What do I when I am really freaking bored at the end of December? I go through my box of tickets and come up with lists of things I did this year, of course! I'll put my top five in each category here, then my complete lists after the jump. Do check it out to see just how much money I wasted spent in 2011!
Top 5 Theatre Experience
- American Idiot (Jan 30, St. James Theatre, New York City)
- The Submission (Oct 16, Lortel Theatre, New York City)
- La Cage aux Folles (Jan 30, Longacre Theatre, New York City)
- Godspell (Oct 16, Circle in the Square, New York City)
- Les Miserables (Nov 3, Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence)
It was a good year in theatre for me this year. I took four trips to NYC to see various shows, all of the shows being very enjoyable. My theatre-going excursions in the Boston area were rather light this season, something I hope to change in 2012. Honorable mention here goes to Daniel Radcliffe's star turn in How to Succeed, the much maligned Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the off-Broadway revival of Rent.
Top 5 Concerts
- Bruno Mars & Janelle Monáe (May 7, Agannis Arena, Boston)
- Sara Bareilles & Josh Radin (Aug 30, Bank of America Pavilion, Boston)
- Jon McLaughlin (May 3, Brighton Music Hall, Boston)
- The Script (June 8, Bank of America Pavilion, Boston)
- American Idol Live! (Sep 1, DCU Center, Worcester)
Looking back I initially thought of this as a good year for me in concerts, but listing them all out, it was kind of slim pickings. The ones I went to were good fun, but there isn't much to choose from for a top-5 list (at least for my likings!). Honorable mention here for Josh Groban at Providence's Dunkin Donuts Center.
Top 5 Movies (based on pure enjoyment, not quality or Oscar-worthiness)
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- 50/50
- X-Men First Class
- Super 8
Ugh, talk about tough. To do this, I narrowed my list down to 10 movies, then selected five... but in all honesty, there isn't much of a difference between 1 and 10 here. Like the problem I have when finishing my Oscar Watch series, it's so tough to rank movies that are so, so different. Each of the 10 movies I put down elicited different reactions from me, making me love them for different reasons. Tough stuff. The other 5 (in no particular order): Thor, The Muppets, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Black Swan and Footloose. Yes, Footloose.
Top 5 TV Series
Limited to series I saw the entirety of this season, based on 2011's new episodes and again on pure entertainment
- Breaking Bad
- Parks & Recreation
- Friday Night Lights
- Dexter
- New Girl
This... this actually was not all that tough. Friday Night Lights's final season was technically in 2010, but it was aired on NBC in 2011, so it's included. I watched P&R in its entirety after realizing that The Office was leaving a void on my TV-viewing schedule (not that the Steve Carrell-less version isn't funny, it's just not AS funny...). P&R more than fills the void... and actually I think it surpasses it. I hesitated to put New Girl on the list at all, given that there's only half a season to go by, but I freaking love that show so far. Honorable mention to The Walking Dead... and for the record, I'd probably put Glee dead last.
So that's that. 2011 was not a good year for me... so as you can see, I tried to fill it with as much escapism as possible. Hopefully 2012 is different, but still filled with lots of escapism. Because escapism is the best. :)
Full lists after the jump.
MOVIES
Black Swan - 1/4
Blue Valentine - 1/23
I Am Number Four - 2/20
Memphis - 4/28
Thor - 5/6
X-Men First Class - 6/3 & 6/27
Green Lantern - 6/17
Company - 6/19
Cars 2 - 6/26
Super 8 - 7/3
Harry Potter 7B - 7/17
Captain America - 7/22
Footloose - 10/14
Anonymous - 10/30
The Muppets - 11/24
J. Edgar - 12/15
Sherlock Holmes 2 - 12/16
50/50 - 12/18
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 12/21
THEATRE
Jersey Boys (Boston) - 1/25
La Cage - 1/30m
American Idiot - 1/30e
Bat Boy (BSU) - 2/24
Prometheus Bound (ART) - 3/7
Hair (Boston) - 3/23
Catch Me If You Can - 5/22m
The Normal Heart - 5/22e
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - 5/23
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark - 5/24
Anything Goes - 5/25m
Sister Act - 5/25e
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - 7/24m
Rent - 7/24e
Porgy and Bess - 8/17
The Submission - 10/16m
Godspell - 10/16e
Les Miserables (Providence) - 11/3
A Christmas Story - 12/24
CONCERTS
Bob Saget (Wilbur Theatre)- 1/15
Jon McLaughlin (Brighton Music Hall) - 5/3
Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae (Agannis Arena) - 5/7
The Script (Bank of America Pavilion) - 6/8
The Voice Live (Bank of America Pavilion) - 8/4
Sara Bareilles (Bank of America Pavilion) - 8/30
American Idol Live! (DCU Center) - 9/1
Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers with Jon McLaughlin (Paradise Rock Club) - 10/13
Josh Groban (Dunkin Donuts Center) - 11/9
