Theatre in Review - 2008.
I'm sort of surprised that I saw 65 productions & music shows last year. I guess 2008 was a good year for me.

As always there were a few standouts, and in no particular order, my top 10.
Tranced (San Jose Repertory Theatre)
Caroline, or Change (Theatreworks, Mountain View)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland)
Audra McDonald, in concert (Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley)
Lucia di Lammermoor (San Francisco Opera, AT&T Park, San Francisco)
Reduced Shakespeare Company's All the Great Books (San Jose Repertory Theatre)
American Tales (Anteaus Theatre Company, Los Angeles)
The Best Man (Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley)
Equus (Broadway)
The Phantom of the Opera (Touring production, San Francisco)

January
26th - Wicked (Pantages, Los Angeles) - Took a friend who hadn't seen it before, and actually enjoyed it more than I have in a long time.
26th - The Odd Couple (Reprise!, Wadsworth, Los Angeles) - I wish I had been more awake than I was as the cast was fabulous: Martin Short, Jason Alexander, Olivia D'Abo, Cleavant Derricks, Wayne Knight, Patrick Warburton and Rachel York.
27th - Orson's Shadow (Pasadena Playhouse) - I found the history behind this play interesting. Also helped that the cast included Charles Shaughnessy and Sharon Lawrence.
31st - Berkeley Symphony (Zellerback Hall) - A nice evening and a free ticket.

February
9th - Tranced (San Jose Rep.) - Wonderful co-production and the set was lovely.
15th - Brainpeople (A.C.T., Zeum, San Francisco) - Still not sure I completely understood it.
19th - Wishful Drinking (Berkeley Rep) - Carrie Fisher's one woman show. Glad I saw it and there were a few funny bits, but I wouldn't want to see it again.

March
23rd - Tir Na Nog (Magic Theatre, San Francisco) - A huge disappointment.
28th - Linda Eder, in concert (Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco) - It had been a long time since I had seen her perform live. I just wished she had been feeling better so she could of hit all her notes. But still a nice concert.
29th - Souvenir (San Jose Rep.) - Glad I saw it, but not a show I would want to see again.

April
5th - The Inspector General (A.C.T., San Francisco) - It could have been so much better. The poor actors with that scenery though. I'm surprised no one got injured with all the climbing up and down.
6th - Caroline, or Change (Theatreworks, Mountain View) - One of my favorites of the year. Just a wonderful book, score and acting all around.
19th - Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland) - Glad I saw it, but not a play I would see again.
19th - Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland) - Not one of my favorites.
20th - The Clay Cart (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland) - Disappointing.
20th - A Midsummer Night's Dream (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland) - One of my favorites of the year. Especially the Boy Band fairies.
27th - Caroline, or Change (Theatreworks, Mountain View) - I had to see it again before it closed.
 
May
8th - A Midsummer Night's Dream (North American Tour, Curran, San Francisco) - I understood it, but still a bit confusing if you didn't already know the story. There were too many languages being spoken.
19th - Terry Disley + Band (Yoshi's, San Francisco) - This was his first time at Yoshi's, so we had to go to support him. A fun night!
24th - Beauty & the Beast (A.M.T., San Jose) - I wish it hadn't been so cartoony, but Nikki Renee Daniels as Belle and Brad Little as the Beast made it more enjoyable.
24th - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (San Jose Rep.) - Disappointing.

June
1st - Audra McDonald, in concert (Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley) - I finally got to see her perform in person since the last time I saw her live was in Ragtime. Need to go again when she returns to the area. And her stories are so funny.
12th - Diahann Carroll, in concert (Rrazz Room, San Francisco) - It's Diahann Carroll. Enough said about that. A classy woman and legend.
20th - Lucia di Lammermoor (San Francisco Opera, AT&T Park, San Francisco) - My first outdoor live broadcast. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
22nd - Snapshots (Theatreworks, Mountain View) - It was hard to hear these Stephen Schwartz songs in a different context.
26th - Andrea McArdle, in concert (Rrazz Room, San Francisco) - With Seth Rudesky on the piano. Wonderful evening.

