Michael Quintos - Page 39

One of Broadway's brightest stars, Tony Award-winning musical force PATTI LUPONE, opens Pacific Symphony's 2009-2010 Pops season with a salute to the Great White Way as well as a tribute to screen legend Audrey Hepburn. Performances are in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, October 8 - 10.

Musical Theatre West in Long Beach, CA opens its 57th season with MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, the stage adaptation of the beloved Judy Garland classic. Previews of this production begin on October 30th and opens October 31, 2009 and runs through November 15, 2009 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.

Making movie history is not easy! Just ask film producer David O. Selznick, who stops the filming of Gone with the Wind three weeks into production because he wants a rewrite of the unwieldy script. He hires playwright Ben Hecht to do the job-in only five days! Only one problem: Hecht has never even read the novel. So, Selznick summons Hecht and Gone With the Wind director Victor Fleming to his office, locks the doors and closes the shades. Subsisting on a diet of bananas and peanuts, the three men spend five days crafting a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the most successful films of all time. This wildly funny and engaging tale illuminates the behind-the-scenes business of movie-making during the golden age of Hollywood. A co-production with McCoy Rigby Entertainment and La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.

The 2009 Gay Days at Disneyland are set to take place Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4. For its 12th year, the event is expected to attract more than 30,000 LGBT park-hoppers from California and all over the country. Broadway's Eden Espinosa (Wicked, Rent, Brooklyn: The Musical) is set to perform at Saturday night's signature dance party KINGDOM.

Orange County's Chance Theater presents two theatrical treats for the Holidays: One Naughty (THE EIGHT: REINDEER MONOLOGUES) and One Nice (LITTLE WOMEN: THE MUSICAL). Up first is LITTLE WOMEN: THE MUSICAL, the tune-filled Broadway adaptation of the classic novel that's suitable for all ages. Returning for its 6th annual production is THE EIGHT: REINDEER MONOLOGUES, an outrageous adult look at life as one of Santa's reindeer after an outrageous controversy breaks out at the North Pole. LITTLE WOMEN performances run from November 20 through December 27. THE EIGHT performances run December 1 through the 19th.

The 2009 Gay Days at Disneyland are set to take place Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4. For its 12th year, the event is expected to attract more than 30,000 LGBT park-hoppers from California and all over the country. Broadway's Eden Espinosa (Wicked, Rent, Brooklyn: The Musical) is set to perform at Saturday night's signature dance party KINGDOM.

Orange County, California, 1975. For Walter Wells, it's the happiest place on earth. He has a beautiful wife. Two great kids. A house with a pool. Contentment. Until fate strikes a devastating blow, leaving Walter with no reason to put the pieces of his life back together. He resists attempts to help, especially the unexpected - and unwanted - offer from a Vietnamese refugee named Bao Ngo, who bears his own sadness. Then, across a cultural divide, Walter and Bao find a game to share, a song, a meal and then a way back in this uplifting - and surprisingly funny - new play by a rising star in American theatre.

Orange County's Chance Theater presents the West Coast Premiere of Richard Nelson's adaptation of THE SEAGULL by Anton Chekov, which continues through October 25. The production is directed by Tony Vezner, Assistant Professor of Theatre at Irvine's Concordia University and director of the Chance's 2008 critically-acclaimed production of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol. As one of the great works in the history of the theatre, THE SEAGULL is one of the most prolifically-produced plays in the world. From the original, famed production at Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre in 1898 to the recent landmark revival in New York's Central Park, THE SEAGULL has enchanted and engaged audiences from across the world for the last 100 years.

The Muckenthaler Cultural Center, will host a special VIP event on Thursday, October 15, at 7:00 p.m., featuring an exclusive appearance by Gregory Maguire, author of the bestselling novel WICKED, and a special performance by Megan Hilty, reprising her role as Glinda, with Broadway guests singing favorite songs from the Tony® Award-winning musical inspired by the book. This will be Gregory Maguire's only appearance in California this year. The "Wicked" event is a VIP pre-party for the Center's Third Annual Moonlight Masquerade Gala, presented by Salon Lujon Day Spa and Colette's Catering, to be held on Sunday, October 25, at 5 p.m. The $150 ticket will get you into both events. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Muckenthaler Cultural Center's educational programs, which serve all of Orange County.

