COSTA MESA

by Michael Quintos - June 13, 2025

Touted as the first 'non-replica' regional production of this Disney stage musical mounted in Southern California, La Mirada Theatre's fresh iteration of FROZEN - THE MUSICAL still has plenty of Disney-esque magic to offer young and old audience members alike seeking to revisit the land of Arendelle...

by Michael Quintos - June 06, 2025

There is definitely an easy-to-surmise draw behind the now-touring version of the Tony Award-winning play LIFE OF PI, now currently enchanting audiences at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 15, 2025. Filled with innovative visual trickery and remarkable, human-powered pu...

by Michael Quintos - May 09, 2025

Set in the part of the 'real' Hawaii that tourists are unlikely to ever see, THE STAIRCASE—the World Premiere play from Noa Gardner directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch—is an admirable new play that features a superb acting ensemble, relatable themes, beautifully authentic cultural representation, and a...

by Michael Quintos - April 29, 2025

Filled with catchy, pop-infused songs, engaging characters, vibrant choreography, and a not-so-subtle message of female empowerment and self-confidence, LEGALLY BLONDE - THE MUSICAL is back in SoCal in a brand new, awesomely-entertaining, Broadway-caliber regional production at the La Mirada Theatre...

by Michael Quintos - April 28, 2025

Now ten years old, HAMILTON—which was birthed during a more welcoming time when such a creative, innovative endeavor felt like a step in necessary progress—still lives up to its initial hype, but also now feels more groundbreaking and particularly poignant than ever before....

by Michael Quintos - April 23, 2025

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of two groundbreaking, iconic musicals CHICAGO and A CHORUS LINE, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in association with Spot-On Entertainment presented a one-nigh-only star-studded concert featuring the music of John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Marvin Hamlisch. The line...

by Michael Quintos - April 21, 2025

With a notable career that spans stage and screen, musically-gifted actor Cheyenne Jackson delivered a wonderfully charming, wickedly hilarious OC solo debut set during his three-night run at Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theatre from April 10-12, 2025. Backed by the superbly talented Will...

by Michael Quintos - April 17, 2025

Poignant, hopeful, sardonic, jubilant, and hilariously wicked, YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO THE END OF THE WORLD! is a brilliant new World Premiere play that revels in its eccentricity yet, thankfully, doesn't quite shield you from genuine, gut-wrenching emotions that tug at your heart strings. Buoy...

by Michael Quintos - April 03, 2025

For Musical Theatre West's new, winning large-scale production—now on stage at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach through April 13, 2025—director Kari Hayter and a company of terrific performers have revived the musical in an expected, true-to-the-classic staging, bursting with the c...

by Michael Quintos - March 21, 2025

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from experiencing RENT - IN CONCERT—a symphony orchestra-backed concert version of Jonathan Larson's iconic musical which recently played to a full-capacity crowd for a one-night-only performance on March 15, 2025 at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa—is t...