Summer Stages: BWW's Top Summer Theater Picks for Orange County/Costa Mesa!

Though the temperatures often escalate to oppressive record highs this time of year, summer is an opportune time to escape inside A/C-cooled theaters---well, unless, of course, the drama happens outdoors (luckily, much of that happens once the sun sets).

And this Summer, the O.C.---which includes Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Irvine, and even cities just a hop over the county line like La Mirada and Long Beach---is so chock-full of hot stage goodies, that you may have to earmark a lot more time in the next three months to properly satisfy all your theatrical cravings.

Aside from three major national tours all arriving back-to-back-to-back at Segerstrom Center for the Arts this summer (JERSEY BOYS, GHOST and ONCE), Orange County will also see intimate theater premieres of Broadway favorites THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, SPAMALOT, and IN THE HEIGHTS. And the area's most critically-acclaimed production company, 3-D Theatricals, will be reviving DAMN YANKEES in Fullerton as well.

Below is a listing of our Top 5 Summer Must-See picks, plus a few other noteworthy shows to check out around the area, too!

Did we miss a show in our list? Send me a tweet at @cre8iveMLQ with the hashtag #OCTheater and tell me what you are looking forward to seeing this summer!

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1. ONCE: THE MUSICAL (National Tour)
Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa
August 19 - 31

Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, ONCE---based on the Academy Award-winning film of the same name--- finally arrives in the OC. While the show tells the story of the romantic and musical relationship between an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant, audience members will delight in the fact that the pub set doubles as an actual working bar they can order drinks from during intermission. www.SCFTA.org

2. LES MISERABLES
La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts, La Mirada
Now - June 22

McCoy-Rigby Entertainment presents Southern California's very first full-scale regional production of the smash hit musical, here at OC-adjacent La Mirada. James Barbour takes on the role as Jean Valjean while former American Idol finalist Anthony Federov appears as Enjolras. I dreamed a dream this should be pretty epic. www.LaMiradaTheatre.com

3. THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
Theatre Out, Santa Ana
June 6 - July 26

Orange County's LGBT Theater company will be presenting this delightful, award-winning Broadway musical in a new intimately-staged production---just the size of an actual apartment! Here we'll find a man-in-chair celebrating the giddy joy of a (fictional) 1920's musical comedy that comes to life before our very eyes. I dare you not to smile. www.TheatreOut.com

4. JERSEY BOYS (National Tour)
Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa
June 24 - July 13

Now in its 2nd National Tour, the hit Tony Award-winning Best Musical returns to the Segerstrom stage for a two-week limited engagement---just in time to compare it with Clint Eastwood's movie adaptation which hits cinemas on June 20. (FYI, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the real-life subjects of the musical, will also be appearing at SCFTA August 16, if you want to keep your fix going). www.SCFTA.org

5. IN THE HEIGHTS
Chance Theater, Anaheim Hills
July 3 - August 3

Latin and hip-hop sounds converge in this uplifting, four-time Tony Award-winning Best musical. The Chance Theater has cleverly re-staged many large contemporary Broadway shows in their intimate stages to great success before, so expectations are high for their take on Lin-Manuel Miranda's winsome musical. www.ChanceTheater.com

**SPECIAL MENTION: Free Movie Mondays!**
Segerstrom Center for the Arts - Outdoor Plaza, Costa Mesa
Mondays, July 7 - August 4

Back for its eighth consecutive summer, Segerstrom Center for the Arts will once again offer its popular series of al frésco FREE-for-all outdoor screenings. This year's series begins with The Little Colonel (starring the late Shirley Temple) on July 7 followed by the Spice Girls in (what else) Spice World (July 14), Gigi (July 21), Cabaret (July 28) and Sweet Charity (August 4). www.SCFTA.org

Also worth checking out:

Dinner With Friends -- STAGEStheater, now thru June 8
Next Fall - STAGEStheater, now thru June 7
www.stagesoc.org

Tartuffe -- South Coast Repertory, now thru June 8
www.scr.org

A Midsummer Night's Dream -- Mysterium Theater, now - June 22
mysteriumtheater.com

Little Shop of Horrors -- Costa Mesa Playhouse, now - June 29
costamesaplayhouse.com

Other Desert Cities -- International City Theatre, June 4 - 29
www.ictLongBeach.org

Monty Python's Spamalot -- Maverick Theater, June 20 - August 9
mavericktheater.com

Evita -- One More Productions/GEM Theater, June 26 - July 20
onemoreproductions.com

Top of the Charts -- MenAlive OCGMC, Irvine Barclay Theatre, June 27 - 28
menalivechorus.org

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story -- Laguna Playhouse, July 9 - Aug 10, 2014
lagunaplayhouse.com

Damn Yankees -- 3-D Theatricals
Plummer Auditorium, Fullerton: July 11 - 27
Redondo Beach PAC, Redondo Beach: August 1 - 10
www.3dtshows.com

Disney's Beauty and the Beast -- Musical Theatre West, July 11 - 27
www.musical.org

Fiddler On The Roof -- Long Beach Playhouse, July 12 - August 16
lbplayhouse.org

Ghost: The Musical -- Segerstrom Center for the Arts, July 29 - August 10
SCFTA.org

Once Upon A Mattress -- Huntington Beach Playhouse, August 22 - Sept 13
hbplayhouse.com

Pageant of the Masters -- Festival of Arts Laguna Beach, July 9 - August 30
www.foapom.com

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Photos (from top): Stuart Ward and Dani de Waal from ONCE by Joan Marcus; the cast and crew of IN THE HEIGHTS (Chance Theater) by Casey Long; Quinn VanAntwerp, Nicolas Dromard, Hayden Milanes and Adam Zelasko from JERSEY BOYS by Jeremy Daniel.

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