Though 2008 was clearly the year of the musical in San Diego, audiences saw some fine comedies and dramas as well. In the musical genre, audiences enjoyed the resurrection (at Tenth Avenue Theatre) of Jonathan Larson’s “Tick, Tick … Boom!” with the splendid Jim Chatham as Jonathan; the world premiere of “Dancing in the Dark” at the Old Globe, with a memorable performance by Patrick Page as the egotistical director (Page later returned to the Globe as the father in “The Pleasure of His Company”); a dynamite production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” produced by Cygnet Theatre at the Old Town Stage; a fine “The King and I” at Welk Resort Theatres; a grand “Les Miserables” at Vista’s Moonlight Theatre, especially the Eponine of Laura D’Andre; and what felt like a musical in Moises Kaufman’s Beethoven-centered play “33 Variations” at La Jolla Playhouse. Diversionary Theatre produced the appealing and extremely well done new musical “Yank,” starring Tom Zohar as a gay GI in World War II; and Broadway San Diego thankfully brought in two marvelous Broadway musicals, “Spring Awakening” and “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Lamb’s Players fielded a fine production of “Light in the Piazza” with a revelatory performance by resident diva Deborah Gilmour Smyth as the Mother. Playhouse riches included two Christopher Ashley stagings, the new musical “Memphis” and a new production of Ashley’s Broadway hit, “Xanadu.” San Diego Musical Theatre pleased audiences with an outstanding “Dreamgirls” featuring the talented one-named gospel singer Ton3x (pronounced Toe-NAY), who later rocked the rafters in San Diego Repertory Theatre’s “The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea.” The year’s best comedy arguably would be North Coast Repertory’s farce “Don’t Dress for Dinner.” The Old Globe produced three Shakespeare works, “All’s Well that Ends Well,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and announced a change of format for 2009. They will produce Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and “Henry VIII” and Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” There was much to admire in the following: San Diego Repertory’s “Water & Power”; Diversionary’s “No Exit”; The Old Globe’s “The Women”; Ion Theatre’s double bill of “Bash” and “In a Dark Dark House”; New Village Arts’ “Fool for Love” and “Golden Boy”; Cygnet Theatre’s “The Receptionist”; Lamb’s Players’ world premiere play by Mike Buckley, “The Hit”; and Moxie Theatre’s “The Listener.” Inukshuk Production Company’s “Terra Nova” (fabulous ensemble) and Compass Theatre’s “Three Days of Rain” were among the best ever seen at the Compass formerly known as 6th@Penn. The drama that stands tall over all the others in sheer dramatic wattage and quality, however, is Cygnet Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s “Fences,” starring Antonio TJ Johnson and Sylvia M’lafi Thomson and featuring Mark Christopher Lawrence as Gabriel. All in all, it was another exciting year in San Diego Theatre. Further riches wait in 2009.
