Seat Filler: Best NYC Theater of 2011

8. Southern Comfort
At turns uplifting and devastating, this folk-bluegrass musical by Julianne Wick and Dan Collins — based on Kate Davis’s 2001 documentary — celebrated a “chosen family” of trans friends in rural Georgia who debate whether gender is in the head or between the legs. Annette O’Toole was a revelation as Robert Eads, a trans man denied care for ovarian cancer, and Jeff McCarthy found the humor and heart in his trans girlfriend Lola.
CAP21 Black Box Theatre, closed October 29. 

7. Sons of the Prophet
Out playwright Stephen Karam's poignant dramedy lyrically explores human suffering in Roundabout’s phenomenal production. Opposite the great Joanna Gleason as a loopy, manipulative boss, Santino Fontana and Chris Perfetti have touching chemistry as gay Lebanese-American brothers coping with odd ailments and their father’s death. Charles Socarides plays a gay journalist — and love interest — covering the family’s story.

Laura Pels Theatre, through January 1.