“Superhero,” at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in mid-July
To hear Broadway luminary Kelli O’Hara sing in the O’Neill barn theater space? Priceless.
“Assisted Living,” at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in late July
Michael Tucker is bestknown as an actor (see “L.A. Law”), but it turns out he’s a heck of a playwright, too. “Assisted Living,” in which aging friends chat, laugh, spar and contemplate living together, was smart and witty and insightful. (Special mention, too, to a strong cast, with a deft and funny turn by John Pankow as a fading music star.)
“Rags,” at the Goodspeed Opera House in OctoberDecember
When the writers started revamping the 1986 musical “Rags” in the summer of 2016, they couldn’t have predicted how topical the musical’s subject of immigration would become a year later. In this story about Russian immigrants living in the Lower East Side in the early 20th century, we watched a single mother and her son try to make a life for themselves while forging relationships and learning who to trust. Besides a wonderful cast and score, the inventive stage design of a Lower East Side tenement was also memorable.
Kenny Neal, at Blues Monday in Mystic July 17 John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett, at the Garde Arts Center June 20
The witty repartee alone was worthy. But each of these master songwriters put on a glorious clinic and presented career-spanning sets.
Kevin Hart, at the Garde Arts Center June 30
You’ve heard of pop-up stores? This was a pop-up concert. Hart was in the region for his public birthday party at Foxwoods and decided to squeeze in a concert at the Garde to work on some new material. Well, that material seemed pretty damned polished to me. A truly hilarious night. Come back to the Garde soon, Kev.
Eric Church at Mohegan Sun April 27; Faith Hill and Tim McGraw at Mohegan Sun May 5
In just a little over a week, Mohegan Sun Arena hosted three of country music’s biggest names. Both shows were memorable. Hill and McGraw shone like the superstars they are. In a tightly choreographed concert, I particularly appreciated an unscripted moment when they had a little husbandand-wife spat. (Hill and McGraw return to Mohegan Sun on June 15.) Church gave a three-hour show that was just him and the band — no fancy effects — and he rocked it.
Amy Schumer, at Foxwoods March 3
Behind the disparate but equally powerful stage personalities of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, Depeche Mode steadfastly worked their iconic, droning ’80s synth-pop sound in a way that rendered it in surprisingly relevant and fresh fashion.
Nancy and Beth, at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center June 25
Nancy and Beth features “Will & Grace” comic genius (yes, I used the G word) Megan Mullally and singer-actress (“Friday Night Lights”) Stephanie Hunt. Their performance style in concert was quirky and stylized, with a wry comic flair, and their harmonies were blissfully beautiful.
Melissa Etheridge, at the Garde Arts Center Dec. 15
Simply a raucous good rock ‘n’ roll time.
Katy Perry, at Mohegan Sun Sept. 21
Gone are the days of Katy Perry’s Candy Land antics. Instead, in this performance, Katy displayed her new persona, which was modern, slick and nostalgic. I particularly appreciated her references to vapor-waved palm trees, ‘80s pop-art (specifically odes to artists Masoud Yasami and Patrick Nagel), and references to the album covers of Duran Duran — though pairing all that with her songs “Last Friday Night” and “Teenage Dream” felt like a bit of a mismatch. That was no matter though, in the end Perry displayed the bubbly, adorable personality that garnered her fame in the first place, proving to fans that the star they fell in love with was still there.