Tapping Into Performing Arts Venues for 2025

For those interested in planning ahead for 2025 performing arts events, now is a good time to look at options. These cultural offerings can also present attractive gift-giving opportunities for holiday and birthday gifts – and more options and better ticket prices through buying tickets early.

Of course, there’s always seasonal holiday celebrations like “The Long Beach Nutcracker” at the Terrace Theater.

Long Beach continues to offer an expanding selection of opportunities to experience everything from classical music to comedy clubs. Don’t forget the major events such as the Grand Prix and the Marathon – those are good to know about to plan for, or to plan around when needing to leave town for a while if you need to avoid the crowds.

Long Beach Symphony
249 E. Ocean Blvd., Ste. 200
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 436-3203
www.longbeachsymphony.org

Long Beach Symphony’s calendar so far shows seven concerts taking place between February and June of next year tied to both its Pops and Classical productions. It’s part of the 2024-5 season, the 90th since its beginning. It starts on Feb. 1. With ‘Bluegrass & Beethoven’ conducted by Eckart Preu and featuring violinist Tessa Lark. The adventurous evening will take audiences through rhythmic habaneras of Cuba, bluegrass dances, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1. Those interested can visit the website for schedules and tickets, along with subscription programs and gift certificates.

Long Beach Opera
115 Pine Ave., Ste. 550
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 470-7464
www.longbeachopera.org

For the 2024-5 lineup, Long Beach Opera invites visitors to experience ‘an immersive journey into the operatic work of pioneering composer and sound artist, Pauline Oliveros.’ She was known to be an award-winning composer, artist and humanitarian who expanded the concept of sound with a potent, genre-defying approach to music and art. Under the leadership of Artistic Director & Chief Creative Officer James Darrah, Long Beach Opera creates uniquely immersive work that blends film, dance, new music and more. It’s committed to centering underrepresented voices – striving to redefine the art form to make it more accessible to the entire community.

Carpenter Center
6200 E. Atherton St.
Long Beach, CA 90815
(562) 985-4274
www.carpenterarts.org

You can come celebrate the Carpenter Center’s 30th anniversary with Renée Elise Goldsberry, the Tony Award-winning star of Hamilton, and special guest Richard Carpenter. This milestone event will be an evening to remember and will be held Saturday, April 26, 2025. Located on the campus of Cal State Long Beach, its 1,054-seat theater accommodates large and small productions, including a season of performances showcasing emerging and established musicians, dancers, actors, speakers, comedians, and visual artists, as well as other artistic, educational, and cultural experiences.

Terrace Theater
300 E. Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 436-3636
www.lbentertainmentcenter.com/venues/terrace-theater

Guests can get tickets to the theater’s 3,051 seats and can view the Center’s three-story glass-walled lobby and staircases that take patrons to its Orchestra, Loge, and Balcony sections – making for a grand view and memorable theater experience. ‘The Long Beach Nutcracker,’ presented with a full symphony orchestra, will run from Dec. 14 to 22. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be presented by the Distinguished Speaker Series on Jan. 16, 2025. Broadway at the Beach will take place through May 2, 2025 and will feature productions such as ‘The Cher Show,’ ‘The Book of Mormon,’ and ‘Champions of Magic.’

International City Theatre
330 E. Seaside Way
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 436-4610
www.ictlongbeach.org

Located in the Beverly O’Neil Theater, and within the same complex as the Terrace Theater, International City Theatre will be showing a season of premiers that will be running from Feb. 19 to Nov. 2, 2025. These will include “Desperate Measures,” an American musical comedy; “The Violin Maker,” based on the stories from “The Violins of Hope”; “The Angel Next Door,” a romantic comedy; “Masala Dabba,” a family story; and “Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson – Apt 2B,” which “cheerfully desecrates the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”

Musical Theatre West
4350 E. 7th St.
Long Beach, CA 90804
(562) 856-1999
www.musical.org

Musical Theatre West operates under the mission statement of “En-rich the community with Broad-way-quality productions, preserve musical theatre as a unique American art form and expose people of all backgrounds to the excitement of musical theatre.” Mainstage performances for Musical Theatre West take place at Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Parking is in Lot G12. For the 2025 season, called “The Season of Legends,” the four shows are: “Jersey Boys” (Feb 14-Mar 2); “Into the Woods” (Mar 28-Apr 13); “The Buddy Holly Story” (Jul 11-27); and “Hello, Dolly!” (Oct 17-Nov 2).

Musica Angelica
65 S Pine Ave #12
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 276-0865
www.musicaangelica.org

Now in its 32nd season, Musica Angelica is a Baroque orchestra that performs and collaborates with institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. The orchestra is performing upcoming concerts at the First Congregational Churches both in Long Beach and Los Angeles; and it also offers a community concert series at Long Beach public libraries. The Beverly O’Neill Theater has been its home venue since 2016. Led by Music Director and Conductor Martin Haselböck, collaborations have happened with Long Beach Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Opera, Orange County Philharmonic Society, and other partners – some of them overseas. Annual subscriptions are available for its orchestral and chamber concerts. ‘Christmas in Vienna’ will be at the First Congregational Church in Long Beach on Dec. 14 at 7:30 pm.

