Best Theater for Plays

Artistic Director Louis Tyrrell's company takes the prize for the third year in a row for its admirable, well-produced, well-acted shows and its commitment to developing new writing talent. This season has yet to deliver a huge smash, but the lineup of plays -- The Last Schwartz, Bach at Leipzig, The Cavalcaders, Constant Star, and the upcoming The Last Five Years -- is a good indicator of what Florida Stage is all about: top-quality, literate, thought-provoking entertainment. The Stage also gets a round of applause for its array of supporting programs: New Voices, which presents new scripts from nationally significant writers in workshop readings; Young Voices, which presents the works of high school-aged writers; the Learning Stage, an admirable community outreach program; and Stages, the company's excellent in-house publication, which offers in-depth writer profiles and essays.