Laguna Playhouse is an historic Equity theatre located
in the charming arts colony of Laguna Beach, California. Steps away from the Pacific Ocean,
Laguna Playhouse is known for its year-round season of captivating comedies, dramas, musicals, stand-up comedy and family fare.
We have had season tickets for the last several years including the 2022-2023 season.
However, the first play we went to in 2023 was an extra,
Hershey Felder is a pianist, actor, and playwright known for his portrayals of classical and American composers on the theatrical stage.
Acting as Chopin giving a piano lesson in Paris, Felder interacted with the audience to answer questions and explain Chopin's life. He even got one of the members of the audience to come up and play a selection on the piano. We spoke to the gentleman later. It was his birthday and he was a song writer/performer.
The first play of the season in 2023 was Rita Rudner's comedy Staged. Taylor and Burton, Olivier and Leigh...Fennington and Haverly. After an acrimonious divorce, can a famous, high-maintenance acting couple work together again twenty years later? The answer made for a very boring comedy. Susan wanted to walk out shortly after it started. We suffered to the bitter end.
‘Guy meets Girl’ in this tender love story about a struggling Irish musician on the verge of giving up, and a piano-playing Czech immigrant who reminds him how to dream. Featuring an outstanding ensemble of performers playing their instruments live on stage, this emotionally captivating musical is the only show to have music that won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award and a Tony Award. With all of the magical songs from the critically acclaimed film, including the Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly," this achingly beautiful, joyously uplifting show strikes an unforgettable chord in audiences and speaks to the power of music to connect us all.
In THE REALISTIC JONESES, we meet Bob and Jennifer Jones and their new neighbors, John and Pony Jones, two suburban couples who discover they have even more in common than their identical homes and their shared last names. Spare, suggestive, slyly hilarious, and strangely maddening, this profound play explores what is said, what is unsaid and the role that denial plays in helping us navigate life’s chaos.
The play featured 4 chairs on an otherwise empty stage with 4 people talking to each other. It was going to be a 1 hour 45 minute play with no break. The play was sooo boring that we walked out in the middle of the performance. It is the ONLY time we have ever walked out during a performance.
Something’s afoul on the private golf course at Merlinville-Sur-Mer — namely the body of Hercule Poirot’s newest client. Acclaimed playwright Steven Dietz brings the famed Belgian detective to life to solve one of Agatha Christie’s most intricate whodunits. Of course, there are the host of usual — and — unusual suspects. A cast of six versatile actors embody a myriad of characters as they navigate the twists and turns of this lively and fun new adaptation. You won’t want to miss a thrilling moment of this comic mystery.
Get ready for an interlude of laughter and music as two men, or “4 hands,” take us on a journey about their would-be careers
as concert pianists. The talented duo trade stories about piano lessons, pushy parents and eccentric teachers while playing everything from Bach to Billy Joel.
Both hilarious and touching, the musical comedy captures the humor that comes with the path to becoming a pianist, as well as the sense of loss attached with eventually learning
to let go of your wildest dreams. "A rare jewel of real entertainment,” 2 Pianos 4 Hands not only hits all the right notes, but tickles the ivories and your funny bone too.
Anyway, so goes the advertisement.
We found the banter between the two a bit boring. We would have preferred more music and less "comedy".
The Rainmaker has been a beloved mainstay of the American theater for nearly 70 years. This endearing classic is packed with humor, romance, and charm. The Curry men face two worrisome situations: the drought that threatens their farm and the future for their unmarried sister Lizzie. When an unexpected visitor arrives with a dubious proposition, he meets a family that is as starved for hope as the ground is for water. The satisfying and uplifting conclusion will leave audiences believing in the unbelievable.
It is 1948 and an unlikely group of characters has assembled in a Newport mansion. An unexpected development threatens to doom a budding romance and one woman is destined to make things right – no matter what madcap antics she must pursue! Brace yourself for a perfect storm of comedic chaos and get swept away by irresistible charm and rapid-fire banter. This delightful escape promises a non-stop rollercoaster of mirth, leaving you breathless with laughter.
