Each week, Arts Orange County and Culture OC deliver you this look at the stories and events happening in our arts and cultural community.

LA Opera Young Artists in Concert

A chance to see the next generation of operatic talent, before these singers graduate to stages around the world, at the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University MORE

From Simon to ‘The Shark’: Laguna Playhouse Launches Its Reinvention

American theaters once relied on Neil Simon to guarantee at least one box office hit each season. Last December, Adele Adkins threw him overboard – scrapping a planned production of Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” for a smaller, more cost-efficient show with little name recognition but a perfect title for a beach town: “The Shark Is Broken,” which opened last week.

The move wasn’t about artistic merit. It was about survival.

When Adkins arrived last summer as the Laguna Playhouse’s managing director, she quickly saw the theater under financial pressure, struggling to recover from the pandemic and slow audience return.

Flamenco and Fate Collide in ‘Songs From a Sinking Ship’ at Irvine Barclay

A siren’s call sends a ship into supernatural danger in Flamenco Arts International’s theatrical dance production.

OCTG Theatre Awards Unveils List of Nominees

On Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, during the OC Theatre Guild’s membership meeting, nominees for the fifth annual OCTG Theatre Awards were officially announced. Winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony on Monday, May 11, 2026, at the Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. This year's event continues the tradition of celebrating the vibrant and diverse achievements of the theater community. 

Economic Pressures Force OC Music & Dance to Drop Its Move to the Great Park

Construction inflation, tariffs and regulatory delays derailed plans for a long-envisioned facility at the Great Park’s Cultural Terrace. A building close to its present campus will be redeveloped instead.

Each week, we recommend a variety of events and experiences from the listings at SparkOC.com, our free website for Orange County's arts and cultural community.

I Love My Wife

No Square Theatre in Laguna Beach stages the 1970's musical farce about two couples wondering if they should get aboard this new trend of spouse-swapping MORE

Miniatures & Roleplaying Gameday at Hunt Branch Library

Hunt Branch Library in Fullerton offers a free day of play for newcomers to try out Dungeons & Dragons and other table-top role playing games (aka TTRPGs,) as well as their counterpart LARPs - live-action role-playing! MORE

Doodle POP

A unique spectacle of imagination and play, this all-ages show at Segerstrom Center for the Arts starts with a mischievous duo making drawings which then transport them into a musical adventure at sea MORE

Comics Beyond the Margins: Stories of Empowerment, Identity, and Imagination

With examples from their archives dating back to the 1960's, the UCI Langson Library spotlights the historical role comic books have played in giving underrepresented voices an outlet to speak to their experiences and struggles MORE