There were so many memorable theater-related moments this year that were not part of any scripted show that they threatened to upstage any moments on stage. Even some of the most encouraging of these off-stage moments – such as the Town Hall held at the Public Theater on sexual harassment in the theater, or Lin-Manuel Miranda’s efforts on behalf of hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, including the song “Almost like Praying” – were silver linings in a largely cloud-filled year.
Still, even in 2017, there were plenty of worthwhile moments in shows that ran in New York this year to help us to escape from, or inspire us to engage in, the world outside the theater.
They happened unexpectedly, in shows you might not otherwise care for, and they happened in every month.
Click on any photograph below to see it enlarged and to read the extensive caption that explains the memorable stage moment. (In a few examples, the only photograph available was about the show, not the specific moment.




















Links to more photographs and reviews of shows whose moments I mention above:
January:
Confucius
Made in China
February:
Beardo
March
Sweeney Todd
Significant Other
April
Groundhog Day
May
Ernest Shackleton Loves Me
Venus
June
Julius Caesar
July
Cost of Living
Hamlet
August
Antigone in Ferguson
Prince of Broadway
September
A Clockwork Orange
October
People, Places and Things
November
The Band’s Visit
December
Glass Guignol
The Parisian Woman
Once on this Island
Farinelli and the King