Michael Quintos - Page 35

COSTA MESA, CA-The national tour of the musical adventure XANADU opens at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on December 15 and runs through December 27. This engagement is the only Southern California appearance scheduled on the national tour. XANADU is based on Universal Pictures' cult classic movie of the same title, which starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-Now in its third year, Theatre Out's riotously merry LAST CHRISTMAS I GAVE YOU MY HEART, BUT THE VERY NEXT DAY, YOU SAID YOU WERE GAY continues to slay its audiences with the naughtiest of shows likely to exist for the holidays. Like previous incarnations, it skewers those long-held traditions associated with the season, adding quite a bit of gay-ness to the party. Perhaps a reaction to the show's popularity, this version is a bit longer this year, adding more hearty belly laughs (even a song or two) to what is becoming the upstart theater company's signature holiday offering. The musical farce continues with performances at the Empire Theatre in downtown Santa Ana through December 19.

It's Back! Theatre Out presents LAST CHRISTMAS I GAVE YOU MY HEART BUT THE VERY NEXT DAY YOU SAID YOU WERE GAY with performances running December 4 - 19, 2009. Nothing will put you in the holiday spirit more than this big gay Christmas spectacular! What happens when you take three gay elves and drop them into the middle of Nebraska? Christmas cheer, of course! And what would a gay Christmas pageant be without Santa Claus delivering a VERY special package?

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-Throughout the years, the Osmonds have delighted audiences with their touring shows, their Top-40 hits, a television show, and even an animated cartoon. Eighty-million albums, 47 gold and platinum records later, America's favorite showbiz family-Osmond brothers Wayne, Jay, Jimmy and Merrill-arrive in Orange County for the holidays! Joining Pacific Symphony for AN OSMOND FAMILY CHRISTMAS, on Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 17-19, at 8 p.m., in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the brothers plan to entertain with a mix of the chart-topping hits that started 'Osmondmania' just a few decades ago and their own upbeat versions of Christmas tunes, such as 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,' 'White Christmas' and 'Feliz Navidad.'

LAGUNA BEACH, CA-With the holidays upon us, the arrival of aptly-themed shows also permeate the theatrical landscape. And like tinsel, egg-nog and Santa, perennial traditions are still what most people crave, especially in these unknowing, unstable times. Hummable, familiar holiday tunes are always a crowd-pleaser, so it's no surprise that WINTER WONDERETTES (now playing at the Laguna Playhouse through December 30) delivers a pleasantly cheerful, though altogether a routine, by-the-numbers, jukebox musical. Tied neatly with a pretty bow, the show is packaged precisely to induce just the right amount of laughs and to entertain enough to fill its audience with yuletide giddiness, without bombarding us with pesky heavy themes or intrusive thought-provoking lessons. Much like the show that preceded it, the holiday-themed sequel to Roger Bean's off-Broadway hit The Marvelous Wonderettes is cute, adorable, cheery and exactly the kind of safe, holiday entertainment that is as tried and true as its music. It is by no means a groundbreaking piece of theater, but judging from the laughter and ovations bestowed by its opening night audience, this show certainly entertains.

COSTA MESA, CA-The Orange County Performing Arts Center is offering discounted student rush tickets to Broadway's most talked about musical and the biggest Tony® Award-winner in years, Spring Awakening which visits November 17 - 29. Student rush ticket prices are just $20. Regular ticket prices for Spring Awakening are $20 - $70. Student rush tickets are available one hour before each performance. A valid student ID is required at the time of purchase, with a limit of two tickets per person, which must be paid for in cash.Also, four free post-performance discussions have been scheduled.

COSTA MESA, CA-One of Broadway's most talked about newer musicals and the biggest Tony® Award-winner in years is coming to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Spring Awakening, the eight-time Tony-Award winning Broadway show, will visit Segerstrom Hall for a two-week engagement November 17 - 29. Spring Awakening swept the 2007 Tony Awards winning eight out of its 11 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Director (Michael Mayer), Best Book (Steven Sater), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones), Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams) and Best Featured Actor (John Gallagher, Jr.).

It's that magical time of the year again, when visions of sugar plums dance in the air and Pacific Symphony's Family Musical Mornings series returns to the enchanted land of the Sugar Plum Fairy with 'NUTCRACKER FOR KIDS.' Led by Pacific Symphony Assistant Conductor Maxim Eshkenazy, the orchestra performs excerpts from the much-loved holiday ballet by Tchaikovsky in a condensed version designed especially for children (45 kid-friendly minutes in length). Taking place on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, the program features young dancers from the Festival Ballet Theatre (FBT) performing the charming tale of Clara, a girl who receives an extraordinary gift-a nutcracker that magically turns into a prince. For the finale of this popular concert, which is almost always a sell-out, the audience is invited to participate in a holiday sing-along, and as a special treat, Santa Claus himself makes an appearance!

COSTA MESA, CA-As part of the celebration for the Orange County stop of the 1st National Tour of SPRING AWAKENING, cast members have been promoting the two-week run of the show with various promotional appearances, including an in-store performance by Taylor Trensch and Steffi D. at Bloomingdale's - South Coast Plaza for a gathering of fans and press on Thursday, November 19. Later, after the Friday, November 20 performance, cast members Matt Shingledecker, Anthony Lee Medina, Steffi D., Krystina Alabado and Kayla Foster met with a few lucky members of the 'Guilty Ones' as part of an exclusive meet-and-greet for earning the highest points within the Orange County chapter. Among the excited fans in the cast encounter was Peter Armado, the winner of Spring Awakening's Fan Halloween Costume contest. One of five semi-finalists, Armado, from nearby San Diego, was voted on as the winner by the cast. Performances of SPRING AWAKENING continue at the Orange County Performing Arts Center through Sunday, November 29.

