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Costa Mesa Theatre Newsroom

The latest news on live theatre in Costa Mesa from Broadway shows on tour to regional theatre.

Acclaimed Playwright Amy Freed To Write New Adaptation Of A CHRISTMAS CAROL For South Coast Repertory
by BWW News Desk - December 12, 2025
South Coast Repertory will commission award-winning playwright Amy Freed to write a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, with Artistic Director David Ivers set to direct.
Rose Center Theater To Present One Night ROSE TRIBUTE CONCERT
by BWW News Desk - December 10, 2025
The Rose Center Theater will present Rose Tribute Concert, a one night gathering that will bring returning performers and special guests back to the stage in celebration of two decades of music, storytelling, and community impact.
South Coast Repertory And UC Irvine Will Launch THE NEXT STAGE, A Pilot Program For Emerging Artists
by BWW News Desk - December 10, 2025
South Coast Repertory and UC Irvine will launch THE NEXT STAGE, a pilot program integrating UCI drama students into SCR’s professional productions. The initiative will offer mentorship, hands-on training, and performance opportunities.
Photos: Laguna Playhouse's A SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS
by BWW News Desk - December 07, 2025
Check out production photos from Laguna Playhouse's newly revised A SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS, as they celebrate their 10-year anniversary at the Playhouse with the return of the panto show that started it all.
Photos: 45th Annual A CHRISTMAS CAROL At South Coast Repertory
by BWW News Desk - December 03, 2025
South Coast Repertory is celebrating 45 years of bringing Orange County the timeless tale of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Check out photos of the production.
Tickets On Sale Now For the Festival of Arts' 2026 Pageant Of The Masters
by BWW News Desk - December 02, 2025
Tickets for The Festival of Arts' 2026 Pageant of the Masters are officially now on sale. “The Greatest of All Time,” will celebrate the artists, innovators, and masterpieces that have shaped the history of art. 
Festival of Arts To Present LIGHT AND SHADOW: VALUE IN LAGUNA at Laguna Beach City Hall
by BWW News Desk - November 25, 2025
The Festival of Arts has opened Light and Shadow: Value in Laguna, a new exhibition at Laguna Beach City Hall running November 14, 2025 through January 8, 2026.
ICYMI: Next On Stage: Season 5- Meet the Top 15
by BWW News Desk - November 23, 2025
BroadwayWorld's Next On Stage, Broadway's biggest national competition for high school and college students, returned to reveal the Top 15 performers in both age groups. The Top 15 includes...
Watch: Next On Stage's High School & College Top 15 Revealed
by BWW News Desk - November 21, 2025
Who will make the Top 15 of BroadwayWorld's Next On Stage? You'lll have to tune in tonight, November 21 (High School: 7pm ET, College: 9pm ET), to find out!
Pacific Symphony To Present SHELLEY CONDUCTS CARMEN AND DAPHNIS AND CHLOÉ
by BWW News Desk - November 18, 2025
Pacific Symphony will present “Shelley Conducts Carmen and Daphnis and Chloé” from November 20–22 at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The program will feature Gabriela Montero performing her “Latin Concerto,” alongside works by Bizet and Ravel with Pacific Chorale. Alexander Shelley will lead the performances as artistic and music director designate.
Pacific Symphony To Present TCHAIKOVSKY’S SWAN LAKE In December 4–6
by BWW News Desk - November 18, 2025
Pacific Symphony will present “Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake” December 4–6 at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall under the direction of guest conductor Tianyi Lu.
Review: Pun-tastic SHUCKED Harvests Laughs at Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - November 14, 2025
Filled with a seemingly non-stop parade of awww-shucks delivered puns—of both super naughty and super corny varieties—the show, for lack of a more eloquent description, is so frikkin silly and stupid in the best possible ways a comedy can get. Mind you, this isn't an insult at all—the show is so unapologetically and purposely silly, that the whole thing actually feels like savvy (and sassy) comedic gold, albeit the broad and dorky kind that audiences of all kinds will likely adore and appreciate. Unexpectedly weird in the most winning ways, SHUCKED had me laughing heartily at all of its strange, admirably sustained shenanigans and down-home humor, never once wavering from its 'corny' (haha) machinations not even for a millisecond. The show's rather enjoyable national tour production continues performances at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through November 23, 2025.
THE HOLIDAY GEM Set For 2025 Run At The Gem Theatre In Garden Grove
by BWW News Desk - November 12, 2025
One More Productions will present The Holiday Gem this November and December at the GEM Theatre in Garden Grove. Tickets are on sale now for the 2025 engagement.
American Coast Theater Company To Present Its 2025 Christmas Cabaret At Vanguard University
by BWW News Desk - November 11, 2025
American Coast Theater Company (ACTC) will return to the Lyceum Theater this December with a brand-new 2025 Christmas Cabaret, featuring 30 songs spanning traditional carols, modern favorites, and original works.
Review: Laughs Fly High in PETER PAN GOES WRONG at La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - November 09, 2025
Now presenting an even more over-the-top follow up compared to their first go-round in THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG staged here last February, the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment revisit the earnestly bumbling folks at the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society for yet another madcap, mishap-laden production of intense British-style slapstick and comical chaotic shenanigans in its high-flying 2013 'sequel' PETER PAN GOES WRONG which will continue to crack up audiences in the City of La Mirada through November 23, 2025. Amping up the laughs even more this time around, La Mirada's so-good-it-hurts production is this time joined by former Olympic gymnast and longtime 'Peter Pan' herself Cathy Rigby serving as its cheeky 'narrator.'
