SPECIAL MENTIONS OF 2009

"Laura Benanti confirmed she's one of our finest stage actresses with a pair of stand-out performances this year. First, she lit up Christopher Durang's Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them at the Public Theater, then she waltzed off with Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room or the vibrator play on Broadway. A great part of her charm derives from the geeky way in which she seems unaware of her own beauty, and her scenes with Maria Dizzia in the latter show are pure comedy gold -- they're nervous and excited like schoolgirls about to solve a delicious mystery."

-Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Post
December 29, 2009