Latest news with #LyceumTheater
Los Angeles Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Around Town: Pinwheel Project fundraiser for foster kids comes to Fashion Island
Visitors to Newport Beach's Fashion Island on May 31 will have the chance to sponsor a child in Orange County's foster care system during the annual 'Pinwheel Project' at the Neiman Marcus/Bloomingdale's Lawn, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hosted by Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County (CASA OC) for the ninth year in a row, 2,915 colorful pinwheels will be 'planted' across the lawn, each one representing a child in the foster care system. Guests can donate $10 to sponsor a pinwheel, funding advocacy and support efforts on behalf of foster children. Those who purchase a pinwheel will receive a voucher for a discounted $40 family meal from ZOOD. For details and to sponsor a pinwheel, visit or visit Fashion Island, 401 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, during the event. The Costa Mesa Historical Society invites local history buffs to attend the nonprofit's 3rd annual Spring Social Luncheon at the Costa Mesa Women's Club on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year, members will be 'Celebrating Dates,' — significant milestone commemorations coming up in Costa Mesa and beyond in the year ahead, including the Society's own 60th anniversary. Participants can feast on Greek cuisine provided by Costa Mesa restaurant My Greek Kitchen while they learn more about key dates in the city's past. A $25 donation includes one catered meal and helps the Historical Society upgrade its museum with a new 65-inch SMART TV and sound bar. The Costa Mesa Women's Club is located at 610 W. 18th St. RSVP by May 19 at Now that school's out, the professional American Coast Theater Company will take the stage at Vanguard University's Lyceum Theater in Costa Mesa with two upcoming productions. 'The Importance of Being Earnest — a Wilde New Musical!' is adapted from the classic mistaken-identity comedy by Oscar Wilde and features a five-piece band/orchestra. Performances run through June 8 with shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and weekend matinees at 2 p.m. Later in June, ACTC presents Arthur Miller's classic award-winning drama, 'Death of a Salesman,' directed by Chance Theater's Executive Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen. The play introduces Willy Loman, an unsuccessful salesman whose pursuit of the American Dream leads to tragedy for himself and his family. 'Death of a Salesman' previews June 19 at 7:30 p.m. and continues through June 29 with 7:30 p.m. shows Thursday through Saturday, plus 2 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday with a special two-for-one ticket offer Wednesday, June 25. Lyceum Theater at Vanguard University is located at 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Admission costs $20-$30. For more info or to purchase tickets, visit Customers served by Costa Mesa Sanitary District are invited to attend a free drive-thru compost giveaway and shredding event on May 31, from 8 a.m. to noon, at Orange Coast College's Lot K, 2701 Fairview Road, in Costa Mesa. In addition to receiving up to two backs of compost while supplies last, participants can also drop off up to five standard file boxes of paper per household. Kitchen pails will also be available while supplies last. Services and giveaways are available only to customers with proof of residence, such as a driver's license, ID or utility bill. For more, visit or call (949) 645-8400 during regular business hours. The Laguna Beach Chamber Singers announced this week it is accepting audition submissions for its upcoming 2025-2026 season. The group rehearses on Tuesday evenings in Laguna Beach. Those with an interest in joining the Chamber Singers are asked to submit a short video recording by May 31. This can be of a recent solo performance or a simple melody. Videos must be uploaded and the audition form completed at by the deadline. Selected applicants will be invited to an in-person audition day in Laguna Beach, which includes a group rehearsal and quartet singing. Results of the audition will be announced approximately three weeks later. For more information, contact ryan@