July
5th - Reduced Shakespeare Company's All the Great Books (San Jose Rep.) - What a surpise and so funny.
12th - Kathy Griffin, comedy show (Concord Pavilion) - An enjoying evening with jokes I actually understood.
20th - Doubt (Theatreworks, Palo Alto) - Glad I saw it.
25th - Bernadette Peters with the San Francisco Symphony - I probably should have enjoyed it more, but I did enjoy the songs she chose.
26th - Sweeney Todd (Music Circus, Sacramento) - I finally saw an actual staged production. Still my favorite Sondheim show.
27th - Roberta Cambini, in concert (Yoshi's, Oakland) - A jazz vocalist who was actually pretty good.
31st - The Drowsy Chaperone (North American Tour, Orpheum, San Francisco) - Definitely better this time around. And Jonathan Crombie as Man in Chair is adorable.

August
9th - Les Miserables (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles) - Glad I saw it and just hearing the music with a full orchestra is a treat.
10th - American Tales (Anteaus Theatre Company, Los Angeles) - A very pleasant surprise.
11th - One Night Only: The Drowsy Chaperone (Club Fugazzi, San Francisco) - Glad I went.
15th - Barnum & Bailey Circus (Oakland) - Chuck Wagner as the Ringmaster, and he got to sing - a lot.
16th - Evita (Music Circus, Sacramento) - Enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
31st - Grey Gardens (Theatreworks, Palo Alto) - Glad I saw it, but not a show I would see again.

September
6th - Spring Awakening (Touring production, Curran, San Francisco) - The CD made so much more sense after seeing the show. My first time and in on-stage seating.
13th - The Foreigner (San Jose Rep.) - Very funny production.
21st - The Best Man (Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley) - One of the best plays of the year.
30th - Chita Rivera, in concert (Rrazz Room, San Francisco) - It's Chita Rivera. Enough said. A classy woman and legend. And I wish I could move that well when I'm her age.

October
4th - The Drowsy Chaperone (North American Tour, Orpheum, San Francisco) - Had to see it again since I doubt Jonathan Crombie will ever come to the U.S. again.
7th - Spring Awakening (Touring production, Curran, San Francisco) - My normal subscription seat and there was an understudy on as Melchoir.
16th - A Bronx Tale (North American tour, Golden Gate, San Francisco) - Chazz Palmaterri's one man show. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
19th - Radio Golf (Theatreworks, Mountain View) - A powerful play that actually made me think.

November
1st - The Quality of Life (A.C.T., San Francisco) - Wow!
8th - Splitting Infinity (San Jose Rep.) - A disappointment.
12th - Road Show (Public Theatre, New York City) - Enjoyable and glad I saw this new Sondheim musical.
12th - All My Sons (Broadway) - Enjoyed it more than I thought, though Katie Holmes could have been better. Someone needs to tell her to stop screaming the lines. Use the diaphram, please.
13th - Boeing Boeing (Broadway) - Funny comedy and glad Christine Baranski was still in it.
14th - Shrek (Broadway) - Glad I saw it, wonderful actors, but not my type of musical.
15th - Radio City Christmas Spectacular (New York City) - Glad I saw it, but wished it wasn't a copy of last year's show.
15th - Equus (Broadway) - I was hesitant about seeing it because of the subject matter, but was glad that I did. The acting was great, the horse costumes silly and amazing. Wish I could see it again.
15th - White Christmas (Broadway) - Wonderful and a lovely evening.
16th - The Little Mermaid (Broadway) - Loved the set design and lighting. The rest wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Too bad it will never tour, as is.
16th - Pal Joey (Broadway) - Martha Plimpton is amazing. Otherwise, such a disappointment. And I've seen Stockard Channing act better in other shows.
29th - Around the World in 80 Days (San Jose Rep.) - A disappointment.

December
14th - Jersey Boys (Las Vegas) - Still a lovely musical. Hope to see it again one day.
15th - Phantom Spectacular (Las Vegas) - It's the Anthony Crivillo show. The one time I wished he wasn't so good so he could blend in with his average co-stars. But he's doing some wonderful hand movements.
17th - Sarah Brightman, in concert (San Jose) - Glad I saw this over-the-top performance. Would love to see it again, so I'm hoping it's being filmed.
19th - Bravo for the Holidays with the San Francisco Symphony (San Francisco) - A wonderful treat for the holidays.
28th - Long Story Short (Theatreworks, Palo Alto) - Glad I saw it, but don't need to see it again.
31st - The Phantom of the Opera (Touring production, San Francisco) - What a classic show. I had forgotten how good the show could actually be and why I liked it in the first place.