Transition was the watchword for San Diego County's theater community during 2007.

Theater organizations in North County and San Diego announced major transitions in leadership and location this year, and two locally born musicals began their transitions to the Broadway stage. This was also a year for stellar theater, with quality work produced at theaters both large and small.

Here's a look at the year that was.

The best of the best

Picking personal favorites each year is subjective, and it's limited to what shows I was able to see. But here's some of my favorite shows and performances of 2007.

• "A Catered Affair," Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino's '50s period musical, was launched in its world premiere at the Old Globe last fall. Subtle, heartbreaking, well-acted and beautifully scored, it was my favorite show of the year. Fierstein, who co-stars in the show as the needy gay uncle, still needs to rewrite his own part, which was so over the top it threw the whole show off balance. But it was otherwise terrific.

• Noel Coward's classic comedy "Hay Fever" was produced twice this year, at the venerable Old Globe and by Vista's Moonlight Stage Productions. Despite the vast disparity in budgets, Moonlight's was far superior, thanks to Eric Bishop's crisp direction and cast and a better conceived set.

• Cygnet Theatre's "Yellowman," a two-person drama about black identity starring Poway actress Monique Gaffney, had it all -- a great script, fine director, good cast and thoughtful set, sound and lighting design.

• "Wit," North Coast Repertory Theatre's production of the dark comedy/drama, was sparing in production values and had an uneven supporting cast, but the Solana Beach staging had one ace in the hole -- a stellar performance by San Diego's Rosina Reynolds as an aloof college professor dying of cancer.

• Welk Resort Theatre's fall staging of the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" didn't have the incandescent Sutton Foster in the cast (like the La Jolla Playhouse's world premiere production seven years ago), but it did have a talented and well-balanced cast, beautiful sets and lots of jazzy tap dance numbers.

• "Hamlet" and "Measure for Measure." Hard to pick a favorite between these two stunners at the Old Globe's Summer Shakespeare Festival. Director Darko Tresnjak's colorful "Hamlet" was packed with surprises (and it's hard for me to be surprised by a play I've seen 20-odd times), and Paul Mullins' "Measure" was a serene, crystal-clear rendering of a usually murky play.

• Carlsbad's New Village Arts usually concentrates on drama, but its leap into dance last spring for the whimsical romance "Sailor's Song" was a delight.

• "Cry-Baby," a world premiere musical based on the kooky John Waters film, exploded off the stage this fall at La Jolla Playhouse. The script and plain-vanilla characters still need work, but its hilarious lyrics, spectacular dancing and sets and sheer sense of joy and optimism made it the most fun show of 2007.

• I adore those old Doris Day/Rock Hudson films and director Darko Tresnjak must as well. His tongue-in-cheek staging of the '50s comedy "Bell, Book and Candle" at the Old Globe was a retro treat -- smart, stylish and perfectly in period. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face, even at intermission.

The best of the rest

Picking my top 10 was difficult this year because there were so many good shows to choose from. Here are some of my other favorites that didn't make the cut.

Moonlight Stage Productions' summer staging of "West Side Story" had the best dancing I can remember seeing on the Moonlight stage. Cygnet Theatre's "Communicating Doors" was hilarious and heartfelt with a standout performance by Sandy Campbell. "Visiting Mr. Green" at Vista's Broadway Theater was memorable for Ed Eigner's poignant, naturalistic performance. And Lynne Griffin's nutty spinster was the very best thing about North Coast Repertory Theatre's rollicking "The Uneasy Chair."

The Old Globe's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" was searingly directed by Richard Seer and featured a standout performance by James Sutorius. New Village Arts deserves a hand for handling the challenge of two plays (both about a trio of sisters) in revolving repertory last spring -- Chekhov's "Three Sisters" and Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart." Diversionary Theatre's "The Breakup Notebook" was light, bright and hilarious. Welk Resort Theatre's (still-running) "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" is a heartwarmer. And Moonlight Stage Productions' "The Magic Fire" was masterfully directed by Kathy Brombacher.

San Diego Opera's brave staging of Berg's modern opera "Wozzeck" wasn't a box office hit, but it was the best-directed and conceived opera production I can remember seeing there in 10 years. Its director, not surprisingly, was two-time Tony winner Des McAnuff, formerly of the La Jolla Playhouse.

Finally, two performances I saw this month transformed the shows that they were in -- Kevin Bailey, as the best-ever Grinch in the 10-year-old musical "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and Tom Andrew, reprising and deepening his excellent performance as George in Cygnet Theatre's (still-running) "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play."

Changes at the helm

The biggest regional news in San Diego theater this year was the departure and replacement of two local theater titans. Three-time Tony winner Jack O'Brien officially resigned his 26-year post as artistic director of the Old Globe and Des McAnuff resigned after nearly 20 years at the La Jolla Playhouse.

After a months-long search, the Playhouse replaced McAnuff with Christopher Ashley, a well-liked and diversely talented itinerant director riding high on the success of Broadway's surprise summer smash, "Xanadu."

And the Globe opted to keep its leadership in-house, promoting the Shakespeare Festival chief, Tresnjak, to share co-artistic director duties with Jerry Patch, who joined the Globe team two years ago as resident artistic director. The Globe's longtime business leader Lou Spisto changed titles to executive producer to better reflect his behind-the-scenes efforts at bringing in a string of Broadway projects, from "Avenue Q" to "A Catered Affair." Meanwhile, the Old Globe's founding artist director, 92-year-old Craig Noel, was honored for his contributions to American theater with the National Medal of Arts, which he received Nov. 15 in a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C.

