COSTA MESA THEATER REVIEWS

A seven-years-and-counting fixture at New York's famed Café Carlyle (a spot he inherited from one of his mentors, the late Bobby Short), Steve Tyrell--a long-time behind-the-scenes music veteran-turned chart-topping jazz superstar--has returned to Orange County, California for a series of highly-en...

Proving that no two shows are ever alike, STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG--back for a return engagement at the Irvine Barclay Theatre through January 1--isn't your kids' (or Jason Segal's) kind of Muppets. While certainly as cute and quirky as their child-friendly counterparts, these naughty cousins of Jim Hen...

One normally doesn't expect to see an operatic baritone put on an intimate jazz cabaret showcase, yet in Paulo Szot's Orange County debut, the audacious notion proves to be a surprisingly pleasant affair. Performing as part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Cabaret series, the Tony Award-winnin...

Now performing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, California through January 1, the current touring stage production of IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS--a beguiling, surprisingly-winsome re-imagining of the classic 1954 Paramount Pictures musical motion picture of the same name-...

Armed with brand new costumes, sets, choreography and orchestrations created specifically for this nine-performance production, Musical Theatre West's nostalgic yuletide offering of WINTER WONDERETTES--Roger Bean's holiday-themed sequel to his popular 60's-set off-Broadway hit THE MARVELOUS WONDERET...

It's always such a wonderful treat to witness a living legend speak candidly and honestly about their experiences, looking back fondly at a multi-decade career that few could even dare replicate. Orange County residents now have such an opportunity with none other than two-time Tony Award winning di...

Like otherworldly blue aliens from a distant planet, the silent but fun BLUE MAN GROUP really knows how to bring its brand of peculiar party tricks to a rapt audience. Fascinated by random objects and behaviors, and aroused by their own extraordinary feats, the show enthralls its age-expansive audie...

Almost ten years after its triumphant debut on Broadway, the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical HAIRSPRAY is making quite a resurgence lately, thanks to the plethora of regional theaters across the country that now have licenses to mount their own versions. It's a good thing, too, because the sho...

Sometimes even in disappointment, comes something wonderful, which was certainly the case with the magnificent impromptu showcase that occurred at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa on Saturday, October 29. A mixed blessing if there ever was one, the evening's original agenda...

There is a good reason why Twyla Tharp is, well, Twyla Tharp. She's one of the world's most renown, ubiquitous choreographers, and her unmistakable stamp can be found leaping all throughout COME FLY AWAY, a superb new dance-centric musical stage show now playing its Los Angeles premiere at the Panta...

There's an old showbiz cliche that says that you shouldn't work with kids or animals. Luckily, both contribute an enjoyable, charming quality to 3D Theatricals' gargantuan stage production of THE WIZARD OF OZ, its latest stage offering that performs at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, CA through...

Superb from beginning to end, 4-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald's one-night-only solo concert at the lush Renee & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on October 15--her only Southern California stop before her return to Broadway in the revival of PORGY & BESS--was a musical testament as to why she's...

Like a warm Snuggie on a cold winter night or a decadent dessert to a calorie counter, sometimes we all just want to cater to our own basest pleasure centers that simply crave comforting, entertaining shows full of good ol' plain, silly fun. This same idea explains why macaroni and cheese makes for ...

Hypnotic and gorgeous from start to finish, Cirque du Soleil's thrilling IRIS: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF CINEMA turns celluloid beauty into living stage art. It is arguably the Montreal-based troupe's most artistic rendering of a single thematic motif to date, and is absolutely the perfect show...

One of the most beloved novels of all time, Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE has so consistently resonated with readers since its first publication in 1813 that it has spawned a plethora of dramatic adaptations on several different mediums. Continuing the trend is South Coast Repertory, now running...

If you weren't one of the happy patrons that attended the one-night-only concert NEW YORK'S FINEST: THE LEADING MEN OF BROADWAY at the Ford Amphitheatre on the night of September 16, 2011, then, sadly, you missed out on perhaps one of the strongest, most staggeringly talented collections of male mus...

A near-perfect blend of story, lyrics, score and movement, the terrific 2009 Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY--now playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County through September 18--bursts forth with a kind of style and intelligence that arguably reiterates its place as one of t...

The Hollywood Bowl's gigantic, often star-studded outdoor summer musical has through the years been one of the most anticipated annual concert events in Southern California. And this year, with their rousing revival of HAIRSPRAY, the hype actually delivered on its promise--for the most part. Genuine...

Long before the stage saw puppets having sex and Ugandans confronting Mormons, there was JERRY SPRINGER: THE OPERA, a joyously foul-mouthed stage musical that's as much of a hilarious guilty pleasure as its title suggests. The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills is the latest American regional theater t...

Based on the popular children's book series by P.L. Travers that Disney shaped into an even more renowned movie musical, the stage iteration's current touring company has temporarily taken up residence at the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts in Orange County for an extended four-week limite...

Buoyed by a charmingly droll book penned by Chad Beguelin and the film's original screenwriter Tim Herlihy, THE WEDDING SINGER--playing through July 24 at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach--isn't just a celebratory collection of 80's era sight gags, though it's chockfull of ...

Always edgy and never dull, Theatre Out--Orange County's Gay and Lesbian Theater company--has continually presented some interesting theater offerings since its remarkable debut in 2006. Its current production, a rambunctious revival of Andrew Lippa's topsy-turvy musical THE WILD PARTY, is no except...

Let me just say this right off the bat... BURN THE FLOOR is quite possibly the most entertained I have ever been at a dance-centric stage show. From its electric start to its rousingly gangbusters finalé, the show truly lives up to its scorching name. Direct from its Broadway berth, the tour is now...

There is perhaps a certain truth in the adage that we as adults are simply the end product of a combined cocktail of biologically-inherited traits, as well as the many environmental factors that invade our lives as young children that are carried into maturity. By this logic, is it fair to ask... if...

Using almost all of the same cast and elements from their initial 2010 production of the Elvis musical ALL SHOOK UP (at its former home in the OC Pavilion in Santa Ana), the Orange County-based 3D Theatricals is once again mounting a newer, more rousingly-amplified revival in their new home at the P...