LISA SMITH WENGLER CENTER FOR THE ARTS

by Michael Quintos - June 11, 2026

I'll say this now: this Summer's most beguiling, most enchanting theatrical surprise is perhaps the brand new, gorgeously opulent regional production of ANASTASIA - THE MUSICAL, now on stage at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through June 20, 2026. A visual stunner punctuated by remark...

by Michael Quintos - June 08, 2026

You may ask yourself—is seeing a touring stage production of the globally and generationally ubiquitous 1959 musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC still worth experiencing live on stage in 2026? While the stage musical in its current touring form certainly doesn't offer anything revolutionary or new to the s...

by Michael Quintos - June 04, 2026

It's a very rare treat—particularly all the way here in Orange County, California—to hear Broadway songs and the stories behind them performed directly by the legendary composer himself, even for just a one-night-only event. But that is exactly the gift bestowed upon a rapt audience recently whe...

by Michael Quintos - May 14, 2026

Beautifully acted, engagingly riveting, and populated with impactful characters, Reggie D. White's thoughtfully sprawling and emotionally layered new play—directed by Lili-Anne Brown—delivers an ambitious, deeply affecting examination of generational legacy, Black identity, masculinity, and the ...

by Michael Quintos - April 26, 2026

First developed and workshopped at South Coast Repertory’s annual Pacific Playwrights Festival in 2025, celebrated new “it” playwright Talene Monahon’s freshly birthed play EAT ME is currently being presented at OC’s Tony Award-winning regional theater as a fully-formed World Premiere prod...

by Michael Quintos - April 15, 2026

Now having its Southern California regional production, MEAN GIRLS - THE MUSICAL continues performances at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through May 3, 2026. Produced by McCoy Rigby Entertainment, this fun, high-energy, youthfully-targeted new iteration of the 2018 stage adaptation o...

by Michael Quintos - April 13, 2026

Bursting with contagious rhythm, irrepressible heart, and an abiding sense of community pride, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning 2008 original Broadway musical IN THE HEIGHTS remains one of the most vibrant and emotionally resonant contemporary musicals to emerge from the early 21st century. F...

by Michael Quintos - February 20, 2026

Initially billed as a show that was 'lovingly ripped off' from the 1975 cult classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Tony Award–winning 2005 Broadway musical comedy MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT™ gleefully gallops back onto the stage in a brand new production with its signature coconut-clack...

by Michael Quintos - February 17, 2026

Directed by James Vásquez with musical direction by Ryan O'Connell and choreography by Shani Talmor, this remarkably solid new production of the 1965 Tony Award winner boasts haunting visuals and superb performances from its assembled ensemble, led by a trio of excellent leads that offer three dist...

by Michael Quintos - February 10, 2026

Wildly surprising and deliciously savage, Yasmina Reza's machete-edged 2006 dark comedy GOD OF CARNAGE—here directed by Marco Barricelli and continues performances at OC's South Coast Repertory through March 21, 2026—has to be one of the most ferocious dissections of modern-day performative civi...