Selecting the top 10 performances of the year was a very difficult task.

I've chosen 10 performers worthy of specific mention, who all blew me away this calendar year with their performances. In no particular order, here is my first annual Top 10 Performances Of The Year:

Thom Allison - Songs For A New World

Allison's presence and soaring voice made ngs For A New World one of my favorite shows of the year. Hearing his interpretation of "King Of The World" and "Flying Home" still sends shivers down my spine. He's starring in egies: A Song Cycle in Toronto in February, and so I don't have to wait long for another fix of Thom Allison, thank goodness. Here is the review for Songs For A New World.

Colm Feore - Don Juan/Coriolanus/Oliver!

It's still baffling to think that Feore starred in these 3 plays at the Stratford Festival (4 if you count the french version of Don Juan that also ran there) and not only handled the work with ease, but turned in stellar performances for each. Here is the link to the Oliver! Review, in case you missed it.

Stephanie Roth - john & jen/The Last 5 Years

Ms. Roth has a stage presence and an innocence to her that made her performances in these two rather obscure musicals a treat to watch and to listen to. In both cases, she had outstanding leading men opposite her, which only enhanced her performances. She can sing a song that will melt your heart and then she turns around and handles the up-beat songs with sass and a wonderful edge to them.

Kyle Blair - john & jen

Mr. Blair matched Roth note for note and moment for moment in john & jen. It was wonderful to see Kyle perform in Toronto, as most theatre goers have had to go to the Stratford Festival in recent years to see this young theatre star perform his magic in to The Woods, Oliver!, and Hello, Dolly!.

Michael Siberry - Spamalot

He was absolutely delightful as King Arthur, and a lot of his fine work can be attributed to the cast he had surrounding him, but Siberry was no slouch himself, handling some of the funniest moments of the night with ease. See the review here.

Shoshana Bean (Elphaba) & Megan Hilty (Glinda) - Wicked

Two young and beautiful musical theatre gems graced our fair city with their performances in the hit musical cked. Both have soaring voices, and Bean melts hearts as Elphaba, and Hilty keeps us laughing with her portrayal of the Good Witch, Glinda. It's hard to make Wicked even better than it is, but these two did it. See the review of Wicked here.

Mike Shara - Arms & The Man

Mr. Shara absolutely stole this show at the Shaw Festival this year, using quick comedic timing and wonderful facial expressions to make the audience roar with laughter, which hasn't happened all that often at the Shaw. Here is the complete review of the show.

Oliver Dennis & Kristen Thompson - The Chairs

Two tour de force performances from these seasoned theatre veterans made Eugene Ionesco's rather obscure (yet brilliant) play make absolute sense. Here is the review from the show.

Jeff Lillico - Our Town

Lillico was haunting and heart-breaking in his performance, which will go down as one of the finest in recent memory. We can all look forward to seeing him in the same role again in the Summer of 2007, when Soulpepper revives the show again.

Martha MacIssac - Our Town

After a stellar performance in e Wild Duck last year, MacIssac surpassed herself with her work in Soulpepper's Our Town. Her performance, along with that of Lillico, had me in tears as I left the theatre.

Also Worthy Of Being Mentioned:

Sarah Orenstein (Apple)

Niki Landau (Apple)

Randy Hughson (Earshot)

Cara Pifko (Leo)

Salvatore Antonio (Leo/Hosanna)

George Masswohl (Seussical)

Corrine Koslo (Seussical)

David Storch (The Importance Of Being Earnest)

Ted Dykstra (American Buffalo)