Associated Press drama writer Mark Kennedy has compiled his annual list of the best of Broadway.


Associated Press drama writer Mark Kennedy has compiled his annual list of the best of Broadway. Here is his top five:

v “The Glass Menagerie”: There’s magic from start to finish in this new production of Tennessee Williams’ great play about regret starring a superb Cherry Jones and a revelatory Zachary Quinto. It’s evocative, sometimes surreal and sublimely organic — the perfect package for a play about faded and frayed memories.

v “Pippin”: The revival of the Stephen Schwartz musical led by director Diane Paulus packs plenty of bang, lots of flips and real value for your money: A ticket buys you not just a musical but also a trip to the circus. There are fire jugglers, teeterboards, knife throwing and contortionists, as well as Bob Fosse-style dancing and great performances.

v “Matilda”: Great sets, choreography and songs make this British import hard to resist. Music and lyrics by Tim Minchin stick with you — especially “Miracle,” “Telly,” “When I Grow Up” and “The Smell of Rebellion” — and the whole show thrillingly reminds you of the darkness of being a kid.

v “Kinky Boots”: The new Tony Award musical winner with infectious songs by Cyndi Lauper and a sloppy kiss of a story by Harvey Fierstein is unabashedly sentimental, with a classic message of acceptance. Billy Porter, as the drag queen at its heart, can make tears fall down your cheeks and he’s sticking with the show into 2014.

v “The Sound of Music”: This Carrie Underwood-led show was on TV, of course, but Broadway was in its DNA, from the supporting cast — Christian Borle, Laura Benanti and Audra McDonald — to co-director Rob Ashford. It was the first full-scale musical staged live for television in more than a half-century and drew an impressive 18.6 million viewers. (By way of comparison, total attendances for all of Broadway last season was 11.6 million). It was simply a brilliant advertisement for live theater.

“Live From Lincoln Center” (8 p.m., PBS): “Live from Lincoln Center” features the New York Philharmonic and cellist Yo-Yo Ma collaborating on a program of dance-inspired works, including “Bolero.” Audra McDonald hosts.

NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATIONS: Why put up with the crowds and the noise when you can ring in 2014 from your couch? As usual, TV is here to help. See story at right.

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Lawsuit against art dealer dismissed

NEW YORK

A judge has dismissed a $20 million fraud lawsuit brought by heirs of sculptor Alexander Calder against his art dealer’s estate. The heirs accused art dealer Klaus Perls of swindling Calder’s estate out of tens of millions of dollars and holding on to hundreds of Calder’s works.

In her ruling last week, the judge said the claims were “an incoherent stew of irrelevance and innuendo.” She said the evidence failed to show any fraud had been committed. The lawsuit was filed in 2010. Perls died in 2008.

Calder was one of the most celebrated American artists of the 20th century, best known for hanging mobiles. He died in 1976.