1. Bronte (Wellesley Summer Theatre Company): Unlike Polly Teale's "After Mrs. Rochester," strikingly staged at WST, her overlong bio-drama is surprisingly uneven and tedious.

 

2. Donnie Darko (American Repertory Theatre): The sublimely quirky movie continues to haunt the imagination.Director-adaptor Marcus Stern failed to capture that brilliance.

 

3. The English Channel (Suffolk University Theatre): Despite Sean Dugan's virtuoso work as Marlowe, this Robert Brustein  premiere ultimately swims into pretention.

 

4. Guys on Ice (Stoneham Theatre): Authentic detail is no substitute for lively dialogue, a snappy score and a real story-even with very talented William Gardiner in the cast. 

 

5. Gypsy (Stoneham Theatre): The biggest musical disappointment of the year misdirects gifted Leigh Barrett as a less than stinging Mamma Rose in a badly wandering revival.

 

6. Miracle On 34th Street (Stoneham Theatre): Macy looks more like K-Mart in this no-frills effort.

 

7. Our Son's Wedding (Gloucester Stage): Donna de Matteo's bad sitcom of a play demeans gays and says "I Don't" to any real understanding between parents and children.

 

8. Persephone (Huntington Theatre Company): Noah Haidle should have focused on the title character's mother Demeter (Melinda Lopez does her very good best as a time-traveling harvest goddess statue)  in this overly busy but ultimately badly sculpted play.

 

9. Sacred Hearts (Zeitgeist Stage): Colleen Curran's unsatisfying look at faith gives this ever-stronger young troupe a rare weak production.

 

10. 3'S (The Peripitus Theater Company): Courtney Corbett's birthday party -set encounter lacks the genuine fireworks and real satire of a winner like Mike Leigh's "Abigail's Party."