COSTA MESA THEATER REVIEWS

First introduced to locals here in Southern California back in 2008 during its pre-Broadway tryouts at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, the 1st National Tour of the retooled 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL has arrived in Orange County for a week of shows ending May 10 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. ...

In the impressive new musical THE BOY IN THE BATHROOM--now playing at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills through May 22--the debilitating mental struggle of a young man trapped by his own self-imposed imprisonment (both literally and figuratively) becomes the searing focus of this emotionally-thoug...

In Jon Marans' thought-provoking bio-play THE TEMPERAMENTALS--now playing its West Coast Premiere at the Blank Theatre Company's 2nd Stage Theater in Los Angeles through May 22--a little-known bit of history is unearthed: More than a decade before the infamous Stonewall Riots marked the defacto star...

Internationally famous for their fantastical, imaginative circus shows, the Montréal-based troupe's brand of whimsy and jaw-dropping acts are in full display in QUIDAM, one of several Cirque du Soleil shows now touring the globe. First produced in 1996, QUIDAM's Southern California stops continue a...

Set against the interesting backdrop of flowing petticoats in a sea of celestial dots of light, Lauren Gunderson's charmingly lyrical new play SILENT SKY is now enjoying a fully-staged World Premiere production at South Coast Repertory through May 1. With a penchant for subtle wit and sincerely earn...

When it comes to taking a catalog of familiar, era-specific songs, tossing them together with colorful costumes and sets, then weaving an easily digestible story to tie them all together, jukebox musical aficionado Roger Bean has his formula down pat. The man behind The Marvelous Wonderettes, it's h...

One of the stage's most prolific playwrights and stage impresarios, Noel Coward's madcap romantic comedy PRIVATE LIVES gets a richly amusing though slightly by-the-numbers revival at the Laguna Playhouse, now playing through April 10. Full of his biting wit and old school farcical elements that stil...

I can't think of a better finale to Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2010-2011 Cabaret Series season than the impressive Opera baritone hunk Nathan Gunn, whose 4-night O.C. debut set continues in Costa Mesa through this Sunday, March 27. But make no mistake-the man is more than just a handsome face. ...

What is a weir? It usually serves as a liquid fence between the calm, but deeper areas of a river and the more tumultuous surfaces it overflows to below. Without it, rivers will crest with unpredictability and the danger of flooding threatens the villages that line them. Thus dictates the symbolic t...

Arguably the biggest blockbuster stage musical of this fresh century, WICKED has returned to Orange County for an almost month-long engagement at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts through April 3. The stage musical -- a consistent box-office hit since its Broadway debut seven years ago -- has ballo...

You know you're in for a naughty good time when a show includes graphic puppet sex, cute but sadistic bears, and a special appearance by TV's Gary Coleman. What can somewhat be described as a very, very adult-leaning, expletive-spewing cousin of the iconic PBS children's series Sesame Street, AVENUE...

The second longest-running show in Broadway history, CATS, that renowned Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that purred its way to a Tony win for Best Musical in 1982, is certainly one of those shows almost everyone and their mother has seen at least once. It is also most notably known for being the musica...

When did the Pantages Theatre turn into a nostalgia rock concert venue? 2011 so far has featured 60's-set HAIR and the 1891 emo rockers of SPRING AWAKENING and now, it plays host to the national tour of ROCK OF AGES, the surprising yet undeniably hilarious Tony-nominated jukebox musical that feature...

As its first production in their new home at the historic Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton, 3D Theatricals opens with THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, that wonderful, effervescent 2006 Broadway musical concoction. A Tony Winner for Best Book and Best Score, this insanely funny musical comedy is a reverent, if w...

There's an old adage that says a person has at least one other person somewhere in the world whom they're meant to be with, and that fate will eventually bring them together. That idea seems to be the impetus for Chance Theater's production of Adam Szymkowicz's 2006 play NERVE, which continues its W...

It's been just a little more than a year since a touring production of SPRING AWAKENING has graced a theater filled with screaming fans here in Southern California. While the touring cast list has certainly changed, many of the same brilliant elements that made this 2007 Tony winner for Best Musical...

On the evening of Saturday, January 29, two of the original stars of Jonathan Larsen's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical RENT, Adam Pascal (Roger) and Anthony Rapp (Mark), shared a double-bill concert at the Barclay Theatre in Irvine, California. The concert was part of a concert tour which th...

Originally produced off-Broadway in 2006, Keith Bunin's complex THE BUSY WORLD IS HUSHED is now enjoying an excellent regional revival courtesy of Theatre Out, Orange County's Gay and Lesbian Theatre company, with performances playing through February 5 at the Empire Theatre in Santa Ana. Theatre Ou...

Despite a subdued O.C. audience, this spiritually buoyant new touring production of the 2009 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical revival, HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical still revels in its naughty, raucous fun and its sonically adventurous songs. A delightful hybrid of vaudeville high-ji...

In Annie Baker's engrossing CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION--the recent Obie Award Winner for Best New American Play--audiences are provided a glimpse into the world of the actor's studio, a bare space that comes alive with theater games, improvisation and emotional catharsis from its sometimes perplex...

The debate over same-sex marriage is the overarching theme of David L. Ray's stirring new world premiere play 'CAUGHT,' now performing at the Zephyr Theatre in West Hollywood for an extended engagement through February 13. Set in the months before voting on Prop. 8 happened, this thoughtful, sometim...

Directed with great care and blissful appeal, this spiritually buoyant new touring production of the 2009 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical revival, HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical revels in its naughty, raucous fun and its sonically adventurous musical soundtrack. A delightful hybrid o...

An accomplished comedienne, an emotionally powerful actress, and a gifted vocalist worthy of large marquees, Foster allowed all three to be fully experienced live in her exquisite showcase An Evening with Sutton Foster, a song collection of her Broadway hits, personal favorites, and selections from ...

Between the Southern California arrivals of Lincoln Center Theatre's impressive SOUTH PACIFIC revival and the Tony-winning NEXT TO NORMAL tour starring Alice Ripley, to the incredibly entertaining offerings from regional and smaller theaters in the area, 2010 was a banner year in musicals and plays....

Those coming to see this 'new puppet show' expecting those delightful Jim Henson Muppets are in for a real surprise... but a really good one. Perhaps the funniest, most masterfully inappropriate use of puppets since Avenue Q, STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG is an uproariously gut-busting show that combines the...