Laguna Dance Festival will hold their annual gala Friday, May 18, by celebrating the centennial birthdays of composer Leonard Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins, who together with lyricist Stephen Sondheim created “West Side Story.”
Guests will enjoy an evening of music and dance inspired by the musical along with cocktails and dinner on the roof beginning at 6 p.m. at Seven Degrees, 891 Laguna Canyon Rd.
Tickets, $250 can be purchased online at: lagunadancefestival.org.
‘Little Princess’ Youth Show Opens
Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre opens “A Little Princess” for a week-long run beginning Saturday, May 5, with 1 and 6 p.m. performances.
Girls at Miss Minchin’s school treat Sara Crewe, the daughter of a diamond merchant, like a princess. Sara’s life is upended by her father’s reversal of fortune. Her determination to maintain her dignity will intrigue young audiences.
The 20-member cast also performs Sunday, May 6, at 1 and 6 p.m.; Thursday, May 10 at 10 a.m.; Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, May 12, at 1 and 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 13 at 1 p.m.
Tickets are $10-$20 and can be purchased online at lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling 949-497-2787.
‘Night Music’ Opens at No Square Theater
“A Little Night Music,” based on the book by Hugh Wheeler and featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, opens Friday, May 11, at No Square Theater.
The show is directed by Joe Lauderdale, with music direction by Diane King Vann, choreography by Ellen Prince, and costume design by Brigitte Harper.
The cast includes Gary Greene, Alexandria Goforth, Rebecca Butkivich, Eric T. Anderson, Chloe Lovato, Olivia Tewksbury, Karen Rymar, McKay Mangum, Marisol Zamora, Rob Harryman, Ashley Montgomery, Alexis Acevedo, and Chelsea Vann.
The show in Legion Hall, 384 Legion St., runs for two weekends, May 11-13 and 18-20, with a 7:30 p.m. curtain except for the two Sunday shows at 6:30 p.m. Tickets of $25 must be purchased in advance at nosquare.org.
Mandolin Master Performs Live! at the Museum
Laguna Beach Live! presents renowned mandolin virtuosoEvan J. Marshall in concert at the Laguna Art Museum at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 10.
Marshall’s stylistic signature is classical with influences from the Italian and American Folk traditions.
The concert is free to museum members and to non-members with museum admission. Pre-reservations are available online through the Museum’s website, or at 949.494.8971 x203.
Pre-Summer Concert Opens Series
The Laguna Community Concert Band will perform in a free concert in the Artists Theatre at Laguna Beach High School at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 8.
Other performances include concerts on Memorial Day, at 11 a.m. Monday, May 28, on the cobble stones at Main Beach; 5 p.m. July 9 and Aug. 8 at the Festival of Arts grounds.
Next week’s concert will feature two works by LeRoy Anderson, “The Irish Washerwoman,” and “The Bugler’s Holiday” as well as John William’s “Cowboys.” “Amazing Grace” by Frank Ticheli and “Fugue on Yankee Doodle by John Philip Sousa,” are also on the program.
Principal conductor Mark Lowery, the third in the band’s 19-year history, recently retired after a 22-year gig at El Camino High School in Oceanside.
Lowery accepted the leadership of Laguna’s community band where his father and siblings had also played. One of the band’s founders, flutist Theresa Marino, also attended high school and college with Lowery.
