My list of the top 10 musicals of 2022 is a little belated. Note that I focused on Chicago-based productions, but this was also an outstanding year from Broadway-in-Chicago with traveling companies of Hadestown and Come From Away visiting early in the year, and Six holding a residency for several months at the CIBC.

#1 Fiddler on the Roof (Lyric Opera)

In the opening scene of director Barrie Kosky’s production (which he originated in Berlin), a modern American boy opens his bedroom closet to find not just Tevye but the entire tremendous cast stream through a set of double doors onto the crowded stage. The impact is a masterful articulation of the way that Fiddler connects the decedents of immigrants to the cultural hardships their ancestors reluctantly left behind. Steven Skybell as Tevye led an outstanding cast, and set designer Rufus Didwiszuz created the most memorable effect I can even remember viewing by covering the vast Lyric Opera stage with snow for the second act.

#2 Titanic the Musical (Milwaukee Rep)

The opportunity to see this rarely performed 1997 Best Musical Tony winner inspired my first visit to this wonderful theater complex in downtown Milwaukee. A true ensemble show with actors performing multiple roles, Titanic engages the audience with the stories of characters from different social classes, who communicate their hopes and dreams via songs from composer Maury Yeston. The heart-wrenching second act was beautifully orchestrated on the gigantic Quadracci Powerhouse stage with fantastic scenery and lighting design.

#3 Fun Home (Copley)

Perhaps because it is one of less extravagant, more cerebral Broadway successes of the last decade, Fun Home has enjoyed a number of strong Chicago revivals. With music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics by Lisa Kron, every song conveys an important puzzle piece as the three versions of Alison Bechdel explore the clues of her father’s closeted homosexuality. Emily Rohn (Helen) received exceptional reviews as Alison’s conflicted mother, and Milla Liss (who shared the role of Small Alison with Maya Keane) was another standout.

#4 Godspell (Theo Ubique)

After seeing productions at the ultra-intimate Theo Ubique, I often wonder how I could ever view that same musical again on a larger stage. The experience works particularly well with Godspell in which the audience is meant to feel like we are watching the musicalized gospels from a close distance. Austin Nelson, Jr., and Anna Marie Abbate led the young cast in which every member of the ensemble impressively soloed one of Stephen Schwartz’s songs.

#5 Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Mercury)

The costumes are always center stage in a production of Priscilla, and costume designer Bob Kuhn did excellent work contriving the fashions as three drag queens drive in their bus across a desolate stretch of Australia. The show, led by Josh Houghton (Tick/Mitzi), Shaun White (Adam/Felicia), and Honey West (Bernadette), is at its best during the full company numbers like “Go West,” “I Love the Nightlife,” and “We Belong.”

#6 Evita (Drury Lane)

Evita ranks high on my list of all-time musicals (and tops among Andrew Lloyd Weber’s works) largely because every song is a winner. Drury Lane’s production directed by Marcia Milgroom Dodge built upon this strong foundation with emphasis on the ways that memories from Evita’s past propelled her later ambitions. Richard Bermundez’s very mellow and melodic vocals as Ché complimented Addie Morales’s powerful belting as Ava.

#7 The Notebook (Chicago Shakespeare)

So far I can tell, there is still no word as to whether The Notebook is finally going to make its intended leap to Broadway. If it does, maintaining the lavish set design by David Zinn should be a priority. The various locations within this small New England town perfectly reflect the two main characters at different points in their lives. The music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson add credibility to this emotional story of two people whose love has endured for 55 years.

#8 Life After (Goodman)

This daring work by Canadian Britta Johnson (who is the bookwriter, composer, and lyricist) plays out as a compact, one-act mystery as the teenaged Alice (Samantha Williams) tries to trace why her father (Paul Alexander Nolan) ended up in a fatal car accident one night when he was supposed to be far away on a book tour. Alice struggles to communicate with a variety of characters including her mother and sister, but the flashback interactions between Alice and her father are the backbone of this musical.

#9 The Pajama Game (Roosevelt University)

I am elevating this college production above some fantastic professional shows partly because I had no idea how much fun this 1953 musical is. The plot about union relations at a pajama-making factory might be a thin, but that doesn’t matter much when songs are as catchy as “I’m Not at All in Love,” “Hernando’s Hideaway,” and (my favorite) “Seven-and-a-Half Cents.” The talented cast included notable performances by Caleigh Pan-Kita as Babe and Ashton Norris dancing to Bob Fosse’s original choreography for “Steam Heat.”

#10 Hello Dolly (Marriott Lincolnshire)

A few other professional shows in 2022 might have been more consistent, but Marriott’s Hello Dolly featured two of the most memorable numbers of the year. The first was “Elegance,” which was particularly fun with Chicago stalwarts Alex Goodrich as Cornelius and Rebecca Hurd as Irene Molloy. The second was the titular “Hello, Dolly.” Atop a series of platform lifts surrounded by the ensemble of waiters, Heidi Kettenring drew out all of the correct emotions from this infectious Jerry Herman standard that I was still humming weeks later.

2022 Honorable Mentions:

Camelot (Musical Theater Works)
Avenue Q (MadKap)
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella & The Sound of Music (Paramount)