BWW Reviews: Chris Gibson's Best of 2014 in St. Louis

I thought it was time to start compiling my best of 2014 since this past year was such an exceptional time for theatre in St. Louis. Although we lost the wonderful contributions of the now defunct HotCity Theatre, there are still new companies starting up and producing quality productions in our region. HotCity will certainly be missed, but when one door closes it always seems like another one opens, and that's a good thing to remember.

The Muny provided us with a number of noteworthy shows, as did the always edgy and innovative folks at New Line Theatre, while Stages St. Louis continued their extraordinarily fine run as well. Troupes like the St. Louis Actors' Studio, The New Jewish Theatre, The Black Repertory Theatre Company of St. Louis, Max & Louie Productions, Stray Dog Theatre, Upstream Theater, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Mustard Seed Theatre, and the marvelous Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, to mention just a few, also provided us with a high level of entertainment value, and they cannot be commended enough for their combined efforts. We are truly blessed to have so many viable and outstanding companies, and for that alone we should be very thankful.

Touring productions at the Fabulous Fox Theatre and the Peabody Opera House also brought in shows that were very enjoyable, and the Sheldon continues to provide St. Louis with concerts that are second to none, in a venue that has the best acoustics of any hall I've ever been privileged to attend.

So without further adieu here are my choices for the top ten musicals and plays for 2014.

Top 10 Musicals (in no particular order) :

Rent - New Line Theatre

The Addams Family - The Muny

The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess - The Muny

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - Stages St. Louis

Bonnie & Clyde - New Line Theatre

Fiddler on the Roof - Stages St. Louis

Hands on a Hardbody - New Line Theatre

Ring of Fire - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Cabaret - Stray Dog Theatre

Billy Elliot - The Muny

Top 10 Plays (in no particular order):

The Diary of Anne Frank - The New Jewish Theatre

One Man, Two Guvnors - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Windmill Baby - Upstream Theater

The Price - The New Jewish Theatre

A Kid Like Jake - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

A Midsummer Night's Dream - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

The Other Place - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

A Raisin in the Sun - The Black Repertory Theatre Company of St. Louis

Forget Me Not - Upstream Theater

The Whipping Man - The New Jewish Theatre

There were many other notable productions, and I particularly enjoyed The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County at the Peabody, as well as their circus-like presentation of Pippin. Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives brought down the house at the Sheldon, and the Fox continues to bring us great shows like Jersey Boys along with a continuing array of dazzling productions.

A number of welcome revivals also re-appeared such as: Falling, All is Calm (Mustard Seed Theatre), Always...Patsy Cline (Stages St. Louis), Cannibal! The Musical (Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre), and The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Dramatic License Theatre).