NY Mag Names Fela! Top Play for 2008; Actors LuPone, Esparza, Kazan, Marvel Also Cited

By Ernio Hernandez
09 Dec 2008

Fela! star Sahr Ngaujah
Fela! star Sahr Ngaujah
Photo by Monique Carboni

New York Magazine has named Fela! the top of its "Top Ten Plays" of 2008 in the latest "The Best in Culture" issue.

For the December 15, 2008 issue, the magazine has put forth its top picks in movies, art, television, books and more. In "The Year in Theater" section, the publication offers picks in three categories: "The Year in Superlatives," "Unforgettable Performances" and "The Top Ten Plays."

Theatre writers Dan Kois and Christopher Bonanos chose the "The Top Ten Plays," which follow:

1. Fela!
2. South Pacific
3. Gypsy
4. The Seagull
5. Top Girls
6. Blasted
7. Hair
8. Hunting and Gathering
9. Les Liaisons Dangereuses
10. On the Town

Under "Unforgettable Performances," stage performers cited include Patti LuPone (for Gypsy), Raśl Esparza (Speed-the-Plow), Brian d'Arcy James (Port Authority), Sahr Ngaujah (Fela!), Alvin Epstein (Endgame), Zoe Kazan (The Seagull), Cedric the Entertainer (American Buffalo), Winston Ntshona and John Kani (Sizwe Banzi Is Dead), Elizabeth Marvel (Top Girls and Fifty Words) and Mark Rylance (Boeing-Boeing).

For more about New York Magazine, visit nymag.com.