Costa Mesa Theater Reviews Page 3

Review: Musical Theatre West Hits Another Grand Slam with Fun-Filled DAMN YANKEES
by Michael Quintos - October 21, 2022

A truly fun-filled, ecstatically-performed iteration of this classic musical, MTW's Broadway-caliber production (now on stage at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center through October 30) is a definite must-see. The production's trio of terrific leads---Lesli Margherita, Jeff Skowron, and James Olivas...

Review: Powerful Play NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN Stirs at South Coast Repertory
by Michael Quintos - October 18, 2022

Beautifully acted (and sung) by an exquisite ensemble of gifted actors, South Coast Repertory's production of NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN is a thoughtful, gut-wrenching play---punctuated with spectacular musical performances---that dives deep into the soul-baring creative process of an artist hoping to ...

Review: OC's Segerstrom Center Welcomes Back HAMILTON Musical to Costa Mesa
by Michael Quintos - October 04, 2022

Now that the initial FOMO-induced, must-see hype of its early years has quieted down, is revisiting HAMILTON again in the room where it happens still live up to the hype in 2022? The answer, at least for myself, while witnessing the recent Opening Night performance in Costa Mesa is a very resounding...

Review: Sally Struthers and Company Revive Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN to Glorious Life in La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - September 21, 2022

Overall--especially in this tighter, revised version lifted from London’s West End production that’s much zippier than the original--there is no denying that YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a witty, super funny, and genuinely enjoyable musical comedy that earns plenty of laughs and smiles along the way....

Review: Tony Award-Winning HADESTOWN Enchants Audiences at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - August 15, 2022

An enchanting, deeply resonant, and wholly entertaining reimagining of a classic Greek myth, HADESTOWN---now on stage at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA through August 21, 2022---is a beautifully layered piece of imaginative theater that stirs as it entertains and is...

Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at SCR
by Jonas Schwartz-Owen - August 10, 2022

South Coast Repertory presents the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet at the Mission San Juan Capistrano under the stars as part of its new Outside SCR program, and the quality production recalls the good, old days of Summer Stock. SCR has collected a talented cast and put on an enchanting even...

Review: Wayne Brady Leads Spectacular KINKY BOOTS at the Hollywood Bowl
by Michael Quintos - July 09, 2022

Featuring a superb performance from Emmy-winning improv king Wayne Brady as Lola, this new Hollywood Bowl production of KINKY BOOTS---which continues with two more performances July 9-10---marks the triumphant return of the annual summer musical to the world famous venue, armed with a very timely pr...

Review: Stage Musical Adaptation of PRETTY WOMAN Struts Into OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - July 08, 2022

Fresh from its three-week stop at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, the first national tour of PRETTY WOMAN - THE MUSICAL---based on that hit 1990 movie about a Hollywood hooker who finds true love---has made the short drive to OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for a two-week engagemen...

Review: Uplifting COME FROM AWAY Tour Makes Return Trip to OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - June 23, 2022

Endearingly inspirational and beautifully performed, COME FROM AWAY---as experienced in this relaunched post-lockdown tour now playing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 26, 2022---certainly proves itself worthy of repeat visits. At its core, the show is a hopeful, positive...

BWW Review: A Joyous, Must-See Production of IN THE HEIGHTS Thrills in La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - June 10, 2022

Exuding pure joy, blissful camaraderie, and high-energy theatrics, this exuberantly performed new SoCal production of IN THE HEIGHTS—continuing through June 26, 2022 at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts—feels like such an emotionally amped-up, escapist antidote to the divided times we c...

BWW Review: Funny But Flawed TOOTSIE Musical Adaptation Sashays Into OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - June 08, 2022

What did our critic think of Tootsie in Costa Mesa? Despite a still problematic central premise, the non-equity national tour of the stage adaptation of TOOTSIE---now playing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 12, 2022---is, for the most part, a funny but flawed musical spr...

BWW Review: Satirical Play TIGER STYLE! Mocks Stereotypes at South Coast Repertory
by Michael Quintos - June 01, 2022

Funny, outrageous, and surprisingly thought-provoking beneath all its biting sarcasm, Mike Lew's reverberating satire TIGER STYLE!---now on stage at OC's South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through June 5, 2022---shines a light on the merits of a controversial parenting style and whether it results ...

