The latest reviews and critic recommendations from Costa Mesa.
One of the most stunning, brilliantly-staged productions I've seen in the past few years, Orange County's 3D Theatricals has, once again, outdone itself with its moving, epic-sized revival of Jason Robert Brown's Tony Award-winning musical PARADE.
Despite having a cast of incredible triple threats, overall, FLASHDANCE: THE MUSICAL---the new, Broadway-bound stage musical based on the popular 80's-era movie of the same name---seems like a well-meant endeavor that needs a serious overhaul in its disjointed execution.
It is easy to understand why Betty Buckley has been called the 'Voice of Broadway'.
In South Coast Repertory's amusingly naughty World Premiere production of Beau Willimon's THE PARISIAN WOMAN (now playing through May 5), 'Body of Proof' star Dana Delany plays Chloe, a morally ambiguous but undeniably tenacious Washington DC housewife with high political aspirations, especially for
This year's main-stage attraction of SCR's annual Pacific Playwrights Festival, SMOKEFALL---a co-production with Chicago's Goodman Theatre directed by Anne Kauffman---starts off initially intriguing, as if first unveiling itself as a dark dramedy that follows three generations of an eccentric family
I first reviewed the national tour of BILLY ELLIOT - THE MUSICAL during its triumphant five-week stop at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre a year ago (which you can read HERE) and found it to be quite an entertaining, well-executed show.
Billed as Barbara Cook's Special 85th Birthday Concert, the Tony Award-winning soprano's one-woman concert of musical theatre songs, rare selections, and jazz standards at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa was met with well-earned---and well-deserved---adoring cheers througho
Beautifully acted and heartbreakingly stirring, Samuel D.
While certainly a fun, buoyant little show---featuring some enjoyable music from HAIRSPRAY composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, as well as a very likable, extremely talented young actor, Stephen Anthony, at the center of its semi-autobiographical tale of successful grifting---CATCH ME IF YOU CA
Now in the final stretches of its 25-week national tour before ultimately making its sit-down Broadway transfer later this Spring, the brand-new, revamped revival of JEKYLL & HYDE - THE MUSICAL has finally returned to Southern California for the next few weeks, this time playing performances at the
Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang's immensely funny CHINGLISH, a recent hit on Broadway, is now playing at South Coast Repertory through February 24.
Armed with twice the vocal power and awash with plenty of real, fiery chemistry, Broadway vets -- and real-life married couple -- Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley's romantically-themed cabaret showcase titled 'He Said/She Said' played to packed audiences at the Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa over Vale
If you've ever sat through Steven Spielberg's e-ticket cinematic blockbuster Jurassic Park and wondered to yourself… 'Gee, I wonder how those dinosaurs feel about this whole situation,' then this cheeky, oddly hilarious musical send-up is the perfect show for you.
Hands down one of the most hypnotic, creatively-staged plays ever conceived for the theater, the Tony Award-winning WAR HORSE--whose National Tour is now on stage at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 3--is an utterly stirring feat of theatrical magic, expertly combining da
In Stephen Adly Guirgis' wickedly funny, intensely riveting 2011 dark urban comedy THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT -- now enjoying a superb, profanity-laced new production at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through January 27 -- the idea of personal growth is explored mostly through the (cuss) wor
As expected (thankfully) 2012 provided Southern California audiences--specifically here in Orange County and nearby Los Angeles and San Diego--a season full of outstanding, remarkable theater offerings from touring companies, impressive regional productions, and even some tiny black box theaters.
This holiday season, Orange County found itself playing host to two very different families that couldn't be more disparate from one another--well, at least on the surface.
As far as theatrical arena shows go, Dreamwork's "How To Train Your Dragon Live" makes the top of the list for those worth seeing, and arena shows are growing in number (case in point, the rather boring, but visually interesting, Batman Live arena tour).
The three-hour-plus extravaganza of food, frolic, and fun is so thoroughly entertaining, that it's hard to point out which of its many features is the best.
No other feeling compares to the rousing excitement triggered by hearing a live, huge orchestra blasting out a Broadway overture.
To high-kick-start its 60th anniversary season, Musical Theatre West in Long Beach, CA is presenting a glossy, high-energy revival of what could be the Great Grand-Daddy of all backstage musicals: 42ND STREET.
On the evening of October 27, 2012, an almost full-capacity house at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa definitely had two reasons to celebrate: first, that five-time Grammy-nominated singer/composer Michael Feinstein is back in concert in Orange County; and, second, that he's brought with him an awesome
Orange County, CA- based 3D Theatricals presents an eye-popping, high-energy production of eight-time Tony Award-winner HAIRSPRAY at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton through October 28 before transferring to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, November 2-4.
What kind of stage show do you get when you take random everyday objects--from plastic bags and basketballs, to brooms and garbage cans--and strike them every which way to create a symphony of percussion? Well, unless you've been buried under a giant scrap heap for the past few decades, then you'll
You know that saying that 'two is better than one?' Well it couldn't have been a more enjoyably appropriate description than the swingin'-est concert to hit Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in some time: the double-bill of jazz powerhouses Jane Monheit and John Pizzarelli.
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Back to the Future in Concert Great Park Live (8/01-8/01) |
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UB40 Fred Kavli Theatre (10/25-10/25) |
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Segerstrom Center for the Arts (7/11-7/25) |
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Marco Antonio Solis Long Beach Amphitheater (10/04-10/04) |
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An Evening with Mike Masse: Epic Acoustic Classic Rock Almost Famous Wine (9/11-9/11) |
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Little Shop of Horrors 40th Anniversary Tour with Ellen Greene (the Original Audrey) The Grove (10/18-10/18) |
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Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors Paper Wing Theatre (8/28-9/20) |
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The Music of Star Wars Great Park Live (7/25-7/25) |
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Tchaikovsky Spectacular: Concert of Hope Tchaikovsky Spectacular: Concert of Hope (9/05-9/05) |
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Segerstrom Center for the Arts (7/05-7/25) |
