Top Orange County Theater News
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Maverick Theater's stage version stays close to the legendary film, but nevertheless pleasesI wish I could report the Maverick Theater's staged version of the iconic 1973 film The Sting is one giant, two-hour swindle of your hard-earned... More >>
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Andrew Jackson Musical, Cannibals, John Waters and Shakespeare!John Waters, Trey Parker, Rod Serling, Old Hickory and, yes, hold your breath—NEIL FUCKING SIMON!—are merely five of the legendary... More >>
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Howard Korder's two 25-year-old plays at STAGES sound like this country's current state of mindMonsanto's poisonous fumes wreaking havoc on the environment. Anti-IRS, global-conspiracy theorists meeting in clandestine patriot groups. The... More >>
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The legendary director (and Weekly art critic) leaves OC theatergoers already missing his brillianceSo this is how one memorable chapter in the history of Orange County theater ends: not with a bang, but a whimper. It's not that the two Mark... More >>
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Cal Rep's latest play talks to the insanity among usThere are plays that work very hard to say a lot of things in as many words as possible. They stretch on and on, satisfying every question,... More >>
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Noah Haidle's stunner of a play premieres at South Coast RepIt's fitting that South Coast Repertory is staging the world premiere of Noah Haidle's heartbreaker of a play, Smokefall, because years earlier,... More >>
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A belated welcome to Nick Charles' Anaheim theaterIt's always a daunting experience walking into a local theater for the first time. Sure, you may have heard wonderful things about it from people... More >>
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South Coast Repertory's latest misses in its attempt to harpoon the audience's heartSamuel D. Hunter's play The Whale might as well be called The Wail. The sad sack of bitchers and moaners assembled in this tale would make a... More >>
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Even though the story is preposterous, the themes this Chance Theater production explores are anything butRemember those late-night sessions in high school or college (or maybe last night) when you'd sit around with a bunch of friends and conjure the... More >>
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STAGEStheatre's production of Jean Genet's classic play mixes bishops, whores and judges to beautifully showthey are we, and we are theyMarlon Brando's character said it most succinctly in the 1953 film The Wild One. When asked what he was rebelling against, he replied, "Whaddya... More >>
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Maverick Theater's latest play is an accurate, albeit empty, reflection of modern moms and dadsWell, it's finally happened: I hate straight people. I knew it was coming, of course. After 43 years of being pummeled by their insipid... More >>
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South Coast Repertory's staging of Stephen Adly Guirgis' play shows the brilliance of fucking judicious fucking cursingLast month, a Daily Pilot editor used the occasion of South Coast Repertory staging a play with a dirty word in the title—which he could... More >>
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Previewing OC theater for 2013In a little more than a year, Orange County lost two of its edgiest, longest-established storefront theaters: The Monkey Wrench Collective, which... More >>
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Holiday treats from South Coast Repertory, STAGEStheatre, the Maverick Theater and more!Welcome to the 2012 OC Weekly holiday theater preview, the timing of which is weird on two fronts: Most of these shows wrap up this weekend,... More >>
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Chance Theater's song-and-dance version of Louisa May Alcott's classic makes you want to read the original insteadColor me embarrassed. For years, I assumed the book Little Women was not only written by the same author as Little House On the Prairie, but was... More >>
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Bill Cain's 'How to Write a Book for the Bible' is a masterful, hilarious (seriously!) treatment on the impending death of a parentTwo years ago next April, I sat in a hospital room and waited for the person who brought me into this world to depart it. Anyone who has shared a... More >>
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Hunger Artists plays Noah Haidle's early work for the humanity instead of hilarity, to uneven resultsJerry Patch, the longtime dramaturge at South Coast Repertory (he split SCR about seven years ago), once remarked that every great play, along... More >>
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Buffs of the Rod Serling sci-fi series should beware of the Fullerton theater's take on the classicRod Serling's legendary television series The Twilight Zone shook up mainstream-minded squares and creepy-geeky sci-fi nuts alike from 1959 to... More >>
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[Best Of 2012] The men who brought you OC's only LGBT performance company share their favorite things about Orange CountyThank God's rainbow for David Carnevale and Joey Baital. As the co-founders of Theatre Out, OC's only LGBT performance company, they bring a... More >>