COSTA MESA, CA-The Orange County Performing Arts Center is offering discounted student rush tickets to Broadway's most talked about musical and the biggest Tony® Award-winner in years, Spring Awakening which visits November 17 - 29. Student rush ticket prices are just $20. Regular ticket prices for Spring Awakening are $20 - $70. Student rush tickets are available one hour before each performance. A valid student ID is required at the time of purchase, with a limit of two tickets per person, which must be paid for in cash.Also, four free post-performance discussions have been scheduled.

ORANGE COUNTY PREMIERE OF WINTER WONDERETTES FEATURES FESTIVE AND FUN RENDITIONS OF POPULAR HOLIDAY SONGS FROM THE '50s AND '60s: The weather outside isn't too frightful, but the four lovely ladies known as The Wonderettes are anticipating cooler coastal temperatures when they return to The Laguna Playhouse in the Orange County Premiere of the joyful holiday show, Winter Wonderettes (created and directed by Roger Bean), that runs November 24 - December 30, 2009. Winter Wonderettes is set six months after the end of The Marvelous Wonderettes, which The Laguna Playhouse presented in the summer of 2008 before the show moved off-Broadway. This seasonal sequel finds the girls returning to their hometown for a holiday celebration with their family and friends, complete with great Wonderette renditions of classic holiday tunes from the '50s and '60s.

Stephen Mallattrat's acclaimed play, The Woman in Black, from the novel by Susan Hill, has been frightening audiences in London's West End for 20 years and is now coming to Orange County to haunt the Costa Mesa Playhouse, October 30 - November 22.

COSTA MESA, CA-The Orange County Performing Arts Center is offering discounted student rush tickets to Broadway's most talked about musical and the biggest Tony® Award-winner in years, Spring Awakening which visits November 17 - 29. Student rush ticket prices are just $20. Regular ticket prices for Spring Awakening are $20 - $70. Student rush tickets are available one hour before each performance. A valid student ID is required at the time of purchase, with a limit of two tickets per person, which must be paid for in cash.Also, four free post-performance discussions have been scheduled.

It's tough to be a teenager these days. And apparently, things weren't so easy back in late 19th Century Germany either. In what is possibly one of the most soul-stirring, beautifully-scored, creatively innovative musicals to have come out of Broadway in the past few years, SPRING AWAKENING (playing through November 29 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center) is an accessible period piece with the heart of a modern day teen drama (minus the After-School Special treatment). Sandwiched in between scenes of time-defiant angst is a beautiful (and at times, hard-rocking) musical score that is as equally rebellious as it is truthful. There's plenty to like here: from the bare but effective set, to the emotionally-charged performances of its young but impressive cast. With this show, there's a moment you know... you've been rocked.

Chance Theater presents Tony®-Nominated Hit Show LITTLE WOMEN: THE MUSICAL, based on the Novel by Louisa May Alcott and directed by Chance Theater Managing Director Casey Long. Performances begin November 20 - December 27. Music by James Howland, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and the Book is by Allan Knee. Musical direction is by Mike Wilkins and Choreography is by Jessie McLean.

Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza will welcome members of the cast from Spring Awakening to perform 'Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind' from the show on Thursday, November 19 at 3 p.m. The event will be located at the cosmetics entrance on the second level of Bloomingdale's. Additionally, customers who spend $200 in the Y.E.S. Contemporary Sportswear Department between Saturday, November 14 and Thursday, November 19 will receive a 50 percent discount coupon for selected performances of Spring Awakening.

COSTA MESA, CA-The Orange County Performing Arts Center is offering discounted student rush tickets to Broadway's most talked about musical and the biggest Tony® Award-winner in years, Spring Awakening which visits November 17 - 29. Student rush ticket prices are just $20. Regular ticket prices for Spring Awakening are $20 - $70. Student rush tickets are available one hour before each performance. A valid student ID is required at the time of purchase, with a limit of two tickets per person, which must be paid for in cash.Also, four free post-performance discussions have been scheduled.

Before arriving for a two-week run at the Orange County Performing Arts Center from November 17 through 29, SPRING AWAKENING's Jake Epstein-the newest lead actor to play Melchior in the tour-sits down with BroadwayWorld correspondent Michael Lawrence Quintos to talk about his early work as a TV heartthrob, his passion for acting, and, of course, joining the cast of the hugely popular, multiple Tony® award-winning stage musical.

COSTA MESA, CA-The Orange County Performing Arts Center is offering discounted student rush tickets to Broadway's most talked about musical and the biggest Tony® Award-winner in years, Spring Awakening which visits November 17 - 29. Student rush ticket prices are just $20. Regular ticket prices for Spring Awakening are $20 - $70. Student rush tickets are available one hour before each performance. A valid student ID is required at the time of purchase, with a limit of two tickets per person, which must be paid for in cash.Also, four free post-performance discussions have been scheduled.

COSTA MESA, CA-One of Broadway's most talked about newer musicals and the biggest Tony® Award-winner in years is coming to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Spring Awakening, the eight-time Tony-Award winning Broadway show, will visit Segerstrom Hall for a two-week engagement November 17 - 29. Spring Awakening swept the 2007 Tony Awards winning eight out of its 11 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Director (Michael Mayer), Best Book (Steven Sater), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones), Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams) and Best Featured Actor (John Gallagher, Jr.).