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MUSEUMS New Wing Takes Wing Ansel Adams: Classic Images, featuring 75 images chosen by Adams as the finest examples of the quality and range of his photographic achievements, can be seen in Orange County for the first time as part of the opening of the Dorothy and Donald Kennedy Wing at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. Adams named the collection the Museum Set, an aggressive claim for the artistic dignity of his photography. The show, through May 13, is in the museum’s new Anderson-Hsu-Tu Gallery. |
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DINING Bravissimo! Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge, the Patina Group’s spot inside the new Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, makes an auspicious debut. Two visits yielded our finest steak experiences in the county, a cap-of-the-rib-eye American Wagyu and an otherworldly Japanese Wagyu rib-eye. Other tasting menu highlights included crisped Casco Bay cod with pork-belly carnitas, cauliflower and curry emulsion; unexpected components such as mountain potato; and uncommonly intelligent wine—and sake—pairings. I N F O Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 714.429.7640. |
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ATTRACTIONS Sound Tracks TGrammy-winning Red Hot Chili Peppers transform Space Mountain at Disneyland and California Screamin’ at Disney’s California Adventure through April 26. The rides feature new special effects and soundtracks, “Higher Ground” and “Around the World,” respectively. Rockin’ Space Mountain rockets guests along with rock-inspired lighting and technology; on-board music at California Screamin’ is choreographed to every twist, turn and drop. |
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SHOPPING Right Combination Disney Vault 28, a new boutique at Downtown Disney, offers trendy clothes and accessories, gifts and home accessories. Half of the products are inspired by Disney characters and stories and half by hip designers such as Chip & Pepper, Paige Denim, Bejeweled, King Baby and Red Monkey. The setting is an abandoned bank; the number in the name refers to the year 1928, when Mickey Mouse came to life. 1580 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, 714.300.7004. |
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CINEMA No Parka Required The Newport Beach Film Festival, April 19-29 at locations around the city, showcases hundreds of films from around the world: features, shorts, documentaries and animation, including U.S. and world premieres, Academy Award entries and Sundance selections. Filmmaker forums are also scheduled. Crash, winner of the 2006 Academy Award for best picture, premiered at the event. Some 35,000 cinephiles are expected to attend. |
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VIDEO Reel Life in the O.C. Kutlug Ataman’s new multi-channel video installation Paradise, opening March 11 at the Orange County Museum of Art, explores the myth and reality of Southern California. Interview subjects include a star- and car- obsessed youth; an Emmy Award–winning producer; local members of the laughter yoga club; and the Rev. Robert Schuller, founder of the Crystal Cathedral, who offers his own ideas of paradise. |
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DANCE Russian Classics The Eifman Ballet returns to the Orange County Performing Arts Center March 14–18 with two ballets based on iconic Russian tales: Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, set to music by Tchaikovsky, and Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, with music by Rachmaninoff. Boris Eifman’s inimitable style—in which the emotion of ballet fuses with bold theatricality—revolutionized Soviet dance. |
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SPECTACLE Water Play Montreal’s Cirque Éloize presents its latest show, Rain, at Irvine Barclay Theatre, where it was originally developed in workshop performances; it went on to be nominated for two New York Drama Desk Awards. Director Daniele Finzi Pasca also directed Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo and the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Turin. The San Francisco Chronicle described Rain, which runs March 31–April 8, as “a deluge of delight.” |
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POP Red-hot Blues The Doheny Blues Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary May 19–20 at Doheny State Beach. Two dozen blues, rock, and soul acts appear on three stages: two main stages at opposite ends of a waterfront grass park (ideal for picnicking) and a Backporch Stage for more intimate acoustic performances. The festival also features a Vendor Village, an international food court and a music store where fans can meet performers and buy their newest releases. |
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HOT TIPS Family PACIFIC SYMPHONY offers fantastic Saturday morning concerts for kids 6–11 at the new Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Mar. 24: Carnival of the Animals. April 28: The Final Frontier (Holst’s Planets). Concerts begin at 10 a.m. Shopping AT-EASE The venerable Fashion Island menswear store opens at Crystal Cove Promenade with a focus on sportswear and resort wear. Lines includeTommy Bahama and Reyn Spooner. 8056 E. Coast Hwy., Newport Coast, 949.464.0200. Theater DAVID SEDARIS His sardonic wit and incisive social criticism have made Sedaris one of America’s preeminent humor writers. Bestsellers include Barrel Fever, Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day. He appears April 24 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. |
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SHOPPING Two-Piece Suits Southern California swimwear purveyor Diane’s opens a high-end beach couture boutique at Corona del Mar Plaza. Bikini serves a resort clientele with swimwear from all over the world: designer suits are from France, Italy and Brazil. Labels include Vix, Cosabella and Michael Kors. 800 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach, 949.640.7855. |
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MUSICALS Light Hearted The Light in the Piazza, winner of six Tony Awards, is at the Orange County Performing Arts Center May 1–13. The New York Times lauded it as “the most romantic score of any Broadway musical since West Side Story.” The dreamy show finds a mother and daughter on vacation in the Tuscan countryside; the daughter meets a handsome Florentine. |
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OPERA Counter Elixir Donizetti's confection The Elixir of Love is about—what else?—romance, love potions and happy endings. The Opera Pacific production, April 11, 14, 19 and 22 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, is set in a West Texas diner in the 1950s. The plot: A country bumpkin who can't catch the eye of the woman he adores turns to a traveling salesman who's pushing a potion. The all-American cast includes William Burden as Nemorino and Sari Gruber as Adina. |
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DINING Anaheim Steakout Two new steakhouses, and a third reimagined, launch in North County. Morton’s The Steakhouse, known for its larger-than-life menu and ambience, opens its second county location; its Bar 12·21 offers plasma-screen televisions, a bar menu and Mortinis. Follow the sizzle to Ruth’s Chris Steak House, where you’ll find New Orleans– style appetizers and butter-topped steaks seared at 1,800 degrees. Granville’s at the Disneyland Hotel changes its name to Steakhouse 55, referring to the year Walt Disney opened Disneyland, and adds a glam new lounge. Morton’s The Steakhouse 1895 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, 714.621.0101 • Ruth’s Chris Steak House 2041 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, 714.750.5644 • Steakhouse 55 Disneyland Hotel, 1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, 714.956.6425 |
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SLIDE SHOW Kodachrome Kulture Our favorite histotainer takes us back in time to the culture and kitsch of SoCal attractions at mid-century. Charles Phoenix in LA LA Land: A Krazy Kaleidoscope of Southern California Kulture in Kodachrome, April 13–15 at Curtis Theatre in Brea, uses four-color slides and hilarious commentary focusing on the region’s attractions. Brea Civic & Cultural Center, Randolph Avenue at Birch Street, Brea, 714.990.7722. histotainer takes us back in time to the culture and kitsch of SoCal attractions at mid-century. Charles Phoenix in LA LA Land: A Krazy Kaleidoscope of Southern California Kulture in Kodachrome, April 13–15 at Curtis Theatre in Brea, uses four-color slides and hilarious commentary focusing on the region’s attractions. Brea Civic & Cultural Center, Randolph Avenue at Birch Street, Brea, 714.990.7722. |