Our Critics Pick Their Favorite Plays

PROFESSIONAL:

* “Heartbreak House,” South Coast Repertory. SCR and director Martin Benson returned to a familiar, and bountiful, source in September: George Bernard Shaw. The company that has excelled with Shavian wit over the years did so once again with this rich production.

* “Measure for Measure,” Grove Shakespeare Festival. The Grove’s staging of this dark comedy, which opened in July under Jules Aaron’s direction, was vivid and intelligent in its approach to Shakespearean questions of morality.

* “Sight Unseen,” South Coast Repertory. Donald Margulies’ contemporary drama, which had its world premiere here in September, questioned the subjective nature of art while offering intriguing characters.

* “City of Angels,” the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The traveling show that breezed into Costa Mesa in November was an entertaining spoof of Hollywood detective movies.

SMALL and COMMUNITY:

* “A Walk in the Woods,” the Laguna Playhouse. A timely and deftly acted production of Lee Blessing’s Cold War comedy opened at the Moulton Theatre in March.

* “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” the Orange County Black Actors Theatre. Lanie Robertson’s drama, directed by Adleane Hunter, opened at SCR in July and captured the tragic aura of Billie Holiday during her last days.

* “Tennessee Williams One-Acts,” the Cabrillo Playhouse. Williams’ playlets don’t show up very often, so it was refreshing to discover a handful of his best in San Clemente in July. The acting wasn’t always as subtle as the writing required, but the overall effort was more than respectable.

COLLEGE and UNIVERSITY:

* “The Real Thing,” UC Irvine. This assured, near-professional production of Tom Stoppard’s rumination on love that opened in April was the finest campus show of the year.

* “Indians,” Fullerton College. Arthur Kopit’s hyperbolic Wild West play isn’t that great, but this huge student cast really tried to make an epic of it in October. The expertise wasn’t always up to the ambition, but still, this was an eager, hard-working effort.

* “Love’s Labours Lost,” Cal State Fullerton. This grinning, airy staging, which opened in early December, featured a fresh student cast of junior Romeos and whippersnapper Juliets.