This is a small black box style theater that puts on incredible productions. My family saw the…read moremusical "Once" (twice!) and the powerful play "The Messenger". Being this close to the actors allows audiences to catch great subtlety in the performances. Highly recommended.

Saw Jagged Little Pill and loved it! Love the quaint theatre vibe and friendliness of patrons and…read morestaff. Well done! I will be back

Both of our children have made lifelong memories and friends at Top Hat. Shannon and James are…read moreunbelievably dedicated to providing a quality theater performance experience. They are fun and extremely patient in their direction. The cost to participate is much more affordable than other companies we've experienced and, quite frankly, the experience as a parent is much better. Much less stress in their never ending accommodation. Thanks for all you do!

Excellent example of teen theatre at its best. The acting, singing, and choreography were all first…read morerate. Couldn't have expected better if it were a college production.

After attending numerous plays and events at the Laguna Playhouse over many years, we have made the…read moredecision to never return! I will omit most names from this review as really does no good. Each year we purchase tickets to plays, usually in a series as you get good prices and seats. This past year our last play was supposed to be a Neil Simon play, but when we arrived, we were informed that the Simon play had been canceled and a new play called, The Shark is Broken, was on. The woman at the door told several of us that notices had been sent out about the change in plays. I did not get the memo and I suspect the email went instead to my moms spam folder, which she never thinks to check as to her, spam is a canned meat! Neither my 93 year old mother or I was interested in seeing a play about the shark from Jaws being broken, so I went to the box office and was informed that we could not be given a refund, but instead, a credit. That sounded ok as we usually find things to see there. At no time did anyone in the box office inform us that the credit had a time limit and would expire within a matter of months! I was a bit miffed as it takes me an hour and a half to get down to where my mom lives, then another 25 minutes to get to the theater, but I figured things happen and move on. The next day I get an email from the box office stating the amount of the credit. NOWHERE in the entire email did it state that the credit had to be used before the end of June! Mid may when I got the flyer for the 4 plays for this year, I called to choose the only show that looked appealing, 39 Steps, in October. The box office gal told me that we could not use the credit for any of those shows and that the credit had to be used before the end of June. I explained the situation to her and that we had not been told about any deadline. She was gruff and stated those were the rules and all playhouses go by those rules. Wanna guess what creative language was running thru my mind?! I said that since she was unable to fix this mess, I needed to speak with someone who could. She stated that she would give a message to the person who is in charge of the box office and hung up. Five days went by and no call, so I called and asked for whomever was in charge of the box office and a gal stated she could not give me her number but would give me her email. Why? At some point I would end up talking with person anyway. It was another example of someone being unhelpful. I sent the the gal in charge of the box office an email stating what happened and that I was upset at this entire situation and wanted it resolved and I asked to be called to discuss the matter. Instead of a call, I got an email asking if the issue was about the Shark play?! Why no call as I had asked, why dodge the call two times? I looked at the schedule and we had only 1 month and 2 choices, a comedy night at 7:30 PM or a play called Red. The comedy is a no go due to it being at 7:30 PM and the play Red did not look appealing. At this point both my mother and I were fed up and decided that no one at the playhouse had any interest in making things right and we were not going to forfeit close to $200 so we offered the seats to the play to friends who accepted. To add insult to injury, the ticket prices had gone up so in order to get the same seats for the play Red, we would have had to pay an extra $40. Unbelievable!! I chose to take lesser seats to avoid extra charges. So, in summation, what we have is a miscue about a play that was canceled, a refund with strings attached, no one alerting us to the unwritten rules about refunds and seasons, lack of cooperation, price increase, and general non caring attitudes. Nice way to treat patrons. Perhaps the people that run the Laguna Playhouse don't care about how their patrons are treated or even the loss. It doesn't matter at this point as we are done and I will make it a point to inform as many people as possible exactly what happened and to beware. I did appreciate Nicole at the box office who made the change for us and emailed me the confirmation.

It has been forever since I've been to Laguna Playhouse and that's my fault. For some reason, I…read morejust don't put life theater at the top of my list of entertainment, but that's going to change. I believe I saw this play being advertised on Instagram, etc. and it intrigued me so I opted to buy tickets. I'm one of those that do not necessarily need to be in the orchestra or main level and I chose to sit in the least expensive seats in the upper balcony areas. I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in the theater. There is municipal parking across from the theater, which is four dollars with no maximum hours. There's also metered parking in other city lots throughout the area. You can also take the free trolley. There is a small courtyard out front that early arrival patrons were mingling and having wine and a snack. Inside, there's a small beverage/bar area that featured some basic candy and snacks as well as some wine, coffee, and soft drinks. It was reasonably priced overall. We opted for a Coke and some pretzels and unfortunately, they carry the dots pretzels. I know everybody loves them. It's not my favorite. I do appreciate that they allowed the food and beverage into the theater. I'm kind of old-school a little bit of that because back in the day that was never allowed as far as the crowd most people were casually dressed or dressed to go maybe to dinner afterwards. It's a more casual environment compared to New York or Chicago theater districts. We thoroughly enjoyed the show. The shark is broken. The character casting was spot on. the mannerisms and voice inflections were also perfect. It was I believe a 90 minute show without intermission. Departing the theater and exiting across the street was easy. There are also restrooms. It seems handicap accessible on the lower level in general. I'm not sure about an elevator for the second level. I did not see one, but I would double check. Our tickets were will call in the box office person was very friendly and nice. I definitely will check back and see what other performances occur in the future.

