In 2011, St. Louisans went to the theater with their eyes wide open.

We drank in the Art Deco chic of the Peabody Opera House (formerly the Kiel Opera House), reopened after its long slumber on Market Street. This granite sleeping beauty woke up decidedly refreshed, with early productions there revealing an unusual combination of comfort and elegance.

But the theaters and other arts organizations that took advantage of the generous offer of room at the ArtSpace in Crestwood Court are on the move again. The arrangement wasn't meant to last forever, and it went longer than expected. But as the old mall's owners get ready to remodel, it's time to pack up. No harm in that, but the next year is full of question marks for small troupes that did some fascinating work there.

Paul Blake, longtime executive producer at the Muny, stepped down, leaving a legacy of classic musicals produced right here, at breathtaking speed, with love and style — and a new generation of people who got to know those shows because of him. Broadway producer Mike Isaacson, who left Fox Associates to replace Blake, will fashion his own style. Early signs point to a mix of hot new titles with classics — and the productions will continue to be born and raised in Forest Park. Fox Theatricals president Kristen Caskey, meanwhile, has picked up the reins on Grand Boulevard.

And on stages all over town, this was a year of really exceptional design. We savored many, many looks: the undersea splendor of "The Little Mermaid" at the Muny, the dreamy nostalgia of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Art Deco glamour of "Victor/Victoria" at Stages St. Louis, the Dutch Masters largesse of "Cooking With Elisa" at Upstream, the exuberant hippie flair of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" at New Line," the British romance of "Round and Round the Garden" at Black Cat, the international imagination of "Pericles" at the Black Rep, the steampunk edge of "Tommy" at Stray Dog, the midcentury chic of "The Taming of the Shrew" at Shakespeare Festival St. Louis … and that's just a sample.

When we go to the theater, we always notice the actors. Playwrights and directors get plenty of attention, too, because we tend to think of theater as an aural medium, shaped by words and voices. But in 2011, the eyes had it.

With that in mind, it's time for my annual last round of applause, the 2011 Judy Awards. As always, the Judys reflect nobody's opinion but mine; also as always, they remind me just how lucky I am to go to the theater for a living.

MUSICALS

Best musical, big and bold • "A Chorus Line," Stages St. Louis, directed by Michael Hamilton

Best musical, small and sassy • The Who's "Tommy," Stray Dog Theatre, co-directed by Justin Been and Gary F. Bell

Best director • Paul Blake, "The Little Mermaid," the Muny

Best actor (tie) • Joseph Leo Bwarie, "Jersey Boys," Fox Theatre, and Charles Glenn, "Passing Strange," New Line Theatre

Best actress • Lisa Vroman, "Kiss Me, Kate," the Muny

Best supporting actor • Jeffrey Carter, "She Loves Me," Insight Theatre

Best supporting actress • Charlotte Byrd, "bare," New Line Theatre

Best ensemble • "Motown Revue" directed by Ralph E. Greene, Unity Theatre Ensemble

Best couple • Lee Roy Reams and Conrad John Schuck, "Kiss Me, Kate," The Muny

Best villain • Paul Vogt, "The Little Mermaid," The Muny

Best choreography • Peter Darling, "Billy Elliot," Fox Theatre

Best musical direction • Justin Smolik, New Line Theatre ("bare," "Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Passing Strange")

DRAMA

Best production • "Awake and Sing!" by Clifford Odets, directed by Steven Woolf, New Jewish Theatre.

Best director • Lori Adams, "Falling," Mustard Seed Theatre

Best actor • Joshua Thomas, "Henry V," St. Louis Shakespeare

Best actress • Denise Thimes, "Black Pearl Sings!," the Black Rep

Best supporting actor • Bob Harvey, "The Price," Avalon Theatre Company

Best supporting actress • Donna Weinsting, "Hit-Story," OnSite Theatre Company

Best couple • Brooke Edwards and Robert A. Mitchell, "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," NonProphet Theatre Company

Best villain • Michael Brightman, "Restoration," St. Louis Shakespeare

Best solo performance • Fontaine Syer, "The Year of Magical Thinking," Studio Theatre of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

COMEDIES

Best production • "In the Next Room, or, the vibrator play" by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Stuart Carden, Studio Theatre of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Best director • Sean Graney, "The Taming of the Shrew," Shakespeare Festival St. Louis

Best actor • Paul Hurley, "The Taming of the Shrew," Shakespeare Festival St. Louis

Best actress • Nancy Bell, "End Days," New Jewish Theatre

Best supporting actor • B. Weller, "Dirty Blonde," Dramatic License Productions

Best supporting actress • Nancy Lewis, "True West," HotCity Theatre

Best couple • Jesse Russell and Carmen Russell (yes, they're married), "Kind Sir," Act Inc.

Best villain • Richard Lewis (married to best supporting actress Nancy Lewis), "My Three Angels," St. Louis Actors' Studio

Best solo performance • Joe Hanrahan, "Mistakes Were Made," Midnight Productions

DESIGN

Best costumes • Lou Bird, "Victor/Victoria," Stages St. Louis

Best set • Scott C. Neale, "Cooking With Elisa," Upstream Theatre

Best lighting • Robert M. Wierzel, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," Repertory Theatre of St. Louis"

Best sound • Rusty Wandall, "Macbeth," Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Best overall design • The Who's "Tommy," Justin Been (co-director, set and sound designer) James Volmert (technical director), Megan Henderson (scenic artist), Alexandra Scibetta Quigley (costumes), Tyler Duenow (lighting), Stray Dog Theatre

Most ambitious production • "Pericles" by William Shakespeare, directed by Andrea Frye, the Black Rep. In this bold and beautiful production, Frye turned the rarely staged romance into an allegory of the African diaspora. As they travel from the Ashanti Kingdom of Gold in West Africa to Havana to New Orleans to the Georgia Sea Islands, Frye, her big cast and the designers created a "Pericles" that Shakespeare couldn't have foreseen — but with an imaginative scope worthy of him.

St. Louis theater artist of the year • Deanna Jent, artistic director of Mustard Seed Theatre and the playwright who gave us "Falling." Jent, who also heads the theater department at Fontbonne University, is a dynamo. This year she directed productions at Dramatic License and at Mustard Seed, including "Till We Have Faces," her own stage adaptation of the classic fantasy novel by C.S. Lewis. That would be plenty, but best of all was the compelling drama that she wrote about a family dealing with severe autism, "Falling." Based on her family (Jent is the mother of three, including an autistic son), "Falling" comes endowed with a keen mind, a warm though troubled heart — and a future. There's hope to bring it to New York, probably off-Broadway; productions at other theaters around the country are virtually certain. But we got it to see it first.