See the Favorites by Year page for general info about our yearly favorites lists, as well as links to other years.
Due to the continuing pandemic, we saw only a handful of shows in person in 2021—too few to make a meaningful “top ten” or even “top five” list, so we’ll instead highlight our favorite online theatre for 2021.
Before doing so, however, we want to recognize one show that we saw in person whose artistic excellence and striking impact would have made our top ten list in any conceivable full season: Ragtime, produced by Music Theater Works, newly added to our Favorite Musicals page.
Another in-person show that we found supremely entertaining was Mercury Theatre’s production of Sister Act, thanks to brilliant direction by first-time director Reneisha Jenkins and an exuberant, totally committed cast, led by Alexis J. Roston.
And now, on to our favorite online theatre experiences of 2021 (within each category, entries are listed in alphabetical order).
Favorite Online Readings of Established Plays
- The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz: Spotlight on Plays
- The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess, directed by Kimberly Senior: Manhattan Theatre Club
- The Sisters Rosensweig by Wendy Wasserstein, directed by Anna D. Shapiro: Spotlight on Plays
- Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg, directed by Evan Yionoulis: Manhattan Theatre Club
Favorite Online Readings of New Plays
- Brushstroke by John Ross Bowie, directed by Casey Stangl: Play-PerView
- The Collapse by Selina Fillinger, directed by Margo Bordelon: Cape Cod Theatre Project
- Mosque4Mosque by Omer Abbas Salem, directed by Arti Ishak: Steppenwolf (we also enjoyed an earlier online reading presented by New York’s Dixon Place in 2020)
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg: a Living Document by Dianne Nora, directed by Kristina Valada-Viars: Play-PerView
- Tiny Father by Mike Lew, directed by Moritz Stuelpnagel: Cape Cod Theatre Project
In addition to loving these plays, we also were captivated by Cape Cod Theatre Project’s modus operandi for unobtrusive audience engagement in the development process. We gained insights into the play’s evolution through before-and-after interviews with playwright, director, and cast, and two separate readings with intervening rehearsals and rewrites. The atmosphere was so warm and collaborative that we felt as if we were in the room with the playwright, director, cast, and a very committed and supportive audience.
We also extend kudos to a number of Chicago theatre companies for their consequential play-development efforts in 2021. These companies, including Jackalope, The Story Theatre, First Floor, Broken Nose, and Definition, are working to expand the range of voices and the authenticity of the stories presented on stage.
Favorite Online Full Productions
- 9 Circles by Bill Cain, directed by Michael Cotey: Next Act Theatre in Milwaukee
- The Spin, written and directed by Spenser Davis: Street Corner Arts in Austin, TX (the premiere production by Interrobang Theatre Project also made our favorites list for 2020)
Special Category
Finally, we must mention the exquisite Intersect, produced by the Beautiful City Project, co-created by David Fiorello (who also directed) and Christopher Chase Carter (head of choreography). Although it is a film rather than a theatrical production, it features a host of Chicago’s top musical theatre artists. Each of its four 25-minute segments tells a compelling story of a couple, with a full range of emotions conveyed through music and dance (no dialogue). The eight dancers are uniformly stunning in executing the exhilarating choreography by Christopher Chase Carter, Isaiah Slivia-Chandley, Shanna Vanderwerker, and Ariel Etana Triunfo. The film is also a visual feast, with dynamic videography capturing dozens of strikingly photogenic locations throughout Chicago (and the prairie beyond).
