Robert Scherzer

Holy Crap! That's really the most emphatic sentiment I can use to describe the internal battles I had when trying to pick my top picks for this past year. There were so many amazing performances and achievements that to pick just one was almost an impossibility (and as you'll see, WAS an impossibility for one category). But the battle is over and it's my distinct pleasure to announce my picks for the 2013 Broadway World Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (or Jay's Picks, if you prefer).

Be at the barricade with Balagan Theatre this September for an intensely intimate and immersive staging of the worldwide musical phenomenon, Les Miserables, featuring Broadway actor Louis Hobson in his debut performance with Balagan as Artistic Director. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production below!

I must be honest here; Balagan Theatre putting on a production of Les Mis already has two hurdles to overcome before I even set foot in the door. First that it's Les Mis. It's a monumental undertaking and one of my favorite shows and I'm incredibly picky about it. And two, it's Balagan and with their recent track record I expect great things. So before I even enter the theater I already have some impossibly high standards for the production. And while there were definitely some superb moments on that stage (many in fact) there were also some glaring drawbacks that kept the show from meeting or even exceeding those standards.

There's a certain amount of pressure when a theater company becomes the first in the area to produce a big name show locally. Yes, it's a coup to be the first to get the rights (and Balagan seems to be cornering the market on that this season) but they also need to do the show justice or else, why bother? This is why what Balagan is pulling off with their current production of "Avenue Q" is all the more spectacular. Not only have they put up one of the new hot shows but they've done it in a way that rivals any tour of the show and created an outstandingly fun time that will leave you grinning all the way home.

There were just a few too many things stacked up against ArtsWest's production of "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" for me to completely get into it. With issues ranging from the technical to the presentation, I found it difficult to become immersed in this highly stylized tale. Yes, there were many fun and wonderful moments on opening night but they kept being overshadowed by a production that felt it could used a little more ripening.

Contemporary Classics and RK Productions have collaborated to put up the Seattle Premiere of William Finn's hilarious musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at the Ballard Underground. And while the show is missing some of the deeper moments, on the surface it's a fun frolicking good time.

Contemporary Classics and RK Productions will present the Seattle premiere of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE July 14-August 14 at the Ballard Underground, 2220 NW Market St in Downtown Ballard.

Love makes the ship go down. Wing-It Productions is proud to present the maiden voyage of its latest improvised musical-Lovetanic. What begins as a happy, love filled cruise ends in tragedy every night for the Lovetanic and its passengers.

Love makes the ship go down. Wing-It Productions is proud to present the maiden voyage of its latest improvised musical-Lovetanic. What begins as a happy, love filled cruise ends in tragedy every night for the Lovetanic and its passengers.