Costa Mesa Theater Reviews

Review: Musical Theatre West Stages Exuberant Production of Disney's NEWSIES
by Michael Quintos - July 25, 2024

Filled with high-energy singing and dancing that explodes out of an inspirational story based on real events, MTW's new production of this Disney stage musical is a guaranteed fun time, thanks to a terrific ensemble, and memorable music from Alan Menken and Jack Feldman. The show continues at the Ca...

Review: Hollywood Bowl Celebrates Henry Mancini with Cynthia Erivo, Michael Bublé, & More
by Michael Quintos - June 25, 2024

For its opening night of its 2024 season, the Hollywood Bowl presented a musical celebration of composer Henry Mancini’s 100th Birthday with a concert featuring the Hollywood Bowl orchestra—under the direction of principal conductor Thomas Wilkins and welcomed special guest artists Michael Bublé, Da...

Review: Disney's Enchanting THE LITTLE MERMAID Swims Back to the La Mirada Theatre
by Michael Quintos - June 10, 2024

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts' mesmerizing, visually-stunning 2016 production of Disney's stage adaptation of THE LITTLE MERMAID has returned for a limited engagement continuing through June 23, 2024. Filled with colorful costumes and sets and soaring mermaids, this spectacular show will...

Review: Katerina McCrimmon's Star Shines Bright in FUNNY GIRL Revival at Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - June 04, 2024

This 2022 revival of the 1964 musical is quite enjoyable, not because of its new changes (via director Michael Mayer and Harvey Fierstein's new book) but thanks mostly to its lead star McCrimmon, who is reason enough to see this touring iteration. The show continues at Segerstrom Center for the Arts...

Review: Seth Rudetsky presents Tony Winner Lillias White at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - May 31, 2024

To close out their 2023-2024 Series, Segerstrom Center welcomed theater aficionado Seth Rudetsky to serve as an interviewer/pianist for Tony Award winner Lillias White for three shows May 16-18, 2024 in one of the most incredibly wonderful, fan-favoring shows that the OC arts campus has ever hosted ...

Review: Chance Theater Stages OC Premiere of ALMA
by Michael Quintos - May 24, 2024

Having its OC Premiere at Chance Theater in Anaheim, CA through May 31, ALMA—the touching, poignant, and very timely play written by Benjamin Benne—delves dramatically into the complex, sometimes contentious, but achingly relatable relationship between a struggling single immigrant mother and her sm...

Review: Tony Award Winner Matt Doyle Makes Segerstrom Center Cabaret Debut
by Michael Quintos - May 20, 2024

Matt Doyle—the 2022 Tony Award winner for his gender-bent role of Jaime in the Broadway revival of COMPANY—made his Segerstrom Center for the Arts Cabaret Series debut over a three-night engagement that began on May 2, 2024 with an incredible set that showcased his amazing vocal talents and his char...

Review: South Coast Repertory Presents World Premiere Play GALILEE, 34
by Michael Quintos - May 05, 2024

Eleanor Burgess’ brilliant, thoughtful, and often bitingly funny GALILEE, 34—currently having its impressive world premiere production at South Coast Repertory through May 12, 2024—is a humorously insightful, beautifully-performed new play that offers an unreliably revisionist examination of suppose...

Review: A Triumphant JERSEY BOYS Debuts at the La Mirada Theatre
by Michael Quintos - April 26, 2024

A brand-new, reimagined regional iteration of the Tony-winning 2005 musical JERSEY BOYS now at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts is exceeding all expectations. Featuring a superb ensemble cast performing The Four Seasons' greatest hits, this spectacular, high-energy, crowd-pleasing produ...

Review: PRELUDE TO A KISS Returns to South Coast Repertory as a World Premiere Musical
by Michael Quintos - April 23, 2024

Based on Craig Lucas' 1988 play and 1992 film adaptation of the same name, PRELUDE TO A KISS - THE MUSICAL is an admirable first attempt of a new musical that is, clearly, still a work-in-progress. In its current state, this genuinely charming but disjointed musical could use a sharp refocus and som...

Review: Wildly Over-the-top BEETLEJUICE - THE MUSICAL Spooks Laughs at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - April 22, 2024

Adapted from the 1988 Tim Burton cult classic, BEETLEJUICE - THE MUSICAL is an over-the-top, chaotic, and wildly unhinged reimagining that amps up the kooky-ness of its source material a thousand-fold. Mostly funny and entertaining despite its tonal shifts and forced outlandishness, the show elicits...

Review: Musical Theatre West Brings MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Back to Life in Long Beach
by Michael Quintos - April 19, 2024

More like one elongated impromptu jam session than a typical musical, Musical Theatre West's new production of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET doesn't involve a complex storyline, but instead focuses on imagining what it must have been like to be in the room where music history happened. The resulting concer...

