By Michael W. Freeman

Central Florida is blessed with a lot of great things, but if I were ranking them, community theaters would be close to the top.

Maybe our tropical climate and quality of life lure in great talent, but I never cease to be amazed at just how high quality the local productions are.

Once again I want to single out the shows that I think stood out in a pretty grand year. As I glanced back at all the shows I took in, I have to say that picking a best production wasn't easy because there were so many great choices.

But for me, the one I kept coming back to -- and, in my view, the best production of 2005 -- was "Big River," a spectacular musical by the Pied Piper Players of Lakeland. It was a sweeping slice of Americana that was just beautifully done in every respect.

Seeing a show like this really makes me realize that you don't need the big lights on Broadway to get great live entertainment.

In fact, what impressed me this year was how many really top-flight musicals got put on.

If a good drama has to be emotionally dramatic, or a great comedy has to make you laugh, I think musicals are the toughest of all to do because you need talent for everything: singing, choreography, dancing, comedy, drama -- all meshed up into one strong production.

It's probably easy to do badly, or in a bland, nondescript way. A first-rate musical is extremely tough work, I'm guessing.

In addition to the wonderful "Big River," I was also greatly impressed by four other local musical productions: "Blood Brothers" by the Bay Street Players of Eustis, "Man of La Mancha" by the Celebration Players, "Grease" by Orlando's Theatre Downtown, and "Sweeney Todd" by the Mount Dora Theatre Company -- four radically different shows and all so memorable.

That's not to say good drama is easy and several local theaters proved that -- particularly the Bay Street Players with their evocative look at small town life in Thornton Wilder's classic "Our Town."

My other choices for the best dramatic productions were "The Diary of Anne Frank" by the Orlando Repertory Theatre, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Mount Dora Theatre Company, and Theatre Downtown's "Sweet Bird of Youth."

Is comedy the easiest? Is it simple to make people laugh? Watching some of the truly dreary TV sit-coms that pass themselves off as entertainment, I doubt it; but in any case, I did find myself laughing endlessly at several local productions, the best being "Every Christmas Story Ever Told" by the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival.

My other three choices are the Oops Guys' wacky "The Naked Guy," the Mad Cow Theatre's "Bus Stop," and the Footlight Theater's "Ladies Of Eola Heights," which were downright hilarious.

A lot of people work hard behind the scenes to make a production so good, including the directors, set designers and orchestra; naturally, we tend to forget their efforts and mostly remember the performers, Among the most entertaining performances this year, I have to single out:

Robb Lott as the rascally Huckleberry Finn in "Big River"; Steve Smith as a teacher for the deaf in the Pied Piper Players' "Children of A Lesser God"; Brittany Parker as the Cat in the Hat in "Seussical The Musical" by Nothin' Productions; and Timothy Williams as a zany holiday performer in "Every Christmas Story Ever Told."

Also, Tommy Wooten as a brassy Orlando woman in "Ladies of Eola Heights"; Debbie Sussman as a struggling British mother in "Blood Brothers"; Tessa Crews and Austin Bakich as the children in "Our Town"; Ron Schneider as Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"; James Cassidy as a corrupt Southern politician in "Sweet Bird of Youth"; Shannon Beeby as Anne Frank in "Diary of Anne Frank"; and Anthony Fernandez as a sly detective in "Dial M for Murder" by the Haines City Community Theatre.

And not to forget Lisa Sleeper as an arts grant writer in "The Naked Guy';' Mike Kaina as the sidekick Sancho in "Man of La Mancha"; Colin McDermott and Alex Salup as Oliver and the Artful Dodger in "Oliver!" by the Moonlight Players; Shannon Bilo as Rizzo in "Grease"; and John DiDonna as Edgar Allen Poe in "Poe" by Theatre Downtown.

It's an impressive list. Then again, locals and tourists alike have a lot to celebrate with our theatre community. It's brilliantly alive and well.

Michael Freeman can be reached at michael.freeman@ theledger.com or at 863-421-5577.