Of the limited numbers of shows I saw, 2024 was the year of brilliant solo performances, particularly Felicia Curry in David Cade’s Sandra at TheaterWorks Hartford, and Jay Sefton in his and Mark Basquiill’s Unreconciled, which for me was the best new play of the year., 2024 was also the year that video and projections became a major part of area productions. Camilla Tassi’s video for Sandra at TheaterWorks was extraordinary, as was Nick Hussong’s work on Barrington Stage’s Next to Normal. The best new play was Unreconciled, the story of a teen (Jay Sefton) who is abused by a priest, yet survives, which premiered at Chester Theatre Company, and moved to Ireland and New York. The best new musical was Goodspeed’s A Complicated Woman, the true story of theatre producer John Kenley, who built a star-studded theatre circuit in Ohio, yet lived offstage as a woman. The outstanding productions for me were Alan Paul’s rendition of Next to Normal, Julianne Boyd’s frenetic and funny Boeing Boeing, and the heartfelt Primary Trust at Barrington Stage; James Warwick’s thoughtful staging of O’Neills A Moon for The Misbegotten at The Majestic; and Fever Dreams: Animals on the Verge of Extinction at TheaterWorks Hartford. On the musical stage, South Pacific at Goodspeed shined, and on the touring circuit, Funny Girl at The Bushnell with Katerina McCrimmin, was far better than the Broadway production with Beanie Feldstein. And, attention must be paid to extraordinary performances not mentioned above: Marsha Mason in Hartford Stage’s All My Sons; Jay Sefton and Sue Dziura in A Moon for The Misbegotten; Mark H. Dold, Christopher Innvar and Debra Jo Rupp in Barrington’s Boeing Boeing; Christopher Morey in Exit 7 Players’ Beauty and The Beast; and Joel Ripka in Chester’s Big Big Sky. Ripka stepped into the production a day before opening, and delivered a full performance while managing to hide his script.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and The Yale School of Drama. He has worked for arts organizations nationwide, and reported on the arts for print and broadcast. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat, On The Mark, and Survivor Stories for WCPC15 and 89.5fm/WSKB. He’s a regular contributor to Berkshire Onstage and a member of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association.