Orange County Theatre Reviews

Review, Santa Ana, Santa Ana College, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on A Streetcar Named Desire @ Santa Ana College – Review |

A Streetcar Named Desire @ Santa Ana College – Review

photo credit: Matthew M. Hayashi

Written by Daniella Litvak 

Tennessee Williams is in the pantheon of greatest playwrights of all time. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama A Streetcar Named Desire is considered the crown jewel of his works.  To this day, it remains a popular show for playhouses to produce.  Santa Ana College initially planned to perform A Streetcar Named Desire in 2020. Then COVID happened.  We are fortunate the Santa Ana College Theatre Arts Department didn’t abandon their plans because they put on an intense, remarkable version of it. Continue Reading

Read more

Review, Santa Ana, Santa Ana College, shakespeare oc, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on Shakespeare Orange County Presents: Zoot Suit @ Santa Ana College – Review |

Shakespeare Orange County Presents: Zoot Suit @ Santa Ana College – Review

 (Please credit Jordan Kubat Photography)

Written by Alina Mae Wilson 

I just watched an amazing play called Zoot Suit.  Prior to this performance, I had never heard of the Zoot Suit Riots or Henry Leyvas- the man upon whom the central character is based.  After watching Zoot Suit at Santa Ana College, I immediately raced home to bombard Google with searches about the riots and Henry Leyvas, which led to me to gasping over my ignorance on the subject.  How could something like the Zoot Suit Riots happen in my home state, in nearby Los Angeles to be exact, without me knowing about it?  How could the subject of Henry Leyvas’s (and many other people’s) false arrest and imprisonment not be broached a single time during all my years of education?  Continue Reading

Read more

Review, Santa Ana, Santa Ana College, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot @ Santa Ana College – Review |

The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot @ Santa Ana College – Review

(Photos: Jaime Diaz)

Written by Patrick Chavis

After watching The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Santa Ana College, I was reminded about not just the nature of drama but comedy as well.  Good drama — if not always then very often –requires comedy to lighten the load of the story especially when it comes to very difficult topics or subject matter. Comedy should balance the drama in a yin and yang sort of way so that comedic and dramatic parts of the play complement each other.  In this production, playing only one more weekend at the Phillips Hall in Santa Ana, the dramatic and comedic elements tended to fight each other instead of complementing the narrative.  Still,  there is plenty of meaty material coming from some very talented actors as well as some brave, enlightened scene staging.    Continue Reading

Read more

interview, podcast, Review, Santa Ana, Santa Ana College, Theater, Uncategorized Comments Off on Interview with Amberly Chamberlain Director of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot playing now @ Santa Ana College – PODCAST |

Interview with Amberly Chamberlain Director of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot playing now @ Santa Ana College – PODCAST

(Art by Pedro Garcia) (Photos: Jaime Diaz)

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
by Stephen Adly Guirgis
A hilarious, poignant, thought-provoking work, boasting a zany cast of characters that asks one of the most plaguing questions in the Christian ideology: What happened to Judas Iscariot and should we care? Taken from the website. 

***For mature audience, due to strong language and subject matter***
Remaining performances:
Friday, April 5 at 7:30PM, Phillips Hall Theatre
Saturday, April 6 at 7:30PM, Phillips Hall Theatre
Sunday, April 7 at 6:30PM, Phillips Hall Theatre

Read more