I'll be honest: there are times when Volcano readers and I do not see eye to eye. (Say what?! Yeah, c'est la vie.) Is every "Best of" issue something of a popularity contest? You bet. This year, however, I couldn't agree with your theater picks more. Best Company was a toss-up for all the right reasons, so you've dispersed your praise admirably. Tacoma Little Theatre rebounded from administrative and financial hardships to assemble an exceptional season of plays in 2012-13, an accomplishment for which its board and its departing production manager, Brie Yost, deserve high praise indeed. Then TLT added one coup of a hire, recruiting Chris Serface from Tacoma Musical Playhouse to serve as managing artistic director beginning May 1.

"The mission of TLT ," Serface explains, "is to make sure we're providing our community with theater our patrons have a desire to see." Last season, that included such reliable (and well-produced) favorites as Miracle on 34th Street and Little Shop of Horrors. What sets TLT apart is its courage in offering less familiar shows that still satisfy its mission to please the community at large. When I asked Serface what he felt were the highlights of the season just ended, he replied, "I'd have to say The Laramie Project. That's a piece that made Tacoma talk. And can I add The Joy Luck Club? That show was (board member) Randy Clark's passion project for years. It really expanded the community's idea of what theater could accomplish here in Tacoma."

"People may not be aware of great pieces like The Laramie Project or The Weir, which we're doing next season," Serface continued. Yet each new theater season expands the canon of exciting new play scripts, and it's exciting to watch as that material is introduced to the South Sound. So what is The Weir? For starters, it's a series of ghost stories in Irish brogue, and it earned a spot on Entertainment Weekly's summer list of the 50 greatest plays of the last hundred years. Its title is pronounced like The Weird without the D - but trust me, you're in for a spooky treat no matter how you pronounce it.

When I asked Serface what he's anticipating most about TLT's upcoming season - number 95! - he answered, "I'm looking forward to seeing how Tacoma reacts to To Kill a Mockingbird. I think that's going to be an excellent piece to make the community say, ‘It's been a long time since we've gone back and revisited that text.'" Mockingbird opens Jan. 24, after Steel Magnolias and It's a Wonderful Life in autumn. Then comes Neil Simon's little-known but deeply affecting dramedy Chapter Two, followed by spring musical Bye Bye Birdie. The Weir will be a fall "Second Stage" show, along with Hollywood insider drama Moonlight and Magnolias next June.

So what is Serface's highest priority this year? "Continuing to build our patron base," he replies happily, "and reminding people that TLT is here and going strong. We're looking forward to year 100."