2017 Wrap-Up: Broadway.com Picks the Best Performances of the Year

Making a list of just five of our favorite performances of 2017 is a tough task with such a wide array of talent on the Great White Way this year. But these unforgettable turns burned brightest in our memories even though they’ve all taken their final bows.

5. Gideon Glick in Significant Other
As the lonely gay guy watching his gal pals get hitched one by one, we couldn’t help but fall for Gideon Glick in Joshua Harmon’s Significant Other. Glick’s nuanced performance was funny, relatable and vulnerable as his character attended wedding after wedding—without a date. We saw a new side of Glick, and we loved it.

4. Kevin Kline in Present Laughter 
This list would not be complete without Kevin Kline, who won his third Tony this year for Present Laughter. The Oscar winner owned the St. James stage as maturing matinee idol Garry Essendine in Noël Coward’s classic. With Kline’s nuanced, sympathetic and hysterical ham, we were lucky enough to witness a comedic performance for the ages.

3. Andy Karl in Groundhog Day
Like a happy dream that occurs over and over and over again, we can’t get Andy Karl’s ingenious performance as Phil Connors in Groundhog Day out of our heads. Karl overcame an onstage injury and earned his third Tony nomination while playing the arrogant TV weatherman who’s sent to Punxsutawney, PA, to report on the annual Groundhog Day ceremony and ends up having a life-changing experience. Karl shined in the role he was born to play and cemented his status as one of the hardest-working guys in the biz.

2. Jake Gyllenhaal in Sunday in the Park with George
Film star Jake Gyllenhaal dazzled in his Broadway musical debut, delivering a beautifully sung and acted Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park with George, opposite an equally stunning Annaleigh Ashford. Although his performance wasn’t eligible for a Tony Award, it earned him a place in theater history and in the hearts of showtune fans everywhere. More please!

1.  Laurie Metcalf in A Doll's House, Part 2
Number one is Laurie Metcalf’s ferocious tour de force performance in A Doll's House, Part 2, which earned her a well-deserved Tony Award. Metcalf dove headfirst into her juicy role as a woman returning to her family 15 years after slamming the door on her life with them. Her performance was gutsy and glorious and our pick for the top performance of 2017.