Best Hip Drama

Salvage Vanguard Theater

Under the deft guidance of artistic director Jason Neulander, this troupe has burst into the forefront of a new movement in local theater - unorthodox, nomadic and ballsy. Able to cross boundaries without blurring their focus, Salvage Vanguard serves up their hip drama dark and steamy, eerie and provocative, without all the high-falutin nonsense that can make new theater so damned alienating. With their popular series of radio plays, last summer's smart, sultry Stranger Desire and this summer's taut thriller, The Ravaging, Salvage Vanguard reminds us what edgy theater can be: an invitation to places we were afraid to venture alone, a peek under the covers, an exploration of what is utterly magical, what is frighteningly real.