Costa Mesa Interviews - Page 2

Celebrated Producer Michael Childers will bring his latest edition of One Night Only to The McCallum Theatre on April 24, 2019 with a star-studded cast including Christine Andreas, John Barrowman, Liz Calloway and more. This season's ONO is a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber and proceeds will benefit ...

Already a few cities into their 27-city national circuit, the touring company of COME FROM AWAY has landed in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson. Helmed by its Tony Award-winning director Christopher Ashley, COME FROM AWAY runs through January 6, 2019. Still fresh and reeling from the audience's passiona...

Italian Tenor Pasquale Esposito returns to The Annenberg Theatre, located at The Palm Springs Arts Museum, for his fifth appearance on December 7 at 8:00 pm. The concert celebrates Italian Piazzas and is the live version of his newest PBS special. I had the opportunity to catch up with Mr. Esposito ...

JFS Desert is proud to present an incredible afternoon with Emmy® Award winning comedy writer and stand-up comic Monica Piper for one performance only. This dynamic comedian who has written for Roseanne, Mad About You, Veronica's Closet and was the head writer of the #1 children's animated series Ru...

Award-winning Dezart Performs opens it's eleventh season in the desert with the 'serious comedy' CHURCH AND STATE on November 9 at The Pearl McManus Theatre in donwtown Palm Springs. Production notes state: 'Three days before his bid for reelection, a Republican U.S. senator makes an off-the-cuff co...

How does a busy soprano balance career, family, motherhood, and art? If that soprano is Julie Makerov, it's all about scheduling and planning ahead of time. Makerov, who will be appearing as one of four soloists with LA's Verdi Chorus this weekend at First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica, sa...

DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the winner of six Tony Awards (including Best Musical) makes its second stop of its 23-city national tour at the Ahmanson Theatre with opening night set for October 19, 2018. I had the opportunity to sit down with two of the leads of DEAR EVAN HANSEN. I joined Ben Levi Ross (Evan H...

The world-famous Pageant Of The Masters, a theatrical celebration of great art recreated in tableaux vivants, and celebrating its' 85th anniversary of 'living pictures' as part of Laguna Beach's Festival of Arts, is in full bloom in Laguna Beach, with performances nightly through September 1. This s...

A mannequin manufacturer by day, James Chiao will be fulfilling his dream with the world premiere of his musical TENOR BY NIGHT September 22, 2018 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood (with preview performances at the Rose Center Theater in Westminster, August 17 through 26). James took two s...

The south of the border hotties, Chico's Angels, will make their Palm Springs debut with their hour-long variety show VIVA LAS CHICAS!: Chico's Angels Variety Hour. The show stars the heavenly trio Kay Sedia, Frieda Laye, Chita Parol & Bossman. VIVA LAS CHICAS opens tonight, June 12, and runs for th...

On May 20, The Camelot Theatre in Palm Springs previewed an incredible new documentary, 'The Show Goes On', about the life and career of Broadway, Film and Television Icon Kaye Ballard to a 'more than full house'. In fact, two theatres were opened for the screening since demand far exceeded the numb...

Grammy Winner Melissa Manchester Joins The Coachella Valley Symphony for a very special 'one night only' concert that will feature her greatest hits and more on Saturday, May 12 at 7:00 pm at The McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert. Ms. Manchester may be best known for her hits 'Midnight Blue', 'Wheneve...

The McCallum Theatre recently announced its new lineup as it begins its fourth decade of presenting world-class artists and entertainers for Coachella Valley audiences. The new season includes McCallum debuts, iconic superstars, family-friendly entertainment, holiday sensations, and an outstanding r...

The McCallum Theatre presents WEST SIDE STORY: IN CONCERT for five performances Friday, March 9 through Sunday, March 11. This classic musical is being exclusively produced by the McCallum Theatre as part of its Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration. Produced and directed by Chad Hilligus, the li...

Theatres have a way of becoming an artist's second home. It doesn't matter if you are a director, designer, actor, or volunteer the countless hours you invest and the close proximity in which you do your work often create friendships that last a lifetime. And each time you step back through those ...

Director Michael Michetti is the man of the hour. He has directed some of LA's most compelling productions and, for the past fifteen years, helped The Theatre @ Boston Court become one of the premier theatres for new and innovative work. He currently has a trio of shows on his directing calendar tha...

Robin S, one of the most prolific dance artists of our time and Billboard Dance Chart Topper known for her mega hits 'Show Me Love' and 'Luv 4 Luv' will headline Halloween Palm Springs on Arenas Road Tuesday, October 31 from 5:00-10:00p.m. I had the chance to catch up with Robin to talk about her u...

The first stage production of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, based on the Dreamworks animated feature, will premiere next month at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley....

If you were captivated by the film Hidden Figures and its story of the women known as 'human computers' who saved John Glenn's NASA space mission, get ready for Lauren Gunderson's play SILENT SKY, opening this month at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center....

Broadway's Kate Shindle---currently traveling the country playing Allison Bechdel in the first national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical FUN HOME---is not only an accomplished singer, actor and dancer, she is also a published author and an outspoken activist. In 2015, Shindle was also elected ...

It takes a village to create a new musical. And it takes a village like A LITTLE NEW MUSIC to give musical theatre writers a place to showcase new material while their Broadway-hopeful shows are in development. Meet Peter Welkin, Christopher Maikish, Luke Klipp, Amy Francis Schott, and Kila Packett ...

