Last year at this time, Scott Ross and I reread our reviews of the hundreds of theatrical productions that played the Triangle in calendar 2003 and hammered out the Robert’s Reviews list of the 10 best shows of 2003 in record time, with nary a cross word between us. That is surprising, given the passion that we as theater critics feel for all things theatrical and the opinionatedness and stubbornness of writers in general.

This year, Robert’s Reviews added Lissa Brennan, Alan R. Hall, and Todd Morman to our roster of critics. (And there will be further additions in the months to come.) So, in selecting our 10 best shows of 2004, Scott, Alan, Todd, and I put our heads together via e-mail; and the Scott and I made the final selections. (Sadly, Lissa Brennan has left the area.)

What follows is a listing of Robert’s Reviews’ choices of the 10 best theatrical productions to play the Triangle in calendar 2004, plus links to this ... theatrical newsletter’s previews and reviews of each show. Please note that, unlike most other top 10 lists, our list includes some productions that brightened Triangle stages for only one or two days.

On Tuesday (1/11), in Part 2 of this issue, we shall publish thumbnail reviews of our top 10 shows — and a complete list of “Honorable Mentions” — along with our annual “Best of the Best” feature comparing the 10 best lists of all the local news media. Then, on Jan. 13th, Robert’s Reviews will publish its Five Annual Triangle Theater Awards.

The 10 best shows of 2004 were (in alphabetical order):

1. Little Women: The Musical (Theater Previews at Duke et al., Oct. 13-31)

2. Luminosity (PlayMakers Repertory Company, April 7-May 2)

3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Actors from the London Stage at Duke Performances, Nov. 11-12)

4. A Paradise It Seems: The Short Stories of John Cheever (Wordshed Productions, July 30-Aug. 1)

5. The Producers (Broadway Series South, Nov. 2-7)

6. Ragtime (North Carolina Theatre, Sept. 11-19)

7. Silver River (Manbites Dog Theater, Feb. 12-28)

8. Stones in His Pockets (Actors Comedy Lab and Theatre in the Park, Dec. 3-12)

9. Sylvia (Towne Players of Garner, Oct. 15-23)

10. Victoria (Dulcinea Langfelder & Co. at N.C. State University Center Stage, Nov. 20)

SOME HONORABLE MENTIONS (also in alphabetical order): Boy Gets Girl (Deep Dish Theater), The Chosen (Theatre Or), Cirque Dreams (Broadway Series South), Floating Rhoda and the Glue Man (Raleigh Ensemble Players), Follies (University Theatre at N.C. State), The Gardens of Frau Hess (REP), The Invisible Man (Aquila Theatre Company at NCSU Center Stage), The King and I (North Carolina Theatre), Kiss Me, Kate (Broadway at Duke), The Lonesome West (Wordshed Productions), The Man Who Came to Dinner (Towne Players of Garner), Nixon’s Nixon (Manbites Dog Theater), Not About Heroes (PlayMakers Repertory Company), Oklahoma! (Broadway Series South), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Raleigh Little Theatre), Pump Boys and Dinettes (RLT), The Servant of Two Masters (Peace College Theatre), Shirley Valentine (Ghost & Spice Productions), Sonnets for an Old Century (Manbites Dog), Sweet Bird of Youth (Theatre in the Park), Waiting for Godot (Burning Coal Theatre Company), and Women’s Minyan (Theater Or).

Note: Copies of 2004 theatre materials no longer linked from this article are available upon request.