Live-Tweeting Musicals In PJs Is Our Favorite Thing, Drag Is the New Black & More Lessons of the Year

Oh 2013, we hardly knew ye. It seems like yesterday we were ringing in the New Year, and now another 12 months on the Great White Way is already coming to a close. Before we welcome 2014 with open arms, we’ve been doing a lot of reflection. Serious reflection. Usually, we can hardly remember what we ate for breakfast (oh wait, donuts), but 2013 has been so unforgettable, we can’t wait to relive the highlights. Check out the amazing things we learned!


Tracy Letts & Patina Miller Kicked Butt
In the 2013 game of life, there are two clear champions: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? star Tracy Letts and Pippin’s Patina Miller. Both actors headlined a Broadway show, won Tonys and got engaged (not to each other). Plus Letts’ August: Osage County movie hit theaters and he’s starring in Homeland, while Miller snagged her first screen role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Thanks a lot, guys—the 365 days we spent Instagramming our food and live-tweeting Smash seem like a cruel joke in comparison.


A Celeb Does Not Guarantee a Hit Show (Except Tom Hanks)
Broadway had more than just a little touch of star quality this year, with mega screen stars making their Broadway debuts left and right: Orlando Bloom, Shia LaBeouf, Emilia Clarke, Cuba Gooding Jr., Zachary Quinto, Zachary Levi, Rachel Weisz and of course, Tom Hanks. Some of their shows were hits and some, uh, weren’t (even gratuitous nude scenes didn’t help). All you fans mobbing Orlando Bloom at the stage door, what happened? Too busy selling Pirates of the Caribbean memorabilia on eBay to buy a ticket to the show? For shame.


Meryl Streep & Anna Kendrick Will Steal Your Dreams
Hey, Broadway leading ladies—if you thought you had a prayer of reprising your stage role in a forthcoming movie adaptation, you’re out of luck. If you’re over the age of 30, August: Osage County and Into the Woods star Meryl Streep will replace you. If you’re under the age of 30, it’ll be Into the Woods and The Last Five Years star Anna Kendrick. We can’t wait to see Anna as Sarah Brown in the new Guys & Dolls film and Meryl as high-flying granny Berthe in the Pippin movie! Oh come on, you’d watch that.


Shakespeare Should Be Cashing So Many Royalty Checks Right Now
The Bard has been dead for 398 years, but in 2013, he proved he’s still the most prolific playwright in the biz. Broadway was treated to not one, but five shows by Shakespeare (two of them were Macbeth), which, if he were still alive, would definitely afford him a sweet penthouse on Central Park West and a decent toupee. Too bad, Shakes—if you had stuck around a few more years, you could have seen American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini in the role he was born to play: Justin in From Justin to Kelly.


The Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards Got You Wasted
Miss all those Jell-O shots and keg stands from your college frat parties (oh, who are we kidding—your college cast parties)? Broadway.com had you covered at this year’s Audience Choice Awards, which featured Stephanie J. Block and Aaron Tveit leading a drinking game at the podium, Billy Porter giving a way boozier acceptance speech than he did at the Tonys, and a bunch of usually upstanding Broadway stars getting positively obliterated at the open bar. Best of all, we’ve got it all on video for blackmailing purposes. Muh-ha-ha-ha-ha…


Everyone Looks Better In Drag
Guys dressed as ladies isn’t a new concept on Broadway (just ask Shakespeare), but this year boasted a much larger crew than usual—Matilda, Richard III, Twelfth Night, The Nance, LCT’s Macbeth, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and of course, Kinky Boots, all featured dudes donning drag. We’re also counting down the days until we’ve got guys and girls swapping genders in Hedwig this spring. So, when in doubt, just put on a bunch of lipstick and sashay around your apartment. It’s very trendy.


The Best Musical of All Time Is Apparently Wicked
Not to be outdone by some weird thing called College Basketball (we think it’s a TV show?), Broadway.com created our own March Musical Madness competition this year. All month long, we pitted your favorite musicals against each other in a battle for the title of Best Musical of All Time, and in the end, Wicked, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, came out on top. Be careful about meeting these witches in a dark alley, Les Miz, Phantom and West Side Story. They will CUT YOU.


Why Go Out When You Can Stay Home and Live-Tweet a Musical?
Typically, our favorite thing is to see a Broadway show, but our favorite new thing of 2013 was to sit at home in our pajamas, eat Oreos and live-tweet NBC’s Sound of Music telecast. Audra McDonald was trending, Laura Benanti was side-eyeing, and Christian Borle was cracking us up—oh, and someone from American Idol was doing something. Anyway, the whole night was glorious, and we think it should become a yearly (or better yet, monthly) tradition. Yodel-ay-hee-hoo!


Broadway.com Vloggers Deserve a Special Tony Award
We’ve had some awesome video bloggers through the years, but 2013 was freaking epic. We got to see Billy Porter’s quick changes, Alan Cumming getting “stubbed,” Lindsay Mendez lounging in bed with green ears, Queen Lesli Margherita kicking it with her Broadway minions, Krysta Rodriguez and the First Date cast singing "The Time of My Life," Lilla Crawford reenacting her favorite vloggers’ best moments and more—plus, Laura Osnes introduced us to our new best friend, Herman the Fish! We love you guys. And unlike real TV, we promise you'll never get canceled.


Aaron Tveit Can Clap With One Hand
The biggest lesson of 2013 obviously speaks for itself. Happy New Year!