Review: Segerstrom Center's Cabaret Series Welcomes Broadway Talents to the OC
by Michael Quintos - February 07, 2025
For two weekends in a row in January 2025, Segerstrom Center for the Arts presented some powerhouse talents from the world of Broadway to their enjoyable Cabaret Series. First up was the returning Jason Robert Brown, the Tony Award-winning composer of musicals such as PARADE and THE LAST FIVE YEARS ...
Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is Rightfully Funny at La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - January 30, 2025
Overall, the show is an expertly-crafted piece of unapologetically silly live comedic theatre that demonstrates the power of precision in the guise of 'random' chaos. By blending slapstick humor, meta-theatrical elements, and sheer physical comedy-laced energy, this theatrical enterpris creates an u...
Review: Tony-Winning Musical KIMBERLY AKIMBO Amuses at OC’s Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - January 27, 2025
Winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical, this quirky musical comedy with an intentionally-diffused serious undertone continues performances at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through February 2, 2025. A generally entertaining show with lots of laughs in spite of its title charact...
Review: South Coast Repertory Presents WISH YOU WERE HERE
by Michael Quintos - January 20, 2025
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...
Review: BACK TO THE FUTURE Musical Tour Zooms Into Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - January 01, 2025
A riotous, mostly silly, but also sometimes laughably odd theatrical entity, this touring production of this enjoyable, endearingly-familiar stage musical adaptation of the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy is definitely a fun time—but mostly due to its visual wow factor. For those who cherish the original fil...
Review: Jason Alexander Leads Outstanding FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at La Mirada Theatre
by Michael Quintos - November 15, 2024
Led by a brilliant performance by Jason Alexander, this lively, emotionally-grounded, classic-leaning staging still somehow manages to feel fresh, reinvigorated, and much more searing than prior iterations.This latest SoCal-area revival of the landmark 1964 musical—here directed by Lonny Price—is, a...
Review: South Coast Repertory Presents World Premiere Play JOAN
by Michael Quintos - November 11, 2024
Featuring a remarkable, gutsy performance by Tessa Auberjonois as the legendary comedienne, JOAN is an absorbing and hilarious new work that also feels like an on-going work-in-progress. The world premiere production continues performances at South Coast Repertory through November 24, 2024....
Review: Eric McCormack and Laura Bell Bundy Reunite for OC Cabaret at Segerstrom Arts
by Michael Quintos - October 24, 2024
Eric McCormick and Laura Bell Bundy recently stopped by Segerstrom Center of the Arts to present the OC debut of their cabaret show “A Blonde, A Brunette, and Some Duets: From Primetime to Sondheim,” a fun and cheeky night of silly songs and even sillier stories for a limited three-night engagement ...
Review: Musical Theatre West Presents Spirited AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'
by Michael Quintos - October 23, 2024
Structured as a non-stop song-and-dance revue without any dialogue, the Fats Waller tribute musical relies on its spunky live band and its crazy-good, five-person cast to sing a songbook filled with (mostly) joyful and (some) sorrowful jazz tunes. The show continues through Nov. 3, 2024 at the Carpe...
Review: Chance Theater Presents OC Premiere of Dark Comedy GLORIA
by Michael Quintos - October 11, 2024
Offering a sharp and multi-layered commentary on modern workplace culture, unchecked ambition, and the public-stoked commodification of trauma, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' intriguing play GLORIA—a riveting new dark comedy that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize—is currently having its OC p...