Los Angeles Times
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Vanguard students present campy multimedia twist on Jules Verne's classic ‘Journey'
Famed 19th-century author Jules Verne — who penned futuristic tales about science-minded explorers navigating the furthest reaches of the planet, beyond the limits of human understanding — might well have been proud of a theatrical effort being undertaken at Vanguard University's Lyceum Theater. That's where students of the Costa Mesa campus' Theatre Arts program on Thursday debuted in a preview an original adaptation of 'Journey to the Center of the Earth,' a French science fiction novel by Verne published 1864 that has been translated numerous times and retold for both stage and screen. Running through April 13, the multimedia production takes viewers on a subterranean quest through worlds populated by mythical beasts, reminiscent of early Hollywood movie creatures like King Kong. The production employs layered projections with live action video sequences, miniature models and actors set against a green screen to create an over-the-top 1930s movie vibe, says Sue Berkompas, head of the university's theater department and artistic producing director for the campus productions. ''Journey' is so different from anything we've ever done, because of all the cool technical elements we're implementing,' Berkompas said in an interview Tuesday. 'All of those things are melded into one fun, adventurous, campy show, and we're really leaning into the campiness.' Since last summer, Berkompas has been collaborating with Vanguard junior (and assistant director) Amanda Fagan to create an original script from the Verne classic, and the pair have been making additions and edits all the way into rehearsals week. The show follows German scientist Professor Hardwigg and his nephew, Harry, as they follow a trail of clues left by a 16th century alchemist whom they believe traveled to the Earth's core through a series of volcanic tunnels. They are joined by Harry's fiancée Gretchen, who stows herself away for the voyage, unaware of the perils and amazements that await. 'They go on this dangerous, lost world adventure to the center of the Earth and encounter all these anomalies,' Berkompas said, describing an active volcano, giant snakes and sea monsters battling in an underground grotto. 'Some of the effects are really amazing and cool, and some of them are uber cheesy — that's the way I envisioned it, with the two always working together.' While students comprise the eight-member cast and roughly 20-member crew, additional expertise was brought in to pull off some of the more technical elements, including the use of gigantic onstage puppets. All of those elements working together presented a unique challenge for Alyssa Kammerer, a 2023 graduate of the Theatre Arts program who now serves as an adjunct professor pulling double duty as the production and stage manager for 'Journey.' 'We're trying to mesh live theater and film into the same thing. Figuring out the timing and how everything works together is quite difficult,' Kammerer said Wednesday. 'I've used projections before, but when you're integrating a projection with a live video feed it's a whole different beast.' The end result, however, is an intriguing and impressive spectacle that is not to be missed, she added. Berkompas said if all goes well, she'd like to take the adaptation to the American Coast Theater Company, a professional theater group that stages shows at the Lyceum when not in use by the university, and where she also acts and directs. 'This is the most ambitious technical show I've ever done in my entire life,' she said. 'It's just really fun stuff. You're not going to get Tennessee Williams with this, but you're going to have a lot of fun — I guarantee it.' Vanguard University's Lyceum Theater presents 'Journey to the Center of the Earth,' with shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday this week and next, along with additional 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets cost $17, or $15 for seniors 60+, children under 12, college students and groups and can be purchased at or by calling the box office at (714) 668-6145.
