Laguna Playhouse

What the Playhouse is

The Laguna Playhouse stands at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, in the Moulton Theatre. Its FAQ calls it an Equity theatre with a year-round season of comedies, dramas, musicals, stand-up comedy and family programs. Its mission statement includes educational opportunities for children and adults, and its menus list youth programs, a Conservatory, workshops and camps.

This page covers the Playhouse as a place to see a show. The town’s other presenters, including Laguna Beach Live!, Laguna Dance and the Cultural Arts Center, are on the performing arts page.

The 2026 to 2027 season

These titles and dates come from the Playhouse’s home page as of October 28, 2026:

• The 39 Steps, October 27 to November 22, 2026.
• Aladdin & Yasmin’s Winter Wish, a holiday panto from the Lythgoe Family, December 5 to 27, 2026.
• Cheyenne Jackson: Suspiciously Merry, a holiday concert, December 7, 2026.
• Adventures of Tortoise & Hare, a Lightwire Theater production, January 30, 2027.
• RENT, April 7 to May 2, 2027.
• Bonnie & Clyde, June 9 to 27, 2027.

The show page for The 39 Steps lists event nights tied to its run: Director’s Cut on October 29 at 9:30 p.m., Curtain Call Karaoke on November 6 at 5:30 p.m., Cocktails & Tunes on November 12 at 5:30 p.m., Playhouse Pride Night on November 14 at 5:30 p.m. and a Child Care Matinee on November 21 at 2 p.m. It also lists no regular showtimes and no prices, and it hands you off to the Playhouse’s ticket site. Seasons shift, so confirm titles and dates there before you plan around one.

Box office and tickets

The box office phone is 949.497.2787. Two Playhouse pages disagree slightly on its weekday hours. The FAQ says Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m., and the Contact page says Tuesday through Friday for the same hours. Both say it also opens two hours before curtain on show days, so call if you need a Monday.

Every guest must be 5 or older and have a ticket, including at family programs. Each show listing carries content tags. The 39 Steps page, for example, tags adult language, sexual situations and themes, and violence, alongside a “Fun for the Whole Family” tag. A lobby bar is open before the show and at intermission, and the Playhouse suggests arriving with plenty of time, especially in summer.

Parking and the trolley

The Playhouse points you to city Lot 11 at 551 Forest Avenue, across the street, and Lot 10 at 725 Laguna Canyon Road, plus meters on Laguna Canyon Road and downtown public lots. It warns that the meters are strictly enforced. When those fill, Lot 16 at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road is the overflow option at $5 for the day. The Playhouse’s Plan Your Visit page also mentions an on-site lot behind the theatre, which its parking page does not list.

The city runs the trolley that serves Lot 16. Its page says the free Canyon Route trolley runs every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through June 25, 2027, and that the lot is closed to the public on weekdays. The Playhouse’s own parking page lists a longer window that includes Friday, so rely on the city’s schedule and check it before an evening show. The parking guide and the trolley page cover the rest of town.

Access

The FAQ says the theatre is accessible, including wheelchair-accessible seating and entrances, and it asks you to contact the box office about specific needs. The Playhouse’s parking page does not mention accessible parking, and its pages do not describe listening devices, so ask the box office about both when you book.

How the Playhouse began

The Playhouse says it began in 1920 as a community theater staging shows in private homes, with its first full production on August 11, 1922, in an old vulcanizing shop, and opened its first permanent home on Ocean Avenue in 1924. It describes hosting USO activities and housing troops in World War II and welcoming summer stock that included Bette Davis. The Moulton Theatre, built with private funds on city-owned land, became its home in 1969.

The Playhouse dates its Youth Theatre classes to 1986. In 1996, it says, it formalized an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association and joined the League of Resident Theatres. The Laguna Beach Historical Society’s timeline tells the early years differently: under 1920 it lists a clubhouse built on Ocean Avenue used by the Laguna Players, which later became the Laguna Playhouse and moved to Broadway. The history page has more on the town’s story.

Planning an evening

A show pairs with the town’s other night options on the things to do at night page. On the first Thursday of the month, the Art Walk runs from 6 to 9 p.m. in galleries along Coast Highway, per its organizer. If the weather pushes your day indoors, the rainy-day page lists more. For dated events across the year, see the events guide.