APR 10-MAY 3—LA MIRADA THEATRE   There’s something deliciously ironic about watching a musical about high school social warfare inside the plush, well-behaved confines of a regional theatre audience. Yet the regional premiere of MEAN GIRLS at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts—presented by McCoy Rigby Entertainment—leans into that irony with a wink, a strut, and just enough bite to remind us that the Plastics never really graduate… they just get better lighting.  

APRIL 10-26—LONG BEACH As you watch Ruben J. Carbajal as Usnavi bound jubilantly across the stage, rapping a cityscape into vibrant life over the rumbling rhythm of a bass line, shredding the air with his arms as rhymes percolate on his tongue, he introduces us to the men and women whose daily troubles—overdue bills, overheated romances and overtaxed hearts—will form the episodic story that provides a slender spine for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical valentine to the barrio. In

MARCH 6-15, 2026 — HUNTINGTON BEACH EIGHT SECONDS is a riveting new World Premiere crime drama by GWC Professor Tim Mueller about a young woman named Ellie who spends way too much time on the internet, connecting with some of the scariest people around. Her main objective is to expose to the world the people behind all the hate and misinformation they spread. What Ellie doesn’t realize, however, is that turning out those buzzwords and catchphrases like “find your power,” and

This sweet, infinitely spirited, bubblegum-flavored confection won’t be lacking for an audience anytime soon. Arriving in an aerosol fog of advance publicity, it more than lives up to its promise. Feb 19 – Mar 29, 2026 —GARDEN GROVE There’s plenty of spritz left in the can at HAIRSPRAY, the endlessly jubilant musical about a Baltimore teen who fights bigotry with her big hair and bigger heart, with a cast ensemble so perfectly symbiotic to their roles and each other that, bef

A rapturous, high-octane journey filled with thumping hidalgo nobility, heartfelt sentimentality, unpretentious valor and visionary fervor. FEBRUARY 13-MARCH 1—LONG BEACH MAN OF LA MANCHA is a landmark 1965 musical by Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh, and Joe Darion that won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Known for the song "The Impossible Dream," it originally ran for 2,328 performances, premiering at the ANTA Washington Square Theater before moving to Broadway's Marti

Gags and punch lines seem almost irrelevant for those who value the virtues of shrewd idiocy, artful tackiness and wide-eyed impiety. FEBRUARY 17, 2026—COSTA MESA With the expert manipulation of director/choreographer Josh Rhodes and a cast riding high — a little too high at times — on infectious enjoyment, Monty Python alumnus Eric Idle (Book & Lyrics) and co-composer John Du Prez (Music by John Du Prez & Eric Idle) deliver a rowdy entertainment simply called MONTY PYTHON’S

Like its central characters, SHREK THE MUSICAL embraces itself for what it is: a polished, rosy-eyed, enormously clever family musical. RIVERSIDE, CA—FEBRUARY 7, 2026 Brazenly sending up fairy tale traditions while exemplifying them, this high-spirited and frolicsome lark offers entertainment equally to viewers from 4 to 104. It’s the story of an ogre's odyssey from contented oblivion to unexpected love. So, it seems appropriate that about halfway through this entrancing fair

A dark, witty tale of love, murder, and revenge set against the backdrop of 19th century London FEBRUARY 2, 2026—LA MIRADA, CA Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is a dark tale of corruption and murder based on the 19th century legend of a vengeful London barber (a.k.a. Benjamin Barker) against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which

The Notebook, in all its embodiments, is a fundamentally intoxicating tale, in which this production leans into with feverous success. COSTA MESA—JANUARY 27TH, 2026 She’s a rich girl on summer vacation. He’s a poor local boy. She thinks he’s cute and he thinks she’s pretty. They fall instantly in love but her parents whisk the girl back home before things go much further. Each thinks the other has forgotten the other and years go by. But just before her wedding to nice-guy la

An Evening Celebrating 20 Years of the Stories That Shaped our Stage DECEMBER 30, 2025—WESTMINSTER For twenty years, the Rose Center Theater has served as a creative home for thousands of students, families, and professional artists. The well-traveled stage has supported not only emerging talent, but has empowered young performers to find their confidence, and produce a legacy of locally beloved productions that helped define the region’s cultural identity. It is where studen

Every scene is a verbal banquet — so impactful, you can almost smell the turkeys, plum puddings, oranges and chestnuts resting on the tables. DECEMBER 13—COSTA MESA Before all the movies, television adaptations, stage plays and animated versions; before all of this, Charles Dickens (“the man who invented Christmas”) wrote a short story called A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The story, which only took him six weeks to write, centers upon the spiritual redemption of an old mean-tempered, mo