COSTA MESA CABARET: Cabaret is one of those things that looks so effortless, so joyful, so easy-breezy and full of panache, that it feels like anyone might be able to do it. Seriously, sing some songs, tell some stories, make chitchat with the piano player, exude enough charm to light the theater's outdoor marquee. Done? Done. Though not quite. It's hard to be easy, but Peter Gallagher is a performer who has long possessed that certain je ne sais easy-breezy. Maybe it was his Broadway beginning, his time in the movies and on television, or his love of taking to the stage with a few old-school tunes in his pocket. Or newer school: He'll be singing a range of songs, including some from "The OC," a series he's much associated with, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts from Feb. 13-15. The spot is the Samueli Theater, and the title of the evening is as sassy as one wants from cabaret: How'd All You People Get in My Room? Songs from Broadway, as well as "The OC," are promised, as well as some standards by Burt Bacharach and Van Morrison.
A ticket is $79, and we'll wager that since this is happening over Valentine's Day, there may be a ditty or two involving love. One hopes? Anywho, it'll be fun for OC people to have a dose of OC in the OC. Meta meta.
ALSO AT THE SEGERSTROM... "The Wizard of Oz" will land its house in Costa Mesa on Feb. 11, and once again the center will offer a rainbow of activities before the show, all themed to Dorothy and her adventures. This means photo opportunities, maps, and kidly to-dos. Segerstrom, we are digging those pre-show, enter-the-world happenings. If only every big stage show came with a lead-up, the better to help audience members enter the world early.
