2007 Wrap-Up: Best Shows
The Broadway.com editorial staff is well aware that choosing the "best" of anything is largely subjective. And trust us, we have very different tastes. But on a blustery day in December, we gathered together to vote and revote on what we could collectively call the best Broadway shows of the calendar year. Here are our picks.
1. Journey's End
Who would have imagined that a revival of a little-known 1929 play about British soldiers stuck in a trench in World War I would prove to be the most memorable Broadway show of 2007? Everything came together in David Grindley's production of Journey's End: a perfect cast, led by Hugh Dancy, Boyd Gaines, Jefferson Mays and Stark Sands; gorgeously dark production design by Jonathan Fensom; even the not-so-loved theater that housed the play, the Belasco, added to the Edwardian-era vibe. Sadly, war-weary theatergoers did not embrace the production, but the company was able to celebrate its final performance by taking home the 2007 Best Revival Tony Award that very night. Cheers!
Watch the opening night video from the show!
2. August: Osage County
Oh, Mother!! The craziest—and, in many ways, the funniest—family seen onstage in many a year just arrived on Broadway thanks to the fertile mind of playwright Tracy Letts and the immense talent of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble. The poisonous members of the Weston clan of Oklahoma jaw and claw at each other for almost three and a half hours a running time that would normally be considered the kiss of death, but there's no faster-moving night on Broadway. "I'm just truth-telling," declares the devilish matriarch, Violet played with malicious glee by Deanna Dunagan, and the nasty truth has never been more entertaining. 
Watch the rehearsal video from the show!
3. 110 in the Shade
It's one of those shows that makes musical fans lament, "They just don't write 'em like this anymore," but Roundabout Theatre Company's satisfying revival brought fresh life to Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones' musical re-telling of The Rainmaker. Luckily for 110's composers, four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald decided to play their heroine, Lizzie Curry, and director Lonny Price infused his production with a lovely simplicity that matched her performance. If you missed it, listen to the original cast recording and revel in McDonald's passionate delivery of 10 numbers.
Watch the opening night video from the show!
This oddity—an unproduced play by Mark Twain—could have been a disaster, but Is He Dead? turned out to be a delightful surprise, a giddy comedy that opened on Broadway amid a sea of heavier fare. Again, savvy star casting proved to be the linchpin in the show's success, but in addition to Norbert Leo Butz in a dress, the production boasts a supporting cast of skilled theater pros notably Byron Jennings as the villain, a script made quick and witty through the efforts of adapter David Ives, and smart direction by Michael Blakemore. The plot, about faking a death to drive up art values, isn't important—we were just delighted to sit back and enjoy the ride!
Watch the opening night video from the show!
5. Legally Blonde
The very definition of a crowd-pleasing musical, Legally Blonde is one of the few recent screen-to-stage transfers that doesn't dumb down its source material. The well-placed, funny songs by Tony nominees Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin help define each character think of Professor Callahan's clever patter song, "Blood in the Water", and some of the most successful numbers wittily expand on episodes in the movie think of the penultimate courtroom scene, with "There! Right There!". Director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell put a candy-coated sheen on the entire show, keeping Laura Bell Bundy, Orfeh and the rest of his expert cast bending and snapping until everybody goes home happy.
Watch exclusive videos from the show!