"Top Rated Shows of 2012" by Jon Parton

This article is from the February 2013 issue of KC Stage

Kansas City offers an enormous amount of entertainment for theatre goers year after year and 2012 was no exception. After tallying all the votes, this year's winner of top rated show goes to the musical Next To Normal, produced by She & Her Productions and directed by Tiffany Garrison-Schweigert.

Next To Normal tells the story of Diana Goodman, a woman with bipolar disorder who fights to preserve both her family and her sanity.

Bob Evans wrote in his review, "Give credit to Schweigert for directing this difficult piece that relies more on vocal performance than dialogue. She needed a cast that could develop the characters yet still provide a schooled vocal performance. Obviously, she chose wisely and correctly to accomplish her undertaking."

As we have done in the past, we asked our reviewers to share their thoughts on some of the best shows they experienced in 2012.

Nicole Hall wrote, "The show that was a stand-out to me in 2012 was Lies, Phalluses, and Fairy Tales at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. This show was produced by the Red Theater, which was a travelling company from out of town. The reason it stood out so much was because it was a skit-based production which managed to have as much, if not more integrity, honesty, and talent as you'd normally find in a two hour play. Many of the skits were touching, funny, and well-written, and the performers exhibited much talent and poise."

Jamie Koval wrote, "Dog Sees God: Confession of a Teenage Blockhead at the Living Room. Director Bryan Moses could not have found a more perfect cast to portray these iconic, yet extraordinarily troubled characters. Their performances were so raw and real that I forgot I was watching my friends; they truly transformed into their characters and left any semblance of themselves behind."

Felicia Londré wrote, "For utterly delicious performances - both physically and vocally - in a classic play, I loved AHT's The Importance of Being Earnest. I also loved the comic and emotional texture of Spinning Tree's The Fantasticks, which I had the good fortune to see both before and after Vigthor Zophoniasson's injury, which led to an ingenious change of blocking. For sheer theatricality, nothing beat UMKC Theatre's The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Barry Kyle."

KC Stage bases its top rated shows on the ratings and reviews performances receive on our website. If you would like to be considered for the next Top Rated Shows list, encourage audience members to visit www.kcstage.com and rate your show.

Top-Rated Overall Productions (13 vote minimum)

• Next To Normal - She&Her Productions (4.780)
• The Miser - The Theatre Gym (4.50)
• Revolution: A Tribute to the Beatles - The Barn Players, Inc. (4.34)
• I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change - Olathe Community Theatre Association (4.28)
• 7 (x1) Samurai - KC Fringe Festival (4.18)
• Happy Days - A New Musical - River City Community Players (4.15)
• Xanadu - The Barn Players, Inc. (4.15)
• Prelude To A Kiss - The Barn Players, Inc. (4.14)
• Scarborough Fair - KC Fringe Festival (4.08)
• The Laramie Project - River City Community Players (4.05)
• Top-Rated Equity Productions (7 vote minimum)
• The Fantasticks - Spinning Tree Theatre (4.25)
• Pippin - Kansas City Repertory Theatre (4.00)
• Shrek the Musical - The Coterie Theatre (3.86)
• The Mystery of Irma Vep - Kansas City Repertory Theatre (3.86)
• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - Unicorn Theatre (3.63)
• Nuncrackers - American Heartland Theatre (3.57)
• The Importance of Being Earnest - American Heartland Theatre (3.13)
• Beer for Breakfast - American Heartland Theatre (3.00)
• James and the Giant Peach - The Coterie Theatre (3.00)
• The Great Immensity - Kansas City Repertory Theatre (2.60)

Top-Rated Professional Productions (15 vote minimum)

• 7 (x1) Samurai - KC Fringe Festival (4.12)
• Scarborough Fair - KC Fringe Festival (4.08)
• Kicking the Bucket - KC Fringe Festival (4.00)
• Thank You Notes - KC Fringe Festival (3.86)
• Four of Us - KC Fringe Festival (3.84)
• Burlesque & Beggars - KC Fringe Festival (3.82)
• Sexing Hitler - KC Fringe Festival (3.695)
• Ice Cream Social... Issues - KC Fringe Festival (3.67)
• Skillet Tag - KC Fringe Festival (3.50)
• Foreign Bodies - KC Fringe Festival (3.07)

Top-Rated Community Productions (20 vote minimum)

• Next To Normal - She&Her Productions (4.78)
• Revolution: A Tribute to the Beatles - The Barn Players, Inc. (4.34)
• I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change - Olathe Community Theatre Association (4.28)
• Xanadu - The Barn Players, Inc. (4.15)
• The Laramie Project - River City Community Players (4.05)
• Camelot - River City Community Players (3.09)
• How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying - The Barn Players, Inc. (3.03)
• Camelot - River City Community Players (3.00)
• How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying - The Barn Players, Inc. (3.00)
• The Who's Tommy - The White Theatre (2.95)

Top-Rated Educational Productions (2 vote minimum)

• A Devil Inside - UMKC Theatre (5.00)
• Black Comedy - Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Theatre (5.00)
• Night Must Fall - Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Theatre (5.00)
• The Real Inspector Hound - Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Theatre (5.00)
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood - JCCC, Department of Theatre (4.29)
• The Lady from the Sea - UMKC Theatre (4.00)
• The Fantasticks - Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Theatre (3.50)
• The Last Days of Judas Iscariot - UMKC Theatre (3.25)