The Best Of 1998 Theater

1 THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE For the first few minutes, it seems like a typical slice of Irish local color, full of overripe characters and accents you can barely decipher. But Martin McDonough's extraordinary play, about a mother and daughter testing each other's patience in a bleak corner of rural Ireland, gradually displays an imposing arsenal of playwrighting weapons: a well-made plot that keeps bending in unexpected ways; flashes of sardonic comedy; and a sense of tragic inevitability that Ibsen himself might have admired. Flawlessly performed by the original London cast (three of the four won Tonys), it is one of the major theatrical experiences of the '90s.

2 CABARET Remember when Joel Grey was considered seedy? Alan Cumming gave Grey's Wilkommen a sinister new twist as the androgynous emcee; Natasha Richardson embodied a defiantly deglamorized Sally Bowles; and British director Sam Mendes made the terrific Kander and Ebb musical even more terrific.

3 HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH John Cameron Mitchell, who co-wrote this off-Broadway hit, also plays the "internationally ignored" song stylist who changed sexes to escape East Germany. Part nightclub monologue, part drag musical, the show has a score that outrocks Rent and a script that is by turns funny, outrageous and poignant.

4 NOT ABOUT NIGHTINGALES Looking back, Tennessee Williams probably found his early, unproduced play crude and lacking in poetry. Both are true. But Trevor Nunn's intense production (which had its U.S. debut at Houston's Alley Theatre) also shows off the raw power of a dramatist on the verge of greatness.

5 CORPUS CHRISTI Pity the play that doesn't live up to its advance "controversy." Terrence McNally's recasting of Christ as a contemporary homosexual might have drawn more fans had it really been a gay Godspell, as some sniffed. Instead it's a sober, impassioned work, given great force by Joe Mantello's clean and clever staging.

6 TRAINSPOTTING The Scottish slackers of Irvine Welsh's novel are even grungier and sadder in Harry Gibson's stage adaptation than they were onscreen. The off-Broadway production is rather stripped down, but rich dialogue and fine acting turn it into a memorable trip to the lower depths. Including that infamous toilet bowl.

7 FORBIDDEN BROADWAY You had to look hard for good entertainment on Broadway this year, but the latest version of Gerard Alessandrini's perpetually updated satirical revue has found it. From the ragged sets of Titanic to the titanic ballads of Ragtime, this show has got Broadway's number.

8 SWAN LAKE You mean, the swans were once played by women? That's an understandable reaction to Matthew Bourne's acclaimed version of the ballet, with an all- male corps of swans. It's no cross-dressing stunt but a visually luscious and dramatically convincing reinterpretation. Will the Tonys notice?

9 THE MAGIC FIRE In Peron's Argentina, a family of refugees from Hitler's Europe is jolted into a realization that history may be repeating itself. Lillian Garrett-Groag's play, staged at Washington's Kennedy Center by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, combines warm family comedy and savvy political melodrama with rare skill.

10 WIT A woman dying of ovarian cancer spends her last hours telling us about her life. The subject is familiar, but one cannot remain unmoved by Margaret Edson's well-crafted play and the toughness of Kathleen Chalfant's starring performance.

AND THE WORST Broadway high-flyer Garth Drabinsky (Show Boat, Ragtime) crashed to earth as new partners found his company, Livent, to be awash in red ink. Now Livent is in bankruptcy, tours are in limbo and Drabinsky is out.