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South Coast Rep stages a take on Sarah Ruhl's take on the Greek myth, filled with pathos and talking stonesGophers apparently attacked the early drafts of Sarah Ruhl's 2003 play, Eurydice, for there are enough holes in the script to keep Carl Spackler... More >>
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Long Beach's Garage Theater hosts Christine Evans bold, contemporary take on the Euripides classicFans of the cable show Sons of Anarchy (i.e., The Sopranos on motorcycles) will realize something when examining the set of Trojan Barbie: Tig... More >>
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Weekly art critic Dave Barton directs an uneven Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theater production of Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's playIf the mark of a good director is actors willing to follow you over the side of a cliff, then Dave Barton is one hell of a director. That's not... More >>
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Though not quite the Second Coming, the Fullerton troupe's humorous Elvis production reminds us that the merchants still need to be banished from the templeThe most popular scenarios in "what if" stories are how the present might be rewritten if certain events never happened and what our reaction... More >>
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An hour of ugly in the Fullerton theater's play makes for an evening of empty by the endThe time is always right, unfortunately, for a play, television show or film about hate crimes in America—this year alone, we've had more... More >>
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This production mines the deep currents swirling beneath this old story through earnest, vigorous acting and superior production standardsAnyone with more than a passing interest in the Anaheim summer of 2012, with cops shooting reputed gang members and protests flaring in the... More >>
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STAGES reminds us of kinder, gentler, redneck-ier daysOne might think, with the array of garbage on television—from filthy hoarders and illiterate swamp people to shrewish dance moms and Kathie... More >>
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How the Church of the Foothills let the edgy theater company use its grounds as a home baseThe Church of the Foothills made headlines—and attracted a small group of protesters—when it approved a Los Angeles theater troupe's... More >>
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South Coast Rep's staging of the August Wilson standard reminds us why we need more African-Americans in OCIt's not exactly playing the race card to state an obvious fact about Orange County demographics: There ain't a whole lot of black folks in these... More >>
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[Summer Guide 2012] The striptease native brings her latest (and last?) burlesque extravaganza back to where it all beganIt's customary for beautiful women in Hollywood to feel the need to prove how little they have done to become beautiful. They deny... More >>
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[Summer Guide 2012] Ten plays to watch in OC this summerIt's not uncommon to see the name Shakespeare pop up on the schedules of many a theater during the summer. The epic scope and huge casts involved... More >>
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Maverick Theater's version of Peter Morgan's play captures the tense, historic interview perfectlyThis may be the first time in recorded history that the movie The Avengers and the play Frost/Nixon get double-billing in a sentence, but just as... More >>
From the Print Edition
The Sting Entertains
I wish I could report the Maverick Theater's staged version of the iconic 1973 film The Sting is one giant, two-hour swindle of your hard-earned pay, if only because it… More >>
Jockey Unveils the Bra Whisperer
It's the most consistently satisfying moment of my day. It happens in the evening, usually as soon as I walk through my front door. My fingers reach behind my back,… More >>
OC Theater Summer 2013 Preview
John Waters, Trey Parker, Rod Serling, Old Hickory and, yes, hold your breath—NEIL FUCKING SIMON!—are merely five of the legendary masters of their crafts (from X-rated films starring criminals to… More >>
The Cardboard Mexicans of "Divested Interest"
For the past two years, artist Ramiro Gomez Jr. has conducted a fabulous public art-cum-sociology experiment in LA's Westside with cardboard Mexicans. The San Bernardino native creates cutouts of Latinos… More >>
Hot In OC: Bloggers Share!
Helloooo, summer! 'Tis the season of tan lines, drinks with tiny umbrellas, pumped-up playlists and sand stuck in the pages of that juicy novel. Three OC style bloggers share their… More >>
The Medicis: The Original Koch Brothers
For more than three centuries, the Medici dynasty ran Florence, Italy, becoming the most influential art patrons the world has ever known. The multinational bankers kickstarted the Renaissance by forming… More >>
Goodwill Gone Gucci?
I recently received a press release promoting a new shop called Goodwill Boutique. The headline read, "Community Concept Store in Tustin Overflows with Re-Purposed Designer Goods, Including Brands Like Gucci… More >>