Theatre Out, Orange County's gay and lesbian theatre, will present HAPPY ENDINGS ARE EXTRA as its next production, with performances starting October 1 and continues through October 25. This provocative story of love and betrayal unravels as one man comes to terms with the life he's leading and the one he left behind in a fascinating study of emotions that illustrates how intertwined the lives of two strangers can quickly become. This dark drama from playwright Ashraf Johaardien is rooted in the culture of South Africa's red light district and was inspired by the 2003 massacre of six rent boys. (October 1 - 25, 2009)

Orange County, California, 1975. For Walter Wells, it's the happiest place on earth. He has a beautiful wife. Two great kids. A house with a pool. Contentment. Until fate strikes a devastating blow, leaving Walter with no reason to put the pieces of his life back together. He resists attempts to help, especially the unexpected - and unwanted - offer from a Vietnamese refugee named Bao Ngo, who bears his own sadness. Then, across a cultural divide, Walter and Bao find a game to share, a song, a meal and then a way back in this uplifting - and surprisingly funny - new play by a rising star in American theatre.

Making movie history is not easy! Just ask film producer David O. Selznick, who stops the filming of Gone with the Wind three weeks into production because he wants a rewrite of the unwieldy script. He hires playwright Ben Hecht to do the job-in only five days! Only one problem: Hecht has never even read the novel. So, Selznick summons Hecht and Gone With the Wind director Victor Fleming to his office, locks the doors and closes the shades. Subsisting on a diet of bananas and peanuts, the three men spend five days crafting a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the most successful films of all time. This wildly funny and engaging tale illuminates the behind-the-scenes business of movie-making during the golden age of Hollywood. A co-production with McCoy Rigby Entertainment and La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Theatre Out, Orange County's gay and lesbian theatre, will present HAPPY ENDINGS ARE EXTRA as its next production, with performances starting October 1 and continues through October 25. This provocative story of love and betrayal unravels as one man comes to terms with the life he's leading and the one he left behind in a fascinating study of emotions that illustrates how intertwined the lives of two strangers can quickly become. This dark drama from playwright Ashraf Johaardien is rooted in the culture of South Africa's red light district and was inspired by the 2003 massacre of six rent boys. (October 1 - 25, 2009)

Tony® Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winner for his acclaimed portrayal of the Emcee in Broadway?s revival of CABARET at Studio 54, Alan Cumming will present the West Coast Premiere of his one-man show Alan Cumming: I Bought a Blue Car Today at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with two performances on September 26 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. in Samueli Theater. Accompanied by his musical director, Lance Horne, Cumming will unleash his favorite tunes, belt out celebrated hits alongside little-known gems, whilst captivating his audience with poignant anecdotes from his colorful and fantastic past. It?s a musical journey peppered with material by Frank Sinatra, Dory Previn, Kander & Ebb and Cyndi Lauper, to name only a few.

The Music Center celebrates Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with a live simulcast of his Inaugural Concert, on the Music Center Plaza on Thursday, October 8 at 7:00 pm. Program includes World Premiere of John Adams? City Noir and Mahler?s Symphony No. 1

The 'Bright Side of Life' will light up for just two final weeks as The Tony and Grammy Award-winning MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT makes its final stop (after an almost four year national tour run) at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on October 6 ? 18. As a special closing treat, John O' Hurley (TV's Seinfeld, Dancing with the Stars, and Family Feud) will reprise his role of King Arthur.

In an exclusive Southern California engagement, award-winning chanteuse, actress and comedienne Christine Ebersole returns to the Orange County Performing Arts Center for her third visit October 8 ? 11 in the intimate Samueli Theater to open the 2009-2010 Cabaret Series. Ebersole has enchanted audiences throughout her performing career ? from the Broadway stage to television series and specials, films, concert appearances, and recordings ? with her amazing voice, endearing personality and vast repertoire of ballads, jazz, pop, torch, opera, swing and country.

On September 26, 2009, Alan Cumming will be making his U.S. West Coast debut at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with his one-man cabaret ALAN CUMMING: I BOUGHT A BLUE CAR TODAY. The show earned rave reviews in New York, Sydney and London; now his unique musical stylings will be on display during two shows at the Samueli Theater. Last month, Cumming took a few moments to speak with BroadwayWorld's Michael Lawrence Quintos to talk about his solo concert in Orange County, his upcoming projects (including the much buzzed-about SPIDER-MAN musical), and his work as an equal rights advocate.

The First National Tour of LEGALLY BLONDE - THE MUSICAL will begin performances at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on September 8.

The fear that coming out in public spells box office poison for a marquee-desiring actor is at the center of Douglas Carter Beane's THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, presented by Theatre Out, Orange County's gay and lesbian theatre. The play, which received a Tony® Award nomination for Best Play in 2007, is chock-full of witty, Hollywood-insider laughs and a continuous barrage of funny monologues (even touching and poignant at times) from each character. This particular production of the hilariously written play, which originated as a workshop presentation at the University of California at Irvine, gives its foursome of actors plenty of great lines to deliver.