The Last Sweet Days Photos - Off-Broadway

Broadway fans had plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, with dozens of shows having opened since January, hundreds of actors having made their debuts, and many more having returned to the stage for critically acclaimed performances. Not all news was good though, as we also suffered a loss of an incredible amount of talent. Below, BroadwayWorld sends a fond farewell to those who passed away in 2014.

'Dance is a metaphor for expression, for freedom. In Footloose we use dance to express ourselves when we have no words. [As characters] we are all closed off, and finally at the end of the story, we are loosened; we become individuals again.' Speaking is Kristen Martin, who plays Ariel in Maine State Music Theatre's final season production of Footloose, which runs from August 6-23. Her co-star, Eric Sciotto, agrees that his character, Ren, is 'on a journey to find himself after being abandoned by his father. Ren sees in Ariel a troubled soul who reminds him of himself. They recognize immediately that they are kindred spirits.'

The full cast for To Sir With Love, joining the previously announced Olivier Award winning actor Matthew Kelly (Florian), is Mykola Allen (Denham), Harriet Ballard (Monica), Peta Cornish (Gillian), Kerron Darby (Seales), Ansu Kabia(Ricky), Paul Kemp (Weston), Heather Nicol (Pamela) and Nicola Reynolds(Clinty).

The full cast for To Sir With Love, joining the previously announced Olivier Award winning actor Matthew Kelly (Florian), is Mykola Allen (Denham), Harriet Ballard (Monica), Peta Cornish (Gillian), Kerron Darby (Seales), Ansu Kabia (Ricky), Paul Kemp (Weston), Heather Nicol (Pamela) and Nicola Reynolds (Clinty) and we've got the first photos of the cast in rehearsal!

Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright premieres his new play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. It is a fictional play about the last days of legendary journalist Oriana Fallaci. Don't miss this sizzling new script, which is directed by Oskar Eustis, stars Concetta Tomei and Marjan Neshat, and features an incredible team of designers. The 65th world premiere presented by Berkeley Rep, Fallaci is currently in previews in the Roda Theatre and opens March 13, running through April 21. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the actors onstage below!

Italy's Dario D'Ambrosi, a radical innovator of the theater and founder of the movement called Teatro Patologico (Pathological Theater), will stage a novel version of 'Romeo and Juliet' at La MaMa December 3 to 13. His interpretation is meant to contrast the marvel of love with the fragility of life, the shock of the moment of total loss, and what he calls a 'schizophrenia of the world.'