BWW Review: South Coast Repertory Revisits Classic Play OUR TOWN
by Michael Quintos - May 25, 2022

Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1938 three-act play OUR TOWN has a superb new iteration now performing at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA through June 4, 2022. Directed by Beth Lopes, the show employs a wonderfully diverse cast, as it re-stages its seemingly ordinary but ultimately ...

BWW Review: 3-D Theatricals Returns with Disney's Triumphant, High-Energy Musical NEWSIES
by Michael Quintos - May 18, 2022

After a two-year delay due to COVID, this long-awaited So. Cal. production of NEWSIES---currently on stage at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts through May 29, 2022---marks the much-anticipated live and in-person return of 3-D Theatricals. The wait, as the saying goes, was worth it....

BWW Review: Audience Favorite THE SOUND OF MUSIC Sings Once More in La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - April 27, 2022

THE SOUND OF MUSIC's built-in charm and charisma is indeed very much present in McCoy Rigby Entertainment's latest stage iteration of this classic stage production, now playing at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through May 15, 2022. Filled with visually-captivating production values, ...

BWW Review: Poignant Play CRY IT OUT Spotlights Modern Motherhood at OC's Chance Theater
by Michael Quintos - April 15, 2022

Now having its Orange County premiere performances at Chance Theater in Anaheim through May 1, 2022, CRY IT OUT is a poignant slice-of-life that takes an eavesdropper's look at the hopes, fears, and lessons that come with new motherhood in our current times, and just how different each new mother ch...

BWW Review: Deeply Powerful CLEAN / ESPEJOS Wrings Out Emotional Catharsis at South Coast Rep
by Michael Quintos - April 04, 2022

Now on stage through April 10, 2022 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Christine Quintana's searing, bilingual two-character play CLEAN / ESPEJOS is a riveting drama showcasing how two different women of different cultures cope with past trauma....

BWW Review: THE BAND'S VISIT Makes a Great Impression at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - March 28, 2022

Even without dazzling special effects and spectacular theatrics, or histrionic high drama, THE BAND'S VISIT---the Tony Award-winning stage musical now on stage at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through April 3---still provides a powerful show that is quietly poetic in i...

BWW Review: Amusing Interplay Surrounds WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS at South Coast Rep
by Michael Quintos - March 07, 2022

Playwright Pearl Cleage's WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS---now on stage at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through March 19, 2022---takes place during the historic win of Atlanta's first black mayor in 1973 and focuses on a romantic triangle between a young campaign staffer and two much older men she w...

BWW Review: Caissie Levy Makes Lovely Cabaret Series Debut at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - March 03, 2022

Accompanied by her music director Matt Hinkley, Broadway and West End theater favorite Caissie Levy's lovely, powerful, stunning vocals were live and on display for her rapt audience, who were treated to an acoustic, no frills, intimate, candlelit show that was essentially a musical résumé of her pa...

BWW Review: Impressive Cast Brings Renewed Energy to Latest WICKED National Tour at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - February 15, 2022

What better way to ease ourselves back (again) to live theater than with a tried-and-true bonafide hit like the musical WICKED, the 19-year-old global stage phenomenon now back for a nice, long stay in Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through March 6, 2022. Still as vibr...

BWW Review: South Coast Rep's 41st Annual Production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL Remains Enchanting
by Michael Quintos - December 13, 2021

While most Southern California theatergoers are likely more aware of the 'big deal,' direct-from-Broadway production of Charles Dickens' classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL now playing in Los Angeles featuring big star names in its roster, many should not necessarily bypass the other, less star-studded mounti...

BWW Review: Tony Award Winner Laura Benanti Debuts Beguiling Solo Cabaret Concert at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - November 14, 2021

Originally scheduled back in September, the wait was worth it to hear Laura Benanti sing selections from her roles on Broadway and a few tracks from her 2020 self-titled studio album in her debut Cabaret at the Center which was part uproarious stand-up comedy act, and part beguiling Broadway/Jazz co...

BWW Review: High-Decibel JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Tour Rocks Out at OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - November 12, 2021

Far more concerned with style over (narrative) substance, this brand new '50th Anniversary' re-staging of the 1971 musical that recounts the final days leading up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is undeniably entertaining. The palpable, intentional vibe of this new US National Tour---di...

BWW Review: Vibrant, Fun-Filled MAMMA MIA! Dances Its Way to La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - November 03, 2021

Some stage shows just refuse to retreat into the sunset, and one of those is MAMMA MIA!, that enduring, unapologetically giddy jukebox musical, now getting a fun, vibrant new staging at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, under the direction of T.J. Dawson. With performances continuing in...