Top Ten Productions by Young Actors 2016

This year I reviewed 116 productions. While that is certainly a large number of shows from which to choose, my four top ten lists remain one person’s opinion of the best of area productions. There were many shows that I missed due to weather, personal commitments or car trouble. So take them for what they are worth.

This year I saw more university productions than usual and I hesitated to group them in with productions by students in grades pre-k through 12. Ultimately, because I did not review enough of any one age group to carve out a subset, I lumped all students together in a single category of ‘young performers,’ otherwise known as ‘up and coming talent.’

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

Productions by Young Performers

10. ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ by Western CT State University Opera - This hour-long opera that is an annual tradition at WCSU was the perfect introduction to the genre for young and old alike.

9. ‘Godspell’ by Naugatuck Teen Theatre - The teens with NTT brought a most joyous production to the St. Michael’s stage under the direction of Matt Cornish.

8. TIE Both of these college-level productions were effectively done.
‘Chicago’ by Post University Players directed by Bob Tansley
‘Cabaret’ by Naugatuck Valley Community College directed by Burton Tedesco

7. ‘Tick, tick...BOOM’ at Sacred Heart University - I loved this early work by Jonathan Larson, the composer of ‘Rent,’ at my alma mater.

6. ‘Disney’s Beauty and the Beast’ by Blessed Sacrament Children’s Theatre - The two casts of kids under the direction of Bob Tansley always make their mark and this year was no exception. Even better was seeing their director onstage as Maurice.

5. ‘Into the Woods’ by Amity Creative Theatre - The high school students at Amity always set the bar high and this was fine production.

4. ‘School of Rock’ by NewArts - The talented young people of Newtown worked with the NewArts side of the 1214 Foundation for a spectacular CT debut of this new musical.

3. ‘Grand Hotel’ at Waterbury Arts Magnet School - The WAMS students took on a challenging musical and presented a finely tuned version on the Waterbury’s Palace Theater stage.

2. ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ at Western CT State University - The WCSU students took on the colorful roles in this cheeky old-fashioned musical.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH PRODUCTION TOOK THE TOP SPOT ON ONSTAGE

Runner ups: ‘The Tempest’ at SHU, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at WAMS, ‘Heathers The Musical’ by Landmark Community Theatre, ‘Spelling Bee’ at Taft School, ‘New York’ at Torrington High School

Pictured: WAMS 'Grand Hotel' cast members