Peter Marks's best of 2010: Performances

And . . . performances I'd gladly watch again:

Michael Hayden. Doing extraordinary double duty for the Shakespeare Theatre Company as Richard II and Henry V, Hayden confirmed his status as a bona fide Bard star.

Danielle Drakes. This gracious actress did exemplary work on the toughest of stages - the noisy streets of Washington - portraying the real-life Civil War-era dressmaker Elizabeth Keckly in a 90-minute sidewalk tour for Ford's Theatre.

Laurence Fishburne. Portraying the Supreme Court justice and elegant raconteur Thurgood Marshall, Fishburne presided charmingly and hilariously in the Kennedy Center's springtime offering "Thurgood."

June Schreiner and Cody Williams. The breakout debuts of 2010 belong to two young actors singing musical theater roles created before their parents were born. Schreiner and Williams were the adorable Ado Annie and Will Parker in "Oklahoma!," and they managed to make these characters seem as though they had emerged from a writer's imagination only yesterday.

Alex Mills. As Synetic's tireless go-to guy for feats of uncanny flexibility, this performer showed this fall in both "King Arthur" and "The Master and Margarita" that he's made of rubber - and steel. Whatever compensation he receives, Synetic should double it.