This post contains affiliate links and our team will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.
Just off the 405, across the street from one of Orange County’s most popular shopping destinations, sits a gem that many may take for granted. Many have grown up having this multicultural performing arts center formally known as the Orange County Performing Art Center right in their backyar. Now branded as the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the campus has steadily transformed into a cultural center “deeply engrained in the fabric of our community, artistically ambitious, yet accessible to all…” thriving to “make the arts matter.” If you thought The Center just presents musical theater productions, you’re missing out.
This past week we were invited to a similar style of show of what one may find at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. Last week The Center proudly presented Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage 50th Anniversary Concert Tour. Featured within the Segerstrom Hall, audiences found themselves walking into a seemingly silent theater with ominous sounds of what one could gather as Outer Space. While many of us know that Space contains no sound, the deep sounds of vastness seemed menacing building anticipation and suspense for the music about to be played.
To sum it up simply, it was a talented orchestra playing the many songs of the Star Trek universe from the early days of the original series through all incarnations to the new movies of today. With each song scenes were orchestrated to match the music or quite frankly played as background to memorable scenes of the TV series. I’m not really a fan of the show. I watched my fair share after getting home from school, but never really followed. However, I can appreciate good music just as much as the next. This performance captivated me and the rest of the audience. I was teleported into this musical universe for two and half hours before being beamed back to my seat.
Is watching a brilliant orchestra perform on a Space Age-like set to the tunes of Star Trek not your sort of thing, that’s okay as there are many fantastic shows and musicians lined up. While I want to showcase Newsies coming up May 17th-29th, I’ll focus on the other not so well-known shows.
Mind you there are several venues to attend. There is of course the Segerstrom Hall, the opera house still theater that features the biggest entertainment. However, as beautifully and cleverly designed as it is, one cannot go without noticing that gorgeous and stunning serpentine glass facade of Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The interior is intricately decorated with Spanish granite, a silver leak ceiling with warm wood accented walls and Swarovski crystal LED lighting topped off with 300 stainless steel pendants atop the stage, oh, and a pipe organ spanning the floor to the ceiling.
The Samueli Theater is a multifunctional space allowing for lounge type seating for smaller gatherings or special events, to risers for smaller performances. The Judy Morr theater acts the same though with a black box-style space and can feature some of the smaller productions.
With the places spoken for, here is a list of some of the entertainment offers coming up:
Alton Brown Live:
Eat Your Science Live
Segerstrom Hall
May 13th
Chris Botti – Jazz | Pop/Rock
Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
May 13th and 14th
Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott in recital – Classical Music
Segerstrom Hall
May 14th
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – Classical Music
Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
May 19th-21st
Pictures at an Exhibition with Garrick Ohlsson – Classical Music
Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
May 26th
André Watts Plays Beethoven– Classical Music
Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
June 2nd-4th
Symphonie Fantastique – Classical Music
Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
June 5th
Royal Swedish Ballet
Juliet and Romeo
Segerstrom Hall
June 10th-12th
Cathedral Echoes
Segerstrom Hall
June 12th
Classical Mystery Tour – Beatles Cover Band
Segerstrom Hall
June 17th and 18th
For more information on each show and for more future events, visit scfta.org.
