Is it fair to give this nod to a play that didn’t exist the second before the lights came up, was performed on one night and will never be done again? Probably not, but since director Josh Nichols (and his company, Spectacles Improv Engine) and his seven-person cast succeeded in creating one of the most memorable, entertaining shows on a local stage the past 12 months, screw it. The long-form improv genre is called the Woolf, and the audience members at STAGEStheatre were as essential as the performers, as ideas were solicited from them as they entered the lobby, then filtered to the cast, who were given a simple scenario and generic character types, then told to go balance on a tightrope for 90 minutes without a net. It was brave, unpredictable, exciting and different. And that sounds like something any play, anywhere, should strive for.
Readers’ Choice: The Book of Mormon
