As the curtain lowers, one last bow for these productions

As 2016 recedes into memory and 2017 takes its place, here’s my look back at what was personally most memorable from last year’s professional theater productions. It’s not necessarily a “best of” list or presented in any particular order.

Ensemble and direction:: “The Realistic Joneses” at B Street Theatre. John Lamb, Elisabeth Nunziato, Dave Pierini and Dana Brooke played Will Eno’s meditation on marriage and mortality like a jazz quartet. Funny, sad, moving. Director Buck Busfield expertly orchestrated his longtime collaborators.

Play and performance: Steven Yockey’s “Blackberry Winter” also took on the theme of mortality along with modern caregiving. Amy Resnick dazzled in what was a near one-woman show.

Overall design: Caryl Churchill’s intentionally sparse “Love and Information” at Capital Stage became a specific world through the scenic design of Brian Watson, the lighting and projections of Stephen Decker, the sound of Ed Lee and the costumes of Rachel Malin.

Return to town: Writer and director Aram Kouyoumdjian, who was such a staple here before moving to Los Angeles, brought his new play “Happy Armenians” to California Stage for a two-weekend run.

Innovation: Director Glenn Casale’s Music Circus season-ending “Hunchback” was going to be an audience challenge, but the fearless Casale upped the ante, having deaf actor John McGinty play Quasimodo. Lesli Margherita took a Broadway hiatus for the production, which showed promise in this reworked adaptation.

New works: Joe Rodota’s “Chessman” and Jerry Montoya’s “Love and Baseball” are two fine, very different plays. Both B Street Theatre world premieres benefited from the company’s sincere commitment to new works and its gung-ho attitude toward putting those works on stage.

Music Circus surprise: “Nice Work If You Can Get It” has a great Gershwin pedigree, but its Broadway notices were so-so. Director Charles Repole and choreographer Michael Lichtefeld goosed this production with tap-dancing, and each song felt like a fully realized mini-production.

Overall production: Nick Payne’s beautiful and bittersweet “Constellations” was an intimate and intriguing look at life choices and paths chosen. Lyndsay Burch directed with Wade Mackenzie-Bahr designing the lighting and Samantha Reno creating the stunning interstellar set. Tom Patterson and Dana Brooke were the superbly matched couple.

Performances: These individual performances were worth a mention.

• Jerry Lee: El Gallo in “The Fantasticks” at Sacramento Theatre Company

• Kurt Johnson: Charlie Fox in “Speed the Plow” at B Street Theatre

• Adrian Roberts: Steve in “How to Use a Knife” at Capital Stage

• Janis Stevens: Violet Weston in “August: Osage County” at Capital Stage

• Phil Cowan: Gov. Edmund Brown in “Chessman” at B Street

• A few more performance shoutouts: Noah Lee Hayes, Matt K. Miller, Gail Dartez, Michael RJ Campell, Eason Donner, Brittni Barger, Dena Martinez, Rich Hebert

Passings: The theater world said goodbye to these talented individuals.

• Stanley Lunetta, composer, percussionist, Music Circus stalwart

• Robert Sereno, Music Circus sound designer

• Barry Wisdom, performing arts photographer

• Bob Irvin, director, American River College and Fair Oaks Theatre Festival.

Editor’s Note: This story was changed to correct the spelling of Joe Rodota’s name.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "As the curtain lowers, one last bow for these productions."