Laguna Beach theater and live performance

Theater

The Laguna Playhouse is the town’s year-round theater. It began in 1920 as a community theater that staged shows in private homes, and its own history page dates the first full production to August 11, 1922. It calls itself one of the oldest continuously operating nonprofit theatres on the West Coast. After a first permanent home on Ocean Avenue in 1924, it moved in 1969 to the Moulton Theatre at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, built with private funds on city-owned land.

The Playhouse runs plays, musicals and special events through the year and has a youth theatre program and classes. Its 2026 to 2027 season runs from October into June 2027, with plays, musicals, a December holiday show and concerts. Its education pages list youth programs, a conservatory, workshops and camps. Check its own schedule for current titles and ticket prices, because both change from season to season.

Parking for the Playhouse

The Playhouse’s parking page lists the city’s Lot 11 at 551 Forest Avenue and Lot 10 at 725 Laguna Canyon Road across the street, meters along Laguna Canyon Road and downtown public lots a few minutes away. It says the meters are strictly enforced and take credit cards and phone payments. For overflow, it points to Lot 16 at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road. The city runs that lot: from September 8, 2026 to June 25, 2027, you pay $5 to park there and ride the free Canyon Route trolley downtown on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the lot is closed to the public Monday through Friday. The parking guide covers permits and lots across town.

Music

Laguna Beach Live! is a nonprofit formed in August 2001. It says its aim is to present live music that is accessible, affordable and intimate, from monthly chamber music at the museum to jazz series and special concerts that include bluegrass. Its events page lists series including Jazz Wednesdays and Laguna Live! at the Museum, and it runs education programs for students.

Laguna Beach Music Festival holds its 25th annual run from February 2 to 7, 2027. The festival’s first edition was in 2003, with the pianist Claude Frank. Its site also lists a prelude evening at the Laguna Art Museum on February 3, 2027. Laguna Beach Live! also lists the festival on its events page.

Dance and cultural arts

Laguna Dance is a nonprofit founded in 2005. It presents dance in theaters, on film and in public spaces. Its site says it has joined the museum’s Art & Nature program, staged site-specific performances during Art Walks and worked with the Rivian South Coast Theater and the Laguna Beach Unified School District. It lists Halloween at the Rivian on October 30, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.

The Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center, at 235 Forest Avenue, describes itself as an exhibition and event space that supports artists in music, film, dance and the visual arts. Its calendar of events is the place to check for performances.

Summer at the Festival of Arts

Pageant of the Masters is the Festival of Arts’ summer performance. Each evening, real people pose to re-create famous works of art in an outdoor amphitheater, with an orchestra and narration. The 2027 run is set for June 30 to August 28. The Festival of Arts, the Sawdust Art Festival and the rest of the summer calendar are in the events guide.

The Historical Society’s timeline traces the Pageant to the 1932 Festival of Arts, when organizers added living pictures to draw crowds after the Los Angeles Olympics. More on that is on the history page.

Planning an evening

Confirm the venue’s address before you go, because Laguna Dance and Laguna Beach Live! perform in more than one place. A gallery night works as an early-evening option: the First Thursdays Art Walk runs 6 to 9 p.m. If rain moves your day indoors, see the rainy-day page.