Andy Gray

I’ve reached the age where I dread year-end columns.

Wracking my brain for what to include is joined by the dread of omitting something that I forgot.

I could keep detailed lists of concerts I saw, productions I reviewed, TV shows and movies I watched, etc., but I’ve been doing this for thirtysomething years and there’s a cliche about old dogs and new tricks that feels all too appropriate.

Unlike the last couple of years, 2022 had plenty to remember. This year felt — dare I say it — normal. I went to a lot of concerts and saw a lot of theater. Holiday traditions like Easy Street Productions’ “Miracle on Easy Street” and outdoor concerts like Y-Live and Federal Frenzy returned to the entertainment calendar.

Packard Music Hall, if anything, had more national touring events than it hosted in many pre-pandemic years. The Robins Theatre was busy too. The Covelli Centre didn’t match the quantity of shows it averaged before 2020, but the number of sell-out crowds that filled the venue bodes well for 2023.

Clearly audiences are ready to return. I know I was.

I started out the year catching a couple of favorites at Westside Bowl, Ike Reilly Assassination in January and Red Wanting Blue in February. The Summit radio station brought its annual 330 Day concert to Stambaugh Auditorium in March, offering a glimpse of the wealth of talent that can be found in the Mahoning Valley’s music community.

The Robins featured several great blues shows in 2022 — any year I can see Buddy Guy a block from my office is a good year.

I loved the double dose I got of Todd Rundgren, playing Beatles hits with Christopher Cross and others at Packard Music Hall in June and bringing his “Unpredictable” tour to the Robins in July. My email inbox told me that my opinion of the Robins’ show wasn’t unanimous.

My favorite local concert of the year might have been The Mavericks at Packard Music Hall. The Raul Malo-led nine-piece touring ensemble, which at times sounded like Buddy Holly backed by Los Lobos, was a band I knew more by reputation than firsthand listening experience. Can’t wait to see them again.

Not every show I saw this year was local. The all-Ohio lineup for VetsAid in Columbus — Joe Walsh, James Gang, Nine Inch Nails, Black Keys, The Breeders, Dave Grohl — was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see that diverse roster all on the same stage.

And I had a great time in Columbus last spring catching a sold-out show by the band Wet Leg. Its self-titled debut album easily was the most played vinyl in my house in 2022 (Frank Turner’s “FTHC” and MUNA’s self-titled album also got plenty of spins).

One booking trend in 2022 that I hope continues next year is the number of top comedians that played the Mahoning Valley. Katt Williams and Bert Kreischer brought big crowds to the Covelli Centre, Lewis Black and Kathleen Madigan played Packard (with rescheduled shows by Brian Regan and the improv duo of Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood hitting that stage in January) and Bill Engvall did two shows at the Robins.

Area art museums and galleries offered a diverse slate of exhibitions. The Butler Institute of American Art’s offerings ranged from the pop culture-shaping work of Jim Steranko to some of the biggest names in art history featured in the collection of Howland’s David M. and Cecile Draime.

Medici Museum of Art brought the Ohio Art Council’s Biennial Juried Exhibition and Carole A. Feuerman’s hyperrealistic sculptures to its Howland galleries. Local artists James Pernotto and William Mullane had impressive shows at the McDonough Museum of Art and the Soap Gallery, respectively.

It also was a great year for local theater.

My favorite production without question was “The Play That Goes Wrong” at Trumbull New Theatre in Niles. I know there are people who, for whatever reason, don’t like live theater. “The Play Goes Wrong” could cure anyone of that bias.

The farce presents an assortment of challenges for the design and technical crew as well as the performers. Watching a cast and crew execute each and every one of those challenges in real time right in front of you is an experience that can’t be duplicated by any film or television series.

A close second would be Millennial Theatre Company’s “Into the Woods.” Sondheim’s challenging songs can expose the weaknesses in a lot of performers. MTC’s ensemble made the music soar, and director Joe Asente made a big show work better in Hopewell Theatre’s intimate space than I ever imagined it could. MTC’s production of “Heathers the Musical” in the same space got the year off to a strong start, and I look forward to seeing what it does with “Avenue Q” next month.

“The Revolutionists” at Youngstown State University, “Steel Magnolias” at Hopewell and “The Mountaintop,” “A Tuna Christmas” and “People Along the Way” (written by Boardman’s Terry Shears) in Youngstown Playhouse’s Moyer Room are a few of the other productions that linger fondly in my memory.

TNT and the Playhouse proved the depth of the local talent pool by showing there were enough young singers and dancers to cast two productions of “Grease” staged less than a month apart.

In addition to the shows I reviewed, this proud father enjoyed getting to watch his daughter, Anna, in “Office Hours” at TNT and “Rent” at Kent-Trumbull.

Other personal highlights include getting to interview Cary Elwes on stage at Packard Music Hall following a screening of “The Princess Bride” and getting interviewed on stage at Kent State University at Trumbull along with co-workers R. Michael Semple and Burt Cole for “An Evening with Andy, Burt and Mike” at Kent-Trumbull.

I look forward to many more highlights in 2023.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com.