Came here to watch "Your a Good Man Charlie Brown," and this was an awesome cozy venue! I would say…read moreabout 100 seats. They sell candy, chips, and drinks during intermission (I believe food and drinks are not allowed in the theater) and you can purchase gifts, snacks and drinks for the performers as well. Since it is a small theater you do not need to show up super early. The performers (Many of them high school or college students, as well as some as young as 6 years old!) did a great job and you can tell they put a lot of work and practice into their performance! Definitely recommend coming here to watch some plays!

I just started auditioning and joining this production group and am having a blast. Watch a show or…read morebe in one! Come on in!!

We took our Bella yesterday morning to the Vet Lakewood on South Street... we were told it would be…read moreseveral hrs while others dogs walked and service immediately... we told them she couldn't walk and stopped eating but that I guess wasn't an emergency for... we waited until they told us not until 1:00... I hate the service!!! Don't take your dog or cat and will charge plenty... Our Bella was put asleep which she had a damaged spine cause no cushion in her disk. Which cause her not to move her legs. Last night was the last time we spend with Bella. I Dislike that place!!!

We had a great time. Very nice theater. Easy in and out…read more If I had to be picky, I would say that the sound system could use a little tweaking. This is a big, expensive production, and I was frustrated, that, especially for the first 30 minutes, I had trouble understanding every lyric. Overall, a solid production (especially the two leads), and a very nice venue.

First time seeing a performance here! I didnt know what to expect, but knew I had "nose bleed"…read moreseats. But, there are no bad seat. Small quaint venue where every seat is great!!! I was 3rd row from the top and loved the view of the stage and performer!! The sound was great! The seats are padded and fairly wide. I did not feel crowded by my neighbor. Parking is free and 100' away next to the Vietnam War Memorial. I would not hesitate to see another show here!!

Very rude staff!! We got intererrupted in the middle of the Mermaid play because my 3yr old…read moredaughter talks too much. All kids were talking/reacting and this is a kids play. Beautiful production but disappointing experience.

Theatre Out is touted as "Orange County's Gay and Lesbian Theatre Company" and regularly produces a…read morefun variety of live theatre productions in the Santa Ana downtown area near the historic plaza which has been undergoing a resurgence in recent years. I have seen quite a range of productions here from light hearted fun "The Drowsy Chaperone" a parody of Jazz era story lines and most recently Alchemy Theater's (http://www.yelp.com/biz/alchemy-theater-company-santa-ana?hrid=2B1d6I3qyYVN8nhkbWS1Sg) Gertrude Stein production. The theater is quite small and the seating is not highly raked. It almost has a caberet, connect with your fellow audience members, feel to it. Wonderful addition to Orange County's vibrant Live Theater scene. We saw a Sunday afternoon production of the Gertrude Stein work, leaving at about 4PM. Almost all the places to eat were closed or only serving drinks and macaroni and cheese for the next hour. Not the theater's fault, by all means. Just, t'would be nice if the restaurants were aware of the gem next door and feeding the theater patrons. *Wistful sigh* A YELPer can dream, can't she?

The best place in Santa Ana for great theatre and music! Now even better in their new location next…read moreto Bistro. Www.theatreout.com.

I drive by this theater weekly and never realized it was there. Local theater is a unique…read moreexperience and it's intimate. Beyond grateful to be invited to a local production (yes, we paid for our tickets), as this was the first time experiencing theater in a setting like this. The actors are from our local and surrounding communities. Tickets are affordable and supporting local artists/talent is important. I appreciate a great night of entertainment!

Congratulations! I found a theater that beat the Pantages in discomfort! I know its an old venue…read morebut these are the worst seats I have ever had the displeasure of sitting in for so long. By the end of show my behind hurt, my knees hurt. It was just awful. This is also the first time in my many years of show going I saw (and heard) people leaving during intermission due the discomfort of the seats. One lady even screamed in the narrow passage way to I assume the rest of her party (MY KNEES CANT TAKE ANYMORE). Her husband then said yeah Im running her home and ill be back. This was my first time going to this theater so my first impressions were good at first. Staff seemed personable. We went to see August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. I have never been to a theater in a U shape before. I have decided I dont care for it. There were so many times where I didnt know what was going on because the actors back was to me. I dont know if there was a kiss, a nose snuggle, who knows. My partner also point out that in one scene on our side we saw that one actor was rubbing anothers foot. This was how the piece came back from the dark. He pointed out that the folks on the other side had zero clue because they just saw her back. He also pointed out how much wasnt really used and the set could have been "pushed back" for better viewing and I agree. I also found it distracting for me to see the audience across, folks were laughing and speaking in times that didnt call for it and for someone like me who is ever observant it was a distraction. Final complaint the smoke machine was too much for me. It literally made me start coughing. The people I was with also said it got to them in other ways. The sound was good, lighting good. If I am invited back to a performance at this place as I was this time, I would have to see the run time of the piece. This piece went on for almost 3 hours and oh how could I forget started close to 20 minutes late! Just not cool man. As a first time goer it made me wonder if this is the norm for this theater and would have to keep that in mind as well.