More Favourites of 2011: Theatre and Sports

The current temperature in Toronto? -26°C with windchill. The high this afternoon in Calgary? +8°C with no wind. There's a certain irony in that. Back to my year in review! 2011 was a bit of an off-year for theatre and a big off-year for sports, so I've just compiled top three lists for each. 2012 is at least getting off to a quicker start: I've got the Leafs/Lightning and Leafs/Jets games this week, and tomorrow I'm seeing 2 Pianos 4 Hands for the first time since the late 90s.With that...

Theatre

1. Billy Bishop Goes to War (Soulpepper Theatre Company; presented by High Performance Rodeo and Theatre Calgary) was one of those special nights in the theatre; I later described it as the kind of production "that reminds you why you started going in the first place." Ranks alongside 700 Sundays as one of the very best plays I've ever seen. (January 20 at the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts in Calgary)
2. Jesus Christ Superstar (Stratford Shakespeare Festival). I had to wedge Des McAnuff's production of Jesus Christ Superstar between PJ20 and Pearl Jam's two-night stand in Toronto. That might've been recipe for a letdown, but between McAnuff's lean, muscular staging and sensational performances from Josh Young, Chilina Kennedy, Brent Carver, and (especially) Paul Nolan this was a highlight of my seventeen years going to Stratford. (September 10 at the Avon Theatre in Stratford)
3. Barrymore. Christopher Plummer was nothing short of titanic in William Luce's one-man play. Also, before the show I ran into JWoww at the Eaton Centre--which was weird. (February 28 at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto)

Sports

1. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Buffalo Sabres (December 22 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto). The game itself was notable for being the first time I've ever seen the Leafs beat the Sabres. Of course, I'll remember it for an entirely different reason.
2. Toronto Blue Jays vs. Philadelphia Phillies (July 2 at Rogers Centre in Toronto). Last year's G20 summit bumped Roy Halladay's return to Toronto back by a year. But the highlight wasn't provided by Halladay, who pitched a complete game shutout against his former club, but rather by Jose Bautista, whose long, loud home run off his former ace was a symbolic passing of the torch from one Toronto superstar to another.
3. Pumas UNAM vs. Club America (October 1 at Olímpico Universitario Stadium in Mexico City) is included almost by default. The game itself (a scrappy 1-0 win for Pumas) was unremarkable, but the experience of attending El Clásico Capitalino was utterly unique.

Let's see what 2012 has in store!