Alexander Manuiloff, but there were no designers, no director, no cast… Ten minutes into my run, two strangers finally cajoled each other into approaching the table, picking up an envelope from the box, tearing it open, and reading the contents into the microphone. What followed was a once-in-a-lifetime experience as audience members shrugged off their inhibitions and filled an empty stage themselves. Some rebelled, others brought order, we set something on fire – It was an unforgettable show! – Marshall Bradshaw

Annie Houston
Still Life with Rocket, Theater Alliance

Still Life with Rocket was the location of one of the two most compelling moments I experienced in theater this year. It was the moment that Etta, the character played by Annie Houston, is on the precipice of a cliff and, in a sudden moment of lucidity, makes the observation which gives the play its shape and meaning. – Tim Treanor

I’m a laugher and a crier. When I’m watching a play, the feelings spontaneously bubble up to the surface and spill out unchecked. I remember laughing and crying many times this year, including during Still Life with Rocket, but the moment I want to tell you about is one which drew silence, hushed awe, from everyone watching. Etta has Alzheimer’s disease and is cared for by her adopted son and caretaker Nathan. As his siblings scatter, Etta, the great Annie Houston, is led to a small child’s pool. She drops her nightgown, stands naked for a moment, then is gently guided into the pool by Nathan (Justin Weaks). Nathan carefully raises one of his mother’s thin arms, and begins her sponge bath. Devotion and love leap between the characters as we hear the trickle of water. We may all need to be cared for in later life. May we be as fortunate as Etta. – Lorraine Treanor

Ethan McSweeny
Twelfth Night, Shakespeare Theatre Company

One indelible theater moment for me was actually about half an hour after I had left Ethan McSweeny’s Twelfth Night, when I realized for the first time what the play was about. (Lorraine told me).– Tim Treanor

Holly Twyford and Gregory Linington
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Ford’s Theatre

I went to yet another production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to see Holly Twyford as Martha, and while she was wonderful as usual, the real revelation was Gregory Linington’s portrayal of George.   He was intelligent and articulate, but combined those qualities with a bitter edge that made him a perfect foil in this dysfunctional marriage.  It’s the first production where I’ve ever felt theirs was a fair fight, and I relished every delicious confrontation.   – Steve McKnight

Aime Donna Kelly
The White Snake—Baltimore Center Stage

Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of a classic Chinese tale has all the director’s hallmarks: lustrous visuals, puppetry, vivid costumes and spellbinding music by Jeff Song and movement that cast a specific, special spell. Yet a simple moment is its most powerful—the White Snake (Aime Donna Kelly, a luminous and powerful presence) sheds her snakeskin to have some earthly fun and on her very first day, falls in love with a poor pharmacist’s assistant. With the mere touch of their hands while returning a parasol, the two are smitten and their fates change forever. – Jayne Blanchard

Kari Ginsburg
The Wild Party, Constellation Theatre Company

Director Allison Arkell Stockman gave Constellation Theatre Company’s production of The Wild Party a wonderful jazzy energy, but the highlight was Kari Ginsburg’s rendition of “Life of the Party” at the top of Act Two.   She nailed the number with powerhouse pipes and personality.  Perhaps no truer words have ever been sung than when she finishes the song with “Well, you could be the life of the party, if you were more like me!”  – Steve McKnight

Most Memorable Shows of 2017

In the comments below we invite you to share with us those stage moments from 2017 which still resonate with you.