Making his Segerstrom Center for the Arts debut, Tony Award® nominee Charles Busch is bringing his unique and critically-acclaimed talents to the Samueli Theater March 9-11, 2017 as part of Segerstrom Center's Cabaret Series. Entitled THE LADY AT THE MIC, Busch will enchant audiences in this intimat...

The last remaining tickets are on sale for the desert's most anticipated annual star-studded concert event, Michael Childer's 'One Night Only', benefiting Jewish Family Services Of The Desert (JFS), to be held Thursday, April 20, 2017 at The McCallum Theatre. This 10th season's theme is 'Hello Jerry...

The McCallum Theatre presents 'Lorna Luft Sings the Judy Garland Songbook' on Tuesday, February 14, at 8:00pm. Lorna Luft's career has encompassed virtually every area of entertainment. A celebrated live performer; stage, film and television actress; best-selling author; recording artist and Emmy-no...

Broadway vet and musical comedy genius Jason Graae will be one of several incredible performers that will be presenting JERRY HERMAN: THE BROADWAY LEGACY CONCERT at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts from January 19 - 21, 2017. For three performances at the Center's Samueli Theater---the...

Something may be rotten in the state of Denmark but, in Los Angeles, Shakespeare lovers will find all the joy that they can wish when the Library Foundation of Los Angeles opens its newest exhibit: American's Shakespeare: The Bard Goes West on November 17 at the Central Library. The show is a partne...

With a wide and varied background in the performing arts (including a five-year stint with Cirque du Soleil), Normand Latourelle founded and created Cavalia Inc. in 2003, to showcase the beautiful athleticism of the horse. Just before Cavalia's second production ODYSSEO makes its return engagement i...

The incomparable Kristine W will headline Halloween Palm Springs, Saturday, October 29 from 6:00-10:00 p.m. Kristine W has scored 16 potent #1 dance hits and a record-setting string of nine consecutive #1s on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart over the past 16 years, earning Kristine third place on Bill...

Actor Randy Harrison is touring with Cabaret as the Emcee and is currently at Segerstrom Center for the Arts performing the show through Sunday August 21. In our chat he discusses the role and what Cabaret means to him. Describe the experience of playing the emcee in Cabaret. What makes this role...

Sultry and spunky power-vocalist Storm Large is bringing her awesomely fierce sound back to Orange County, this time at Aliso Viejo's state-of-the-art Soka Performing Arts Center on Friday, April 1 at 8pm. She'll be joined by her band Le Bonheur to perform an eclectic mix of standard classics and fa...

Singer/Actress Frenchie Davis brings her brash wit and iconic vocal style to The Copa in Palm Springs for two intimate performances, January 16 and 17 at 8:00 pm. Davis auditioned for the second season of the groundbreaking FOX show "American Idol" and her tremendous success on the show launched a c...

Pippin, Broadway's high-flying, death-defying hit musical drops in at The McCallum Theatre for a week long engagement, January 12-17. Full of extraordinary acrobatics, wondrous magical feats and soaring songs from the composer of Wicked, Pippin 'lifts you up and leaves you smiling', say press notes....

LOUIS & KEELY 'LIVE' AT THE SAHARA returns to the Geffen Playhouse this month in a revamped production produced by the award-winning Hershey Felder. Written by Vanessa Claire Stewart, Taylor Hackford and Jake Broder and directed by Taylor Hackford, it is the story of Louis Prima and Keely Smith whos...

Grammy Nominated Singer-Songwriter Lisa Loeb brings her signature vocal stylings to The Copa Palm Springs for one special performance, December 11 at 8:00 pm. Loeb is a touring artist, author and philanthropist who started her career with the platinum-selling Number 1 hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" ...

MARILYN: FOREVER BLONDE, a one-woman play with music, starring Sunny Thompson, is coming to the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside. The show will run for one performance at 8 pm, on Saturday, October 24, 2015, as part of the Broadway in Riverside series. Sunny Thompson stars as Marilyn Monroe. ...

Pippin and Next To Normal's Kyle Dean Massey headlines The Copa Palm Springs for one very special performance, October 9, at 8 pm in an intimate Cabaret that features "songs he loves but he's never had the opportunity to sing". Massey first joined the North American touring production of Wicked in 2...

To kick off Segerstrom Center for the Arts' brand new 2015-2016 Spotlight Series, the O.C. theatrical institution will welcome cast members of the Tony Award-winning New York company of the hysterical FORBIDDEN BROADWAY for the show's latest touring incarnation entitled Alive and Kicking! for a limi...

Nicole Parker stars opposite Justin Kirk in the west coast premiere of THESE PAPER BULLETS! A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at Geffen Playhouse this month. Written by Rolin Jones (Weeds, Friday Night Lights, Boardwalk Empire) with songs by Green Day frontman Billie Jo...

American Idol Breakout Sensation David Hernandez brings his affable personality and dynamic vocal abilities to The Copa Palm Springs for one very special performance, September 12 at 8:00 pm.  In addition to American Idol, David has showcased his talents on The Ellen Show, The Today Show, MTV's TRL,...

When the subject is Shakespeare's bittersweet comedy TWELFTH NIGHT, the metaphors and analogies come easily to director Rebecca Taichman, who uses words like 'epic,' 'complex,' 'Mozartian' and 'perfect.' 'It's truly bottomless,' she says. 'I thought I knew everything about the play, and I just ke...