Long Beach Landmark Theater
241 Cedar Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 366-0085
www.lblandmark.org

Landmark is housed on the campus of the historic First Congregational Church of Long Beach in downtown. It prides itself as being an activist theatrical group dedicated to supporting social justice. One of the upcoming stage productions taking place in May-June 2025 is ‘Bright Star’ a musical written and composed by actor and comedian Steve Martin and singer songwriter Edie Brickell.

Long Beach Playhouse
5021 E. Anaheim St.
Long Beach, CA 90804
(562) 494-1014
www.lbplayhouse.org

Speaking of holiday entertainment, LBP is presenting ‘A Christmas Carol’ through Dec. 22. After that, Agatha Christie’s ‘The Murder of Roger Akroyd’ will be running from Jan. 11 to Feb. 8, 2025. Established in 1929, this performing arts venue showcases plays throughout the year. It’s been well known for featuring classic murder mysteries as part of its seasonal lineup.

Art Theatre of Long Beach
2025 E 4th St.
Long Beach, CA 90814
(562) 438-5435
www.arttheatrelongbeach.org

The Art Theatre is a historic movie theater on Retro Row in Long Beach. It originally opened in 1924 as a single screen silent movie house. At that time, there were over 50 independent theatres in Long Beach, and today only the Art remains, the theater says. Those were the days when the movie industry was starting up in Long Beach, prior to moving over to Hollywood. These days, the Art Theater might be the only area movie theater showing artistic and sometimes controversial international and domestic films.

Most recently, the theater has been presenting ‘Maria’ starring Academy Award-winning actor Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas, the American-Greek soprano opera performer.

There are other performance art centers to visit in Long Beach such as Long Beach Camerata Singers and P3 Theatre Company.

Cerritos Center for the
Performing Arts
18000 Park Plaza Dr.
Cerritos, CA 90703
(562) 916-8500
www.ccpa.cerritos.gov

Having opened on Jan. 13, 1993, CCPA became known for being a versatile architectural marvel, one of North America’s most innovative multi-configurational performing arts centers. The center offers an eclectic selection of stage performances with upcoming shows such as The Illusionists – Magic of the Holidays on Dec. 29; legendary comics Rita Rudner and Gary Mule Deer on Jan. 12, 2025, and The Peter Gabriel Project formed last year by vocalist/musician Brody Dolyniuk, on Jan 17.

Comedy Clubs Are Popular

Laugh Factory
The Pike Outlets
151 S. Pine Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 495-2844

The legendary comic Paul Rodriguez has Wednesday night shows scheduled in December and January. It’s part of the world-famous Laugh Factory that started in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd., in 1979. The $10 million, 650-seat, 12,500-square-foot venue in Long Beach is the largest comedy club in the world, says Laugh Factory.

Holding its grand opening in 2008, the Long Beach club is home to the official Laugh Factory Stand-up Comedy Hall of Fame and Museum, which holds over 500 pieces of comedy memorabilia from legendary comedians. Shows are held Wednesday through Sunday, depending on the week and who’s scheduled to perform.

Bear City Comedy Show
Que Sera
1923 E. 7th St.
Long Beach, CA 90813
www.queseralb.com

This is a very good place to see comedians become skilled and hilarious stage performers on their way to stardom, as the Grunion Gazette says. Comedians take the stage every Wednesday. Some of them have performed on Netflix, HBO, and Saturday Night Live, and there might even be a surprise guest. It takes place at the Que Sera nightclub on 7th St. Doors open on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and shows start at 7:30 p.m.

Major LB Events in 2025

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
April 11-13, 2025
1975-2025: Fifty years at full speed!
www.gplb.com

The Congressional Cup
The Long Beach Luxury Yacht Club; 60th anniversary event
Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier
April 30-May 4, 2025
thecongressionalcup.com

Long Beach Pride 2025
May 17-18, 2025
longbeachpride.com

There was an art contest for the official theme logo this year, ‘The Power of Community,’ that closed on Dec. 9.

LB Juneteenth Celebration
June 14, 2025
www.lbjuneteenth.com

Belmont Shore Car Show
This annual car show takes place during the month of September, usually on a Sunday, on 2nd St. in Belmont Shore.
www.belmontshore.org

Long Beach Marathon
Oct. 4-5, 2025
Marathon, half marathon, bike tour, and 5K
www.runlongbeach.com

Dates have not yet been set for:

Coastal Country Jam: This beachside festival features top country talent, food, games, art installations, a Ferris wheel, car show and drone show.

Cambodia Town Parade & Festival: This event celebrates Khmer traditions through food, music and dance.

Jon LeSage is a resident of Long Beach and a veteran business media reporter and editor. You can reach him at jtlesage1@yahoo.com.