In 1938 the Nazis annexed Austria and its Jewish population found itself in immediate peril. While countless Austrian Jews joined the 6 million murdered between 1939 and 1945, Lisa Jura, an aspiring concert pianist of 14, survived the Holocaust. Though the invasion dashed her ambition to perform at the storied Vienna Musikverein concert hall, [...]
“I’m a complete moron when it comes to doing hair but I have to look as if I know what I am doing,” confessed Stephanie Zimbalist rehearsing for “Steel Magnolias,” currently at the Laguna Playhouse. Zimbalist, adding to her skill sets, embodies Truvy, the irrepressible owner of a beauty salon located in Chinquapin Parish, La. [...]
Editor, Yesterday, I learned that Laguna residents Verna Rollinger and Jean Raun had made official inquiries regarding my legal ability, as it relates to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, to deliberate and or vote on a proposed Village Entrance project in Laguna Beach. My assumption is that these inquiries are related to my being employed [...]
Visiting bands, duos and soloists fill stages across Laguna Beach, joining established local performers in what is becoming more of a year ‘round scene. The latest attraction is Jammin’, a smooth jazz series that is a collaboration between Laguna Playhouse and Mozambique restaurant, whose owner Ivan Spiers keeps the music turned up. Hiroshima, a jazz [...]
After a year as Laguna Playhouse’s development director, Elizabeth Pearson, will step down April 30 to take the helm of the Pacific Chorale, one of the top choruses in the nation and the resident choir for the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, among other things. Long an arts [...]
“To extrapolate a woman’s state, you barely have to meet, the most accurate report is what she’s sporting on her feet…!” So goes a chorus line in “Having it All,” a musical production at the Laguna Playhouse opening on Saturday, March 9. Loosely inspired or perhaps instigated by Helen Gurley Brown’s 1982 book of [...]
“Women need delusion; men need something new.” So goes a line in Neil Simon’s play “Chapter Two,” currently on stage at Laguna Playhouse. While some audience members might think: “I wish I’d said that,” others might want more, wondering perhaps, what it would take to write a play that someone would want to see, perhaps [...]
It is 1964 and Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie, members of “Forever Plaid,” a doo-wop group along the lines of ‘50s clean-cut boy bands, are en route to their first big-time gig. When their car collides with a bus filled with parochial-school girls on the way to see the Beatles make history on the “Ed [...]
A Feast of Sight and Sound Laguna Beach Live! presents a cello duo with Maksim Velichkin and Peter Jacobson in a free chamber music concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Laguna Art Museum. Cellist, pianist, and harpsichordist Velichkin has been active as a solo performer, chamber and orchestra musician, both locally and throughout the world. [...]
Laguna Playhouse lured a sell-out crowd to the gala opening of the Tony-award winning play, “39 Steps” on Saturday, Sept. 29. Staff and board members celebrated the show in ‘30s-themed attire. Guests enjoyed a pre-show party and entertainment by keyboardist Kathy Schroeder and saxophonist Chuck Weinberg of the Laguna Beach Community Band. “We were thrilled [...]
It’s a play with plot twists in every scene. A devastating fire cascades into domino affects too numerous to list. A mysterious woman ends up murdered. A presumed spy becomes a hunted man. And then there are romantic entanglements, roaming assassins and police investigations. At the core of it all lies a top-secret invention [...]
Back by popular demand, The Lonesome Travelers return to the Laguna Playhouse for one week only, Aug. 28 through Sept. 2. There are only nine performances Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., 2 p.m. Thursday and Saturday matinees and a special 4 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Tickets are $40-$70 and may be purchased through [...]
Anyone who has previously been taken in by “The Marvelous Wonderettes” or “Winter Wonderettes” will undoubtedly find the current production of “The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps & Gown” at the Laguna Playhouse even more magical. A world premiere, this saga veers into new territory, graduation day from high school and later adulthood for four young women [...]
The Festival of Arts Foundation also awarded the Laguna Playhouse a $7,500 grant to support youth education programming, a facet of the Playhouse’s repertoire since its foundation 90 years ago. “This gift will make a real difference in our ability to continue to offer conservatory and repertory programs for children 10 to 18 years of [...]
Police Use Taser to Subdue Assault Suspect
An assault involving three men escalated into a struggle with Laguna Beach police, who ultimately deployed a taser twice to subdue the younger combative suspect in the 300 block of Cozumel around 1:15 a.m. Friday, May 10, police said. Police ultimately arrested Laguna Beach resident Sergio Gabriel Borgognone, 51, for allegedly resisting arrest and his [...]