Celebrate 45 Years of A CHRISTMAS CAROL at South Coast Repertory
by BWW News Desk - November 04, 2025
With special elements designed to enhance the theatergoing experience, South Coast Repertory celebrates 45 years of bringing Orange County the timeless tale of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
Review: MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL Returns to OC’s Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - October 30, 2025
After making a splash when it first visited the OC back in 2022, MOULIN ROUGE! - THE MUSICAL—the dazzling, Tony Award-winning 2019 Broadway stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's groundbreaking 2001 movie musical—is back full throttle at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for a limited week-long engagement that continues through November 2, 2025 (the show then travels an hour north to Los Angeles' Hollywood Pantages Theatre for performances running November 4-16, 2025). More impressive than before, this vibrant, high-octane, gorgeous-looking musical extravaganza continues to be an overwhelming spectacle for the senses.
THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS Opens in November at Cal State Fullerton
by BWW News Desk - October 23, 2025
Caridad Svich's “The House of the Spirits” is a poetic adaptation of celebrated Chilean author Isabel Allende's haunting novel, which centers on the women of the Trueba family as they rise from rags to riches in the shadow of social and political turmoil.
Review: Musical Theatre West Welcomes Back HELLO, DOLLY!
by Michael Quintos - October 22, 2025
During the recent opening night performance of Musical Theatre West's vibrant new production of the 10-time Tony Award-winning 1964 musical HELLO, DOLLY!, the enthusiastically appreciative audience might as well have chanted 'Hello, Tami!' judging from the reactions during the show's finalé bows. Making her long-awaited return to a Southern California musical theatre stage production after quite a long absence, local favorite Tami Tappan Damiano is nothing short of brilliant taking on the title role in a gorgeous, earnestly joy-filled new local revival of the classic musical, which continues performances at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA through November 2.
THRESHOLD: BETWEEN WILDERNESS AND WONDER By Candace And Pete Metzger On View At Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station
by BWW News Desk - October 22, 2025
Threshold: Between Wilderness and Wonder, a new immersive installation by Candace and Pete Metzger, is now on view at the Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station from September 22 through November 14, 2025.
REIMAGINING ALGORITHMS: CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE AGE OF AI On View At Reflectspace Gallery Through November 2
by BWW News Desk - October 22, 2025
Reimagining Algorithms: Cultural Heritage in the Age of AI is now on view at ReflectSpace Gallery inside the Glendale Central Library through November 2, 2025.
Review: Tony-Winning SOME LIKE IT HOT Musical Adaptation Amuses at Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - October 14, 2025
Nominated for 13 Tony Awards, the 2022 musical adaptation SOME LIKE IT HOT is a surprisingly delightful, hilariously fun, and gleefully silly musical comedy that also has an endearingly open-minded new twist that re-contextualizes the movie's main raison d'être into something more empowering and thoughtful. The infectiously joyful show's marvelous touring production—directed and choreographed with rousing, kinetic energy by Casey Nicholaw direct from its Broadway origins—continues performances at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA through October 19, 2025.
Review: Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga Makes Glorious Return to Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - October 07, 2025
Blessed with undeniable vocal talents and an endearingly charming persona, Tony and Olivier Award winner and Disney Legend Lea Salonga recently returned to Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts for the one-night-only Orange County stop of the North American leg of her brand-new, perfectly-curated concert tour 'Stage, Screen, and Everything in Between' to a sold-out crowd that included a mix of rabid superfans, Broadway/musical theater enthusiasts, and, yes, lots of proud fellow Filipinos. Accompanied by a rousing, multi-piece band led by musical director Larry Yurman and a couple of excellent background vocalists (who were showcased in duets with her on a few songs), the concert was, to no one's surprise, an exquisite showcase of Salonga's enduring artistry, stage presence, global appeal, and, of course, incredible talents.
Rose Center Theater to Hold Auditions for ROBIN HOOD AND THE WHITE ARROW
by BWW News Desk - October 03, 2025
The Rose Center Theater will hold auditions for its upcoming holiday production, Robin Hood and the White Arrow: The Feast of Stephen. Learn more and see how to audition!
THE HEART SELLERS Coming to South Coast Repertory This Month
by Michael Major - October 01, 2025
South Coast Repertory (Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Suzanne Appel) brings to life one of America’s most produced plays with the heartwarming comedy The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh.

Videos


Monty Python's Spamalot in Costa Mesa Monty Python's Spamalot
Segerstrom Center for the Arts (2/17 - 2/22)
Matthew Morrison in Costa Mesa Matthew Morrison
Segerstrom Center for the Arts (3/19 - 3/21)
Riverdance 30–The New Generation in Costa Mesa Riverdance 30–The New Generation
Segerstrom Center for the Arts (5/15 - 5/17)
Rose Tribute Concert in Costa Mesa Rose Tribute Concert
Rose Center Theater (12/30 - 12/30)
God of Carnage in Costa Mesa God of Carnage
SOUTH COAST REPERTORY (1/23 - 3/21)
Hare and Tortoise in Costa Mesa Hare and Tortoise
Segerstrom Center for the Arts (2/21 - 2/22)
Jessica Vosk Sleigh in Costa Mesa Jessica Vosk Sleigh
Segerstrom Center for the Arts (12/17 - 12/17)
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