The curtain is about to rise on another bustling season at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts with a lineup that includes global talents, Broadway blockbusters, family shows and multicultural spotlights.
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Home to some of the region’s most exemplary performing arts organizations — including the Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Pacific Chorale, South Coast Repertory and UCI Langson Orange County Museum of Art — the Segerstrom Center plans to highlight international excellence, traditions of the Pacific and American history across its stages and exhibitions, its officials announced this week in a showcase of the upcoming seasons.
This month, the Segerstrom Center will kick things off with “Ruby Jubilee,” a free campus-wide celebration of its 40th anniversary taking place on Sept. 13. Spokesperson Lisa Middleton said the center will be honoring its decades-long history with programs that speak to its vibrant, community-centered artistic vision, while reflecting a broad sense of possibility for the future.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts hosts a media event to announce its upcoming events including the Pacific Symphony where Alexander Shelley is the new artistic and music director in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Mandi Gonzales, assistant director of marketing and communications at Langson Orange County Museum of Art, talks about what is in store for the art museum during a press event at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Bil Schroeder, director of marketing and communications at South Coast Repertory, presents upcoming shows during a press event at the Segerstrom Center of the Arts in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Marie Songco-Torres, right, senior marketing and public relations manager at Philharmonic Society of Orange County, gives out information at a press event at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Lisa Middleton, vice president of marketing and communications at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, talks about upcoming events at the center during a press event at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A banner promoting the Viva Spenuzza Series at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts during a press event in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. VIva is a series of shows celebrating 257 years of California’s hispanic heritage. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Jean Hsu, chief operating officer at the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, talks about upcoming events during a media event at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Jean Hsu, chief operating officer at the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, presents upcoming events during a media event at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Monday, August 31, 2026. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
“This is one of the most dynamic cultural institutions anywhere,” Middleton said. “We want this to be a cultural home for our community, a place where you might come see a Broadway musical one night, hear an extraordinary composition the next.”
The Segerstrom Center will premiere six Broadway productions among an 11-show season that runs through next August.
See the shows:
• Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”: Sept. 22 – Oct. 11
• “The Outsiders”: Oct. 20 – Nov. 1
• “Water for Elephants”: Nov. 10-22
• “The Book of Mormon”: Dec. 29, 2026 – Jan. 3
• “Jersey Boys”: Jan. 26-31
• “The Who’s Tommy”: March 9-14
• “Buena Vista Social Club”: March 30 – April 11
• “Waitress”: April 27 – May 2
• “The Great Gatsby”: May 18-30
• “Maybe Happy Ending”: June 15-27
• “Death Becomes Her”: July 27 – Aug. 8
Orange County’s Tony Award-winning theatre company the South Coast Repertory will put on the musical “Into the Woods,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, from Sept. 12 through Oct. 18.
The Houston Ballet will make its Orange County debut with a production of “Sons de L’ame,” followed by the American Ballet Theatre’s rendition of the holiday favorite, “The Nutcracker.”
As part of its commitment to Hispanic and Latino arts and culture, the center announced the appointment of its inaugural Artist-in-Residence, Grammy Award-winning composer Arturo O’Farrill, as well as “¡VIVA! The Spenuzza Series,” a curated series of programs underscoring the diversity of Hispanic entertainment. This initiative will feature performances by the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra (Sept. 19), Copacabana Nights (Feb. 19) and a two-day “When Cultures Collide” community event (April 8-9).
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And, in line with the center’s focus on global connections, the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art presents the upcoming exhibit “Tokio Ueyama: The Hollows Between Mountains,” which organizers say is the first major museum exhibition in California to spotlight a Japanese American artist. In collaboration with UC Irvine’s East Asian Studies Department, the museum’s latest exhibit features several paintings and archival materials for the first time.
“Ueyama was a cosmopolitan artist whose Post-Impressionist works participated in several transpacific discourses about aesthetics, politics and race that the exhibition illuminates for the first time,” UC Irvine Langson OCMA Assistant Curator Michaëla Mohrmann said in a press release. “The multivalence and cross-cultural references of Ueyama’s work give us a nuanced understanding of the Japanese immigrant experience in the United States — an experience defined by the discrepancy between the Japanese diaspora’s dreams of belonging and its marginalization during the interwar period.”
The collection will run from Sept. 26 to Feb. 28.
This season also marks the Pacific Symphony’s first under new Artistic and Music Director Alexander Shelley. The London-born conductor will lead the classical series with concerts featuring Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection” in early October and the Beethoven Revolution Festival honoring the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death in January.
“Alexander is bringing his global talent and connections to Pacific Symphony, with the mission of being a gateway to music, artists and culture around the world,” Pacific Symphony spokesperson Dana Long said.
The Pacific Symphony’s four series — classical, pops, family musical mornings and education and community engagement — will offer a variety of special events and programming featuring renowned artists, such as Idina Menzel and Cody Fry, and seasonal themed concerts.
See the Pacific Symphony:
• Violinist Joshua Bell and Alexander Shelly: Sept. 24
• Mahler’s “Resurrection”: Oct. 1-3
• Symphony Spooktacular: Oct. 24
• Idina Menzel: Nov. 6-7
• Holiday Organ Spectacular: Dec. 14
• Cody Fry Christmas: Dec. 18
• Beethoven Revolution Festival: Jan. 28 – March 7
And, if you’re looking for more classical talents, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County will host three of the world’s most celebrated classical artists — pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Gautier Capuçon — in its season opener on Oct. 13.
For families, the Segerstrom Center is offering a variety of youth-centered performances and educational programs:
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• SUGAR SKULL! A Día De Muertos Musical Adventure: Sept. 19-20
• Yellow Bird Chase: Oct. 24-25
• “Milo the Magnificent”: Nov. 21-22
• Pacific Symphony Youth Concert Band: Let’s Dance!: Nov. 22
• Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings: What We Inherit: Nov.22
• Pacific Symphony Youth Ensemble: Sounds of Stars, Love, and Home: Nov. 23
• Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra Fall Concert: Nov. 24
• “A Christmas Carol”: Nov. 28 – Dec. 27
• “The Nutcracker” for kids: Dec. 5