Baffles, bravos and bows. Sometimes it takes seeing something you take for granted through someone else’s eyes to remind you of how remarkable it really is.
On a recent excursion to Costa Mesa’s burgeoning Theater & Arts District with a group of travel writers, several members of the Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau team had the opportunity to tag along on an insiders’ tour of two of its amazing concert venues: The Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ and the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Also in the Segerstrom Center is the Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory Theatre.
Tim Dunn, the director of public relations for the Orange County Performing Arts Center organization, conducted the tour. We began with a sneak peak inside the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall to watch a few minutes of rehearsals for the musical adaptation of “Young Frankenstein.” “The hall regularly features top-grossing musicals. Tim asked us to be very quiet as the acoustics in the hall are finely tuned and unwanted sounds can be disturbing to audiences and performers.
Then it was off to the adjacent concert hall, which adjoins the arts center via an expansive public plaza area. Acclaimed architect Cesar Pelli designed the concert hall and South Coast Repertory. Currently, a third structure dominates the area. It’s a 128-foot-high tent that houses Threesixty degree Entertainment’s new stage production of “Peter Pan,” which runs through December 5. The other imposing presence on the plaza is Connector, a towering sculpture designed by Richard Sera.
Approaching the concert hall we could see the dramatic multi-tiered foyer and circular staircase. Once inside, we looked across to see the Center’s signature sculpture, Fire Bird, by noted artist Richard Lippold. Soaring above the concert hall’s Spanish granite lobby floor is a ceiling finished in silver leaf and a breathtaking lighting installation titled “Constellation.”
Tim told us that this award-winning piece of architectural jewelry includes faceted Swarovski crystal LED globes and 300 silver lavalieres suspended in graduated lengths that are tipped in illuminated Baccarat crystal pendants. The backstage tour included having us walk past some of the huge sound baffles that allow acousticians to literally tune the hall for maximum effect.
Once in the concert space, several journalists mounted the stairs to stand on the stage so they could see what the performers see. What a view! With a little imagination, you could almost hear the audience responding to the world-class orchestras and artists that regularly perform here. We also got to see the Samueli Theatre, a unique performing and event space tucked inside the concert hall structure.
No wonder some call the District the standing ovation capital of Orange County. Visitors are also encouraged to take a walking tour to experience the spectacular works of Jean Dubuffet, Henry Moore, Joan Miro, Charles O. Perry, and Isamu Noguchi, among other world-class figures whose artistry is on public display locally.
Incidentally, no public funds were used to build the theater complexes with the capital coming from private donors instead. Nearby the District are other amenities, like South Coast Plaza, truly an international destination.
Costa Mesa really is Southern California’s premier performance, shopping, dining, and cultural destination.
