PEOPLE
PLACES FEB. 5 LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
To mark the Year of the Tiger, the Pacific Symphony joins forces with guzheng player Bei Bei, pianist Fei-Fei, sopranos Yunah Lee and Bich-Van Nguyen, and tenor Nicholas Preston for a program packed with compositions celebrating the advent of spring. Wendy Hua’s Violin Studio at Orange County Music and Dance, the Yaya Dance Academy, the Chinese Dance Company of Southern California, the American Feel Young Chorus, and the Pacific Chorale also perform during the show. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 714755-5788, pacificsymphony.org
ond wife, Ruth. Camino Real Playhouse, 31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, 949-4898082, caminorealplayhouse.org FEB. 6 VADYM KHOLODENKO
The critically acclaimed classical pianist, who won the 2013 Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, has performed around the world. He’ll perform pieces by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Liszt, and Beethoven. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 949-553-2422, philharmonicsociety.org OPENS FEB. 9 “WICKED”
Concerts, theater, and cultural celebrations by Robin Jones
FEB. 2 AND 3
FEB. 4 THROUGH 20
“SACRE”
“BLITHE SPIRIT”
Circa, the Australia-based circus troupe, performs to Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and a new composition by Phillipe Bachman in this show. The group’s powerful acrobatics combine with innovative lighting and set design to create a memorable display of athleticism. Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine, 949-854-4646, thebarclay.org
Noël Coward wrote this comedy, which tells the story of Charles Condomine, a socialite and writer who hires a medium to conduct a séance as research for a book he’s writing about the occult. Things start to go haywire when the medium inadvertently summons the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, who does everything she can to sabotage Charles’s marriage to his sec-
30 ORA NGE CO AST • February 2022
FEB. 10 MAVIS STAPLES AND KANDACE SPRINGS
Soul legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Staples performs for this special concert. Raised in gospel music, she’s also a civil rights activist and performed with the family’s band, The Staple Singers. Springs, who last appeared in Orange County in early 2020, is a jazz pianist and vocalist from Nashville, Tennessee, with “a voice that could melt snow,” according to Prince. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 714-556-2787, scfta.org FEB. 10 AND 11 BEI BEI
Part of a monthlong series of programs celebrating Lunar New Year, this two-night engagement features one of the world’s best gu-
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS
DON’T MISS IN FEBRUARY
PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG GIFFORD
E V E N T S
Long before Dorothy landed in Munchkinland, two girls who seemed like opposites became good friends. One, named Elphaba, became the Wicked Witch of the West; the other, Galinda, became Glinda the Good. This smash hit musical, winner of three Tony Awards, tells their story. Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 714-556-2787, scfta.org