Review: All-Star Cast Shines in A BROADWAY BIRTHDAY Celebrating Sondheim and Lloyd Webber
by Michael Quintos - April 10, 2024

A talented collection of Broadway vets led by Tony winner Betty Buckley gathered together for a one-night-only concert 'A BROADWAY BIRTHDAY: SONDHEIM, LLOYD WEBBER, AND FRIENDS' at Segerstrom Concert Hall on March 28, 2024 to celebrate the legacy—and coincidental same birthdate—of musical theater ro...

Review: MJ - THE MUSICAL Moonwalks Into OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - March 23, 2024

An overall resounding triumph despite its insistence on side-stepping some of the more salacious scandals associated with its subject, pop star Michael Jackson—MJ - THE MUSICAL is a genuinely entertaining and nostalgic show that purposely aims to celebrate the creative, if misunderstood genius behin...

Review: Grammy Nominee Jane Monheit Makes OC Return at Irvine Barclay
by Michael Quintos - March 19, 2024

Returning to Orange County, CA for a one-night-only concert at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, Monheit stunned the audience with her incredible talents, offering fresh live performances of superb tunes—including many from the Broadway stage—that are slated for her upcoming new studio album releasing thi...

Review: Musical Theatre West Revisits Classic 42ND STREET in Long Beach
by Michael Quintos - February 13, 2024

For the most part, MTW's brand-new, admirably plucky 2024 production—now on stage through February 25—succeeds as an entertaining, visually cheerful show, filled with strong performances, a rousingly robust orchestra, and dynamic, zestfully tap-tastic dance numbers. Despite its lack of any real, ser...

Review: Bold Staging of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Rocks Chance Theater
by Michael Quintos - February 09, 2024

Featuring a humorous yet surprisingly poignant original story from John Cameron Mitchell and piercing, high-octane tunes from composer Stephen Trask, the gloriously ribald glam-rock musical HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is currently flipping its wigs out in a brand new extremely engaging production at t...

Review: Disney's THE LION KING Rules Once More at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - February 06, 2024

Now in its 27th year, Disney's game-changing, Tony Award-winning global megahit THE LION KING has once again taken over OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for another month of performances that continues through February 25, 2024. Even today, the show still manages to elicit genuine w...

Review: Broadway's Jessica Vosk Honors the Songwriters of Laurel Canyon at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - January 30, 2024

A spectacular one-night-only concert at OC's Segerstrom Center starring one of Broadway's most acclaimed stars, Jessica Vosk's 'California Dreamin'' is a rousing, informative tribute to the incredible singer/songwriters that populated the Laurel Canyon artists community in Los Angeles that included ...

Review: Fun-Filled Musical Remake of MYSTIC PIZZA Debuts at La Mirada Theatre
by Michael Quintos - January 25, 2024

A lively, vibrant new jukebox musical based on the 1988 film, La Mirada Theatre's fun and entertaining new production of MYSTIC PIZZA—now playing through February 11, 2024—is a charming, if forgivably predictable coming-of-age tale featuring 80's/90's hits and a cast of likable actors and characters...

Review: Broadway Talents Honor Olivia Newton-John at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - January 19, 2024

Hosted by Scott Coulter at OC's Segerstrom Center, this beautifully-curated 'greatest hits' showcase celebrating Olivia Newton-John provided an entertaining tribute, delivered via superb performances from the likes of Jessica Hendy, David Burnham, and Mike Schwitter, plus a first-person testimonial ...

Review: OC Welcomes Weekend Holiday Concerts from Megan Hilty and Linda Eder
by Michael Quintos - January 05, 2024

In December 2023, the OC welcomed back two powerhouse vocalists who each gave their own respective holiday-themed concerts: Broadway fave Megan Hilty at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa; and recording artist Linda Eder at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. To no one's surprise, both entertained...

Review: THE GRINCH Stage Musical Slithers Back into OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - December 21, 2023

The touring stage adaptation of Dr. Seuss' cheeky holiday tale returns to the OC's Segerstrom Center with a non-equity cast. While the show itself is still a charmer—especially for young audiences—the bad audio mix at Costa Mesa's largest theater leaves most of the show's lyrics and dialogue indecip...

Review: FORBIDDEN BROADWAY Returns to OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - November 28, 2023

On November 16-18, 2023, Segerstrom Center for the Arts's Samueli Theater welcomed back FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, the hit Broadway-skewering parody show that pokes fun at the Great White Way. Aimed as a 'greatest hits' iteration, the show was a (mostly) funny 2-Act program, but a lot of its material prove...

Review: Carole King's Life Story Blossoms in BEAUTIFUL at La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - November 20, 2023

McCoy Rigby Entertainment is currently presenting a superb, highly-entertaining Southern California Regional Premiere production of BEAUTIFUL at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, which continues performances through December 3, 2023. To put it simply, this production is quite well done....