DON SHIRLEY’S TOP 10

In alphabetical order:

“Bitter Women,” Cast Theatre. Lisa James’ staging of Justin Tanner’s Silver Lake singles comedy was as funny and heartfelt as the author’s.

“Broken Hearts,” Cornerstone Theater. This hyper-multiculti company loves L.A. and expresses it with a wry sense of humor.

“Cabaret,” Wilshire Theatre. Directors Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall transformed a familiar show and a seldom-used theater into theatrical shock waves.

“Children,” Pacific Resident Theatre. Who knew about this early, oddly structured, witty and melancholic A.R. Gurney play (or about Ferenc Molnar’s “The Swan,” also revived by PRT)?

“Collected Stories,” Geffen Playhouse. Linda Lavin was red-hot in this simple but searing duet.

“Louis Slotin Sonata,” Circle X Theatre. Paul Mullin’s account of a scientist’s fatal accident provided cosmic, comic soul-searching on a budget.

“The Piano Lesson,” South Coast Repertory. This eloquent revival of August Wilson’s tale of two siblings brought audiences to the edges of their seats.

“Play On!,” Pasadena Playhouse. The year’s most playful panorama of song and dance, bright colors and Shakespeare-with-a-twist.

“Summer and Smoke,” Fountain Theatre. Luminous Tracy Middendorf and Tennessee Williams.

“Tongue of a Bird,” Mark Taper Forum. Ellen McLaughlin’s lyrical meditation on warring human impulses divided audiences down the middle; I’m a fan.

11-20: “As You Like It,” Shakespeare Festival/LA; “Blood Wedding,” Bilingual Foundation of the Arts; “The Greeks,” Odyssey Theatre; “The Living,” Colony Studio Theatre; “900 Oneonta,” Odyssey Theatre; “Oedipus the King,” A Noise Within; “Orphans,” International City Theatre; “The Seagull,” Theatricum Botanicum; “The Swan,” Pacific Resident Theatre; “West Side Story,” Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities. *