Costa Mesa Theatre Newsroom

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 that this Tony and Pulitzer-Prize-winning 1996 show truly deserves to always have a full symphony orchestra playing its memorable score. Aided by a talented ensemble led by Coby Getzug, Abigail Barlow, and Frankie Rodriguez, this beautifully-presented music showcase proved to be an entertaining evening.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts has announced the lineup for its 2025-26 Broadway season featuring eleven productions. Learn more about the full upcoming lineup here!

South Coast Repertory will present a theatrical adventure from a finalist for the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize—the world premiere of You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! by Keiko Green.

Fresh off her final set of performances in the L.A. transfer of the new Broadway revival of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, the two-time Tony Award winning stage and screen star recently returned to Orange County, CA for a one-night-only sold out concert at the Irvine Barclay Theatre accompanied by music director Michael Rafter. Foster dazzled the audience with selections that ranged from traditional showtunes to classic pop hits and even a lullaby or two inspired by her daughter Emily.

The Laguna Beach Arts Alliance will present the 17th Annual Art Star Awards, an evening dedicated to honoring the artists, organizations, and patrons who shape Laguna Beach's vibrant arts community.

South Coast Repertory has announced the lineup for the 27th Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), anchored by two world premieres of fully staged productions. Learn more here!

Passion, romance and tragedy come to Soka Performing Arts Center on March 1 with the staging of Giacomo Puccini’s most famous opera, Madama Butterfly.

South Coast Repertory celebrates the joy of reading with a hilarious musical almost good enough to eat in The Incredible Book Eating Boy. The Incredible Book Eating Boy runs Feb. 28-March 16 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

New York-based distribution company Cinema Guild has announced the North American theatrical release of You Burn Me (Tú me abrasas), the latest work from Matías Piñeiro.Vanguard University’s Theatre Arts Department will present Footloose written by Dean Pitchford, adapted by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, and music by Tom Snow.

The 25th Anniversary Season of CASA 0101 Theater will kick off with the World Premiere of MUJERES ON THE VERGE (WOMEN ON THE VERGE), Four One-Act Plays in celebration of Women's “HER”story Month. Learn more.

'O Fortuna!', one of the most popular and exhilarating choral movements in the Western canon becomes the finale to Pacific Symphony's upcoming concert exploring the power, complexity, and beauty of music and the human voice.

Measure your life in love with the iconic music of RENT in Concert.  Segerstrom Center for the Arts will present this new symphonic experience of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical in March. Learn how to purchase tickets.

Edison High School Theater will present its upcoming production of 'Footloose the Musical,' a high-energy and heartwarming story about the power of music and dance. Learn more!

South Coast Repertory and HFP LIVE will present pianist/actor/playwright/producer Hershey Felder, for a strictly limited engagement of Rachmaninoff and the Tsar.

The Israel Philharmonic will return to the United States for a five-city tour, March 19–26, 2025, conducted by Music Director Lahav Shani. See the tour dates and learn how to purchase tickets.

Segerstrom Center For the Arts has released a documentary on the 10 year anniversary of its Disney Musicals in Schools program. Check out the video here!

Orange County native Sarah Lynn Marion talks with BroadwayWorld about her Broadway debut—and what it’s like to be an understudy for two roles in the show. 

Directed by Mina Morita, the play—an emotionally-absorbing drama with sprinkled bits of comedy—is, at its core, a poignant exploration of deep friendships, colored by a devotion to cultural and religious identity and the fears of displacement and upheaval set against the backdrop of Iran's political turmoil in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Featuring an outstanding ensemble of five very gifted actors that give their respective roles distinct personalities and quirks, the play transcends some of its staging obstacles to ultimately become one of the most emotionally resonant and relatable plays of SCR's 61st season.

South Coast Repertory is bringing Pulitzer Prize-winning, Orange County native Sanaz Toossi home with the West Coast premiere of her comedy Wish You Were Here. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

After making his Center debut last season and delighting audiences with his humor, anecdotes, and beloved music, Jason Robert Brown takes the stage once more for a wonderful cabaret performance, this time, featuring Anika Noni Rose! 

For the first time in its history, the Pageant of the Masters is introducing Family Fun Fest, an exciting new addition to the final day of its annual Open Casting Call.

Pacific Symphony rings in the New Year with 'Four Seasons and Strauss,' featuring two inspiring masterpieces that are sure to uplift and calm the spirit.

Laguna Art Museum has unveiled details of its highly anticipated 43rd Annual California Cool Art Auction benefiting Laguna Art Museum.

South Coast Repertory will bring the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Orange County native Sanaz Toossi home with the West Coast premiere of her comedy Wish You Were Here.

The new locally produced PBS SoCal documentary offers a glimpse into the rise of Pacific Symphony from its founding in 1978 to becoming the youngest Tier One Orchestra in the nation under Maestro Carl St.Clair. Learn how to watch.