And in mid-July, San Diego's theater community lost one of its brightest lights, longtime UC San Diego theater professor Floyd Gaffney, who died after a battle with stomach cancer. He was 77.

Gaffney was beloved in San Diego for his gentle but persistent efforts to advance and develop theater, particularly black theater and dance. He joined the UCSD faculty in 1971 and co-founded the theater and dance department there, he served as mentor to hundreds of local actors and theater professionals, and was artistic director of his own Common Ground Theatre, which specialized in the works of black playwrights.

A team of Gaffney's theater colleagues banded together after his death and vowed to continue on with his dream and produce all of the shows he had in development at the time of his death.

Broadway dreams

Virtually every year, the Globe or Playhouse sends one or more shows to Broadway. This year was no exception, with two new musicals that are slated to open on Broadway early next year.

The Globe-born "A Catered Affair," a musical adaptation of a gritty '50s movie about a troubled Bronx family, played to critical raves and sold-out houses in San Diego this past fall. It opens in previews March 25 at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York. And the Playhouse-born smash "Cry-Baby," a '50s "Grease"-style spoof based on a John Waters film, opens in April at Broadway's Marriott Marquis theater.

Two past Playhouse projects that are still in the pre-Broadway development cycle are the musicals "The Wiz" and "Zhivago." And a new Playhouse musical that had Broadway hopes but disappointed on arrival last June was the Franco Dragone-directed musical "Carmen."

The opposite transition occurred last July, when the Globe won the rights to produce the regional theater premiere of the Broadway naughty puppet musical "Avenue Q." Following a sold-out run at the Spreckels Theatre, "Avenue Q" went on the road as the musical's first national touring production.

New quarters

With real estate so expensive in Southern California, many theater groups go homeless year-round -- like Encinitas-based Moxie Theatre, which produced its second season in borrowed spaces in 2007, and Encinitas-based Miracle Theatre Productions, which lost its longtime home (The Theatre in Old Town) last year and is still searching for a new North County home.

But other theater groups were able to put down some permanent roots this year.

North Coast Rep's four-year search for a new location ended where it began -- at its longtime home in Lomas Santa Fe Plaza shopping center in Solana Beach. After aborted efforts to build new theaters in Encinitas and the long-delayed Cedros Crossing project in downtown Solana Beach, the company announced in August it would stay put and build a new theater complex on the south side of the mall it now occupies. Plans include a 350-seat mainstage theater, a 100- to 150-seat black box theater, offices, costumes and scene shops. Landlords convinced the theater to stay put with a 50-year, $1-a-year lease.

Carlsbad's 6-year-old New Village Arts moved last summer into its first permanent home on State Street, a city-owned warehouse near the train tracks that was once occupied by a children's museum. Like North Coast Rep, New Village benefits from a $1-a-year lease.

Moonlight Stage Productions moved along with its plans for a new stagehouse complex at its Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista's Brengle Terrace Park, which will begin construction next summer. A voter-approved sales tax hike is underwriting the project, which will cost $6 million to $8 million when it's complete in 2009. The finished project will include a bigger stage, flyloft, backstage facilities and more modern equipment.

Premiere Productions -- run by Fallbrook partners Randall Hickman and Douglas Davis -- expanded its presence in downtown Vista, opening a children's theater on Main Street in October. Two years ago, the duo opened the Broadway Theater, a 49-seat community theater behind the Avo Playhouse. It has been so successful and perpetually busy that Hickman and Davis decided to lease a second downtown space to produce exclusively children's theater workshops and productions.

In January, MiraCosta College in Oceanside unveiled the renovation of its 250-seat theater building, with new seats and an expanded lobby and box office. The college also announced plans to build a new arts complex that will include a 500-seat theater suitable for both theater and music performances.

The Old Globe unveiled plans for a $20 million improvement project to replace its current Cassius Carter in-the-round theater with a four-story theater complex that will include a 250-seat arena theater, an education center, dressing and rehearsal rooms and more. It breaks ground next year and finishes up in 2010.

And the long-delayed renovation of the historic Balboa Theatre in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter neared completion. Built in 1924 as a 1,500-seat movie palace, the elegant Moorish-Spanish revival theater at Horton Plaza has been closed for more than 20 years. But a $26.5 million renovation project concludes this month and the richly restored Balboa will reopen in January with an inaugural season that includes live theater, dance, music and community events.

Other notable events

• Local operagoers have enjoyed following the operatic career of Del Mar mezzo-soprano Priti Gandhi, who has spent the past dozen years or so growing from a trainee with San Diego Opera to making her Lincoln Center debut in October. Gandhi, who is now beginning to sing soprano roles as well, has steadily built a national career that has her booked solid for the next year with companies including San Diego Opera, Seattle Opera and the prestigious Caramoor Festival, where she'll debut next summer as Rosina in "The Barber of Seville."

• "Jersey Boys," the La Jolla Playhouse-born musical that has consistently grossed $1 million a week since it opened on Broadway in 2005, made its hometown return in October. The national touring production's three-week engagement at the San Diego Civic Theatre in October got off to a rough start, with one performance canceled and ticket sales sharply affected by the area wildfires. But crowd and critical reaction was strong and the cast -- led by two longtime North County men, Deven May of Vista and Steve Gouveia of Ramona -- raised money after many performances for fire victims.

• Another hometown boy, National City native Rick Najera, returned home with the world premiere of his new comedy "Sweet 15: Quinceanera," which debuted last month at San Diego Repertory Theatre. Najera got his start more than 20 years ago in local theaters and took his other local creation, "Latinologues," to Broadway a few years ago.