New York Times
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tituss Burgess in ‘Oh, Mary!' Is Cole Escola's Dream Come True
'Oh!' Tituss Burgess said, the curls of his Mary Todd Lincoln wig bobbing as he spoke. 'I need kneepads.' Fully in costume, wearing the wig and a bell-shaped black dress, Burgess was about to rehearse Cole Escola's hit comedy 'Oh, Mary!' onstage at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway, just days before stepping into the starring role on Tuesday. And, yes, he really did need those kneepads. When Escola played Mary Todd, they channeled their sprung-coil energy into a performance of relentless hilarity and chaos. Burgess's take on the role is no less physical; if anything, he is upping the ante with the cartoonish expressions and belted high notes fans know from his earlier Broadway appearances and shows like 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.' Burgess's turn in the play, a demented fantasia of Mary Todd Lincoln as a frustrated and thwarted 'rather well-known niche cabaret legend,' will run through April 6. After that, Escola will return to the part. When they do, it will be with a fantasy having come true. Last May, Escola was a guest on Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers's podcast 'Las Culturistas,' and said that they 'would love for someone else to play Mary Todd' before adding, 'My dream is Tituss Burgess.' Yang and Rogers let out an exclamation just short of a gay gasp, and Rogers said, 'That would be fab.' Escola joked that they were worried Burgess would be 'too good,' but also couldn't help but imagine him in the show's famous curly wig. Sam Pinkleton, the play's director, said that watching Burgess in the role 'has opened up a joyous new dimension in a thing I thought I knew. He's made a gusty, hilarious, surprising Mary that is somehow both utterly new and deeply rooted in the DNA Cole created for Mary.' In an interview last week, Burgess shared what happened when he heard the 'Las Culturistas' episode, and how he has prepared for his Broadway return. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation. What was your response to Cole saying they wanted you to play Mary Todd? I was like, absolutely not. I'd seen the show, and I couldn't divorce Cole's performance from the character. What they are able to accomplish — it was such meteoric energy. The offer hadn't even come in yet, but I told my team no. And then we got the call in December asking me to do it. So when you agreed to do this, you knew how athletic it would be. I wasn't prepared for that part. They make it look so easy. But when I said yes, I said, 'I need that script right away.' Because while the show is only 90 minutes, it's a herculean undertaking. So I convinced myself that I needed to be off-book at least before rehearsal started. I started teaching myself the role and teaching myself the blocking so that rehearsal could actually just be rehearsal. Perhaps I should have spent more time at the gym. How many calories do you think you burn in this performance? I would say at least 600 or 700. By the end, it's like having to run a marathon. I get home and I am starving. The trick is, behind the scenes, you have to stay as hydrated as possible. But I only have one opportunity for a bathroom break. So it's, like, trying to not consume too much water because that is a terrible predicament to be in — having to find a moment to use the restroom. Even though you're running all over the stage, there is so much specificity to it. And on top of learning that, you're joining a well-oiled cast. Theater is always teched within an inch of its life; it's such a puzzle, one tiny thing can throw off an entire moment. What Mary Todd has to do is so physical, but within finely implemented parameters. To find something inside it that is organic is a whole other feat. It's a dance. You work together with a creative team and try to build something new inside something that already exists, and that's hard. Now that you've proverbially walked a mile in Cole's wig, what do you think about what they've created with this show? They say write what you know, and man did they ever. I just marvel at what they were able to accomplish, not just playing to their strengths, but having the opportunity to show the full breadth of what they're capable of. And yet it's so elastic. Mary Todd has been played by Cole, Betty Gilpin and now you. The lines are the same, the delivery is completely different, and it remains funny. It's a really good script. I honestly think it's one of the funniest plays of my generation. It's so witty and impossibly clever, and as you said, depending on who's in it, it just takes on an entirely new life. Cole deserves the Tony — deserves best play, deserves best actor at the very least — and I don't say that lightly. It's tricky to make this performance look so seamless and so effortless. People undervalue that sometimes, but it takes a great deal of control. How much were you encouraged to add Tituss-isms and make the role your own? We talked about this at length, because I was getting stuck in the thought of: 'You hired me. You're using my body as the vessel for Mary Todd.' So I didn't understand how she could go through the whole play and not have a real facility for performance. But we also went back with just how much of me I would use, because I didn't want that to be the reason I am doing the part. I'm equally good with dialogue as I am with music, and I was excited for the chance to show that. You could hear, over time, how hard this show was on Cole's voice. Mary Todd Lincoln is up there with Elphaba. You've had big sings before, like in 'The Little Mermaid,' but how are you caring for your voice now? This weekend I will be with my vocal coach, for sure. I don't want to say that I'm nervous about it, but I've noticed a different type of fatigue than I've experienced before. Cole has a lighter voice than I do; mine has a great deal of heft to it. So for me, this is taxing. I'm actually kind of relieved that it's only for three weeks. I think that's all the stamina I have.
