Lehigh Valley theater groups really upstaged themselves the summer of 2018 with a total of 20 outstanding productions in three months, more than half of which were lavish musicals.

A relative newcomer completing only its second season, Northampton Community College Summer Theatre combines professional and local talent in its productions. This summer, NCC Summer Theatre produced an incredible five shows in two months, including three very challenging musicals.

Among them was the Revolutionary War era musical “1776,” in which NCC Summer Theatre Artistic Director Bill Mutimer worked with 27 cast members, all but two of whom represented key members of the Second Continental Congress. The result was a finely-crafted, highly-professional, immensely-entertaining offering.

Following on the heels of “1776,” Mutimer tackled “Dreamgirls,” a Tony-Award-winning musical about a fictitious 1960s female singing group, not unlike The Supremes and The Shirelles. Mutimer looked to local Freddy Award winners and Equity players from New York to help fill the eight African-American principal roles. The result was a cast of 33 who sang with remarkably well-trained voices, exhibited exceptional acting ability and performed with boundless energy and enthusiasm.

The veteran Muhlenberg College Summer Music Theatre in its 38th season opened with Disney’s hit Broadway musical “Beauty And The Beast,” followed by the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.” In the latter, Equity actor Frankie Grande played protagonist J. Pierrepoint Finch at his jaunty, hysterical best. The rest of the incredible 16 cast members and 18 ensemble players had no problem keeping up, as they sang and danced their way through more than a dozen memorable songs.

Charles Richter has directed the theater program at Muhlenberg College program for the past 40 years, so he has the advantage of drawing performers from the school’s nationally-ranked theater and dance program.

The professional Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in residence at DeSales University is in its 27th summer season. It can boast that it is the official Shakespeare festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the only Equity theater of its type and scope within a 50-mile radius of the Lehigh Valley. Besides three stylish productions of Shakespearean plays, ”Twelfth Night,” “All’s Well That Ends Well” and “King Richard II,” PSF also staged an impressive lineup, including its season-opener “Ragtime.”

“Ragtime” is really three musicals in one, with interlocking storylines that mix historical figures with fictional characters. It is big, brash and bold. In the hands of PSF associate artistic director Dennis Razze, who has directed other season-opening musicals since 2013, “Ragtime” was yet another PSF blockbuster.

The all-volunteer Pennsylvania Playhouse was incorporated in 1946, but its roots as a community theater go all the way back to 1926. This summer, it had one musical in its repertoire. It was George and Ira Gershwin’s musical “Crazy for You,” one of those feel-good, toe-tapping shows not unlike the wildly popular romantic musical comedies of the 1930s. Like its escapist Great Depression-era counterparts, the Tony Award-winning “Crazy for You” features a fairly simple plot with a love story, of course: Boy and girl meet, girl rejects boy, boy and girl fall in love at first dance.

James Vivian directed the large cast of actors, singers and dancers, whose talents enhanced an already engaging script. The production staff also deserved four stars for their contributions, including the rousing, well-synchronized choreography.

MunOpCo Music Theatre is Allentown’s oldest community theater, now in its 90th season. This summer’s musical was “Hairspray,” called “adorable kitsch” by one reviewer. The production featured exuberant singing, robust direction and excellent choreography. The huge cast of 48 gave its all in the best tradition of community theater.

The Pines Dinner Theatre served up two musicals this summer. “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” with upbeat music and lyrics by the great George M. Cohan, was a delight. Its small cast of four, acted and harmonized well together.

By far, the dinner theater’s best production all season was “Rat Pack Lounge,” with a book and score that brings back memories of the 1960s when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and, on occasion, a fourth or fifth entertainer (Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop), packed ‘em in at the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas.

The clever plot lets the famous entertainers come “back to life” to act and sing on stage in a way that allows the audience to buy into their famous identities. No need for look-alikes or impersonations. They just take over the bodies of live people. Director Amber Blatt assembled a remarkable cast that exhibited the vocal quality, comic-timing and stage prowess rivaling any professional bar lounge performers.

This was truly a theatrical summer to remember, both in terms of script selections and execution. Whether staged by the professional Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, or a community group like Pennsylvania Playhouse, all of the musical productions deserve another hearty round of applause.