Top Ten Productions by Young Performers of 2017

Naugatuck, CT - 2017 marks the sixth year that I have compiled an end-of-the-year top ten lists of the productions that I have had the good fortune to attend during the calendar year. I was once again pleasantly surprised to discover that the number of shows I can review in a year continues to grow. Last year I published 116 reviews; this year with 22 Equity productions, eight touring companies and one Broadway shows (‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,’) 36 productions with young performers, 31 community theatre musicals, and 37 community theatre plays, the grand total was 134.

While that is certainly a large number of shows from which to choose, the four lists remain one person’s opinion of the best of the many area productions. There were many shows that I had to miss due to weather, personal obligations and most often because I was unable to book a performance when many shows were happening with identical run dates. So take the rankings for what they are worth.

Please note that the category ‘young performers,’ otherwise known as ‘up and coming talent,’ includes students of all ages through university level productions.

Click on the title to read the entire review of the show and see why it made this list.

Productions by Young Performers

10. ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ at Holy Cross High School -The obligatory cell phone reminder before the curtain included a reference to God not wanting to compete with cellular devices, complete with thunder and lightning.

9. ‘Evita’ at Newtown High School - The staging of this historical piece was impressive at every turn at the final dress rehearsal that I was fortunate to attend.

8. ‘The Gondoliers’ at Western CT State University - There were a lot of moving parts and even more notes (and some Italian) to memorize, and this large and well-rehearsed cast pulled it all off deftly.

7. ‘Next to Normal’ at Sacred Heart University - Congratulations to the entire cast and the faculty members that worked with them to bring this important and challenging work to the SHU black box theatre to share with the university and surrounding community.

6. ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Amity High School - Kudos to the directing team on another wonderful sold out Amity production that sets the bar very high.

5. ‘Avenue Q’ at Sacred Heart University -While some may be surprised that the second largest Catholic university in New England would produce the naughty long-running Broadway and Off-Broadway hit, I knew that this program would be up for the challenge of telling the tale what the character Princeton does with a "BA in English" while making us laugh out loud.

4. ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ at Sacred Heart University - The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice was brought to life by many up and coming actors in this visually stunning contemporary take on the musical.

3. ‘The King and I’ by Blessed Sacrament Children’s Theatre - The driving force behind the program is Bob Tansley, who came out of retirement to direct this year's production and marked his 26th year of directing this age group.

2. ‘Evita’ at Western CT State University - This fresh interpretation of one of the most familiar and popular shows in contemporary musical theatre was the vision of director Tim Howard.

1. ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ by NewArts - Michael Unger, NewArts producing artistic director since its inception, once again directs the entire cast with joy and somehow manages to ensure that every cast member is able to shine onstage. He always sets the bar extremely high for his performers and they never fail to raise to the challenge with his help.

Runner ups: ‘Working’ at Sacred Heart, ‘Sweeney Todd’ by Landmark, ‘The Library’ by WTCAE, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Immaculate High School

Pictured: Graphic courtesy of SHU Theatre Arts Program