ON THEATER:

Editor’s note: This is the second of three columns reviewing local theater in 2008.

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Local theater production was particularly abundant in 2008, with two community theaters and three colleges offering some challenging and impressive projects.

At the Newport Theater Arts Center, the year’s top show in a year of revivals was “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” a dramatized section of Herman Wouk’s famous novel, directed by Gigi Fusco Meese. Runner-up was the madcap comedy “See How They Run,” under the direction of Yvonne Robertson

The Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse excelled with a less-familiar offering — “Bat Boy,” directed by Michael Brown. Also impressive was the musical comedy “She Loves Me,” with Melanie Marshall directing.

As for individual honors, NTAC’s heavy hitters were Robert Kokol in “The Cocktail Hour” and Stacy Snyder in “See How They Run.” Also highly impressive were Michael Turner in “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” and Harriet Whitmyer in “See How They Run.”

At Costa Mesa, Ryan Holihan outdistanced the field in the title role of “Bat Boy,” while Laura Lindahl glowed in the leading role of “She Loves Me.” Others in the running were Elizabeth Bouton and Stephen Hulsey, both for “Bat Boy,” Rusty Vance for “Sordid Lives” and David Cherry in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

There were many other noteworthy performances. Those at Newport included Andrew Kelley, Shane Cullum, Eldon Callaway and Skip Blas, all for “Caine Mutiny;” Frank Moran, “The Cocktail Hour;” Cate Conray, Adrianna Sanchez and Kyle Myers, “Anything Goes;” and Stephanie Schulz and Sean Engard, “Dial M for Murder.”

At Costa Mesa, memorable actors included Ron Grigsby for both “Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Sordid Lives;” Jaycob Hunter and Kelly Hero, “Cuckoo’s Nest;” Michael Dale Brown, Elizabeth Bouton and Barbara Brown, “Play On”; and Jon Sparks, “She Loves Me.”

Among the colleges, UCI set the pace with a terrific production of “West Side Story,” directed by Eli Simon, while OCC mounted an impressive “Little Shop of Horrors,” staged by Rick Golson, and Vanguard University scored highest with Susan Berkompas’ production of “The Crucible.”

Heading the list of UCI’s top actors of 2008 was Ashley Moniz in “West Side Story.” Two other actresses also excelled — Helen Sage Howard in “The Trial of Judas Iscariot” and Camelia Poespowidjojo in two Shakespearean plays, “Measure for Measure” and “Titus Andronicus.”

Others making their marks at UCI were Ben Mathes, Sean Jackson and Vincent Torres, all for “Judas;” Nathan Crocker, “Measure for Measure;” Stephanie Philo, Karin Hendricks and Marissa Hampton, all for “Titus Andronicus;” and Andreas de Rond and Nich Kauffman, both for “West Side Story.”

Two actresses topped the field at OCC — Hannah Petrak in “Stop Kiss” and Manda Danielle Lutsky in “Little Shop of Horrors.” Others impressing were Taylor McDermott, “Stop Kiss;” Jamie R. Smith, “Autobahn;” and Henry Sipos and Elyse Russell, both for “The Complete History of America (Abridged).”

Vanguard’s top performance was delivered by Aaron Campbell in “The Crucible,” who was joined by castmates Mike Gower, Bethany Lomas, Donna Johnson and Andrew Christensen, who also impressed in “Pride and Prejudice.” Johnson also wins plaudits for her work in “You Can’t Take It With You,” along with Kristi Nolf and Elise Hegnauer.

Whose individual stars burned brightest in 2008? That will be revealed next Thursday when the Daily Pilot’s Man and Woman of the Year in theater step forward for a final bow.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear Thursdays.