Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or sign up for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.
Just as schools reopen, the Carpenter Performing Arts Center — fittingly located on the Cal State Long Beach campus — is kicking off its new 2025-26 season in September.
The season includes an array of performance genres, including music, dance and a “Wit & Wisdom” series that features Sandra Bernhard, Baratunde Thurston and Mandy Patinkin.
Patrons can buy tickets for individual shows or subscribe to a series of shows like “Wit & Wisdom” — but also cabaret, dance, or Sunday afternoon concerts — to save in bulk. Patrons can also build their own series of three or more shows and save from 15 to 25% compared to purchasing individually, according to the Center.
“New this season is the introduction of tiered pricing for most performances, making shows even more affordable and accessible,” the Center says.
It’s also offering a new series this season called “Spotlight Sessions,” featuring a “diverse selection of genre-defying artists and rising voices,” where audiences sit directly on stage with the performers — along with bar service.
First up in that series is Grammy-winning soul, jazz and R&B artist Bilal, performing on Sept. 12 and 13 to kick off the season.
Comedian and actress Sandra Bernhard follows on Sept. 27 with her signature combination of verbal wit, music, song and storytelling.
And “British Legends” round out the month on Sept. 28, allowing audiences to “relive pop history” with legendary musicians like David Bowie, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart brought to life by cover artists performing classic hits.
“Our 2025-2026 season is one of our finest,” said Executive Director Megan Kline Crockett, “with a diverse and uplifting selection of shows that capture the magic of live performance and continue to reflect and celebrate the great diversity of our community.”
In October, boundary-pushing flamenco dance troupe Noche Flamenca performs “Searching for Goya,” a new work that takes audiences through the Spanish artist’s “graphic imagination and response to the political turmoil and injustices of his time,” the Center says.
November shows include the innovative Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancing to the music of Alice Coltrane, and troubadour-and-storyteller troupe Live from Laurel Canyon playing songs from the 18 months John Lennon called his “lost weekend” collaborating with singer Harry Nilsson in Los Angeles after the Beatles broke up.
Additionally, November will see Broadway singer Melissa Errico performing Barbara Streisand songs, cultural critic and comedian Baratunde Thurston, and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra playing at the intersection of jazz and classical.
December shows offer holiday spirit with border band Jarabe Mexicano’s “A Bordeño Soul Christmas,” jazz pianist David Benoit’s “A Tribute to Charlie Brown Christmas” and “A Broadway Holiday with David Burnham.”
And by the way, many of these shows include the option of a three-course dinner served along with the performance.
The new year continues in the same eclectic spirit from January to May, including the Peking Acrobats, the Miles Electric Band, “cuchi cuchi” flamenco-guitarist Charo, Mandy Patinkin singing classic Broadway and American tunes, Eagles tribute band Hotel California, and Cirque Kalabanté — which infuses African culture into “dazzling, gravity-defying acrobatics” along with live Afro-Jazz.
Honestly, reading about all these shows makes me excited to see some and also grateful that Long Beach has such an impressive and vibrant performance venue right here in our own backyard.
For a full schedule of shows and to purchase tickets or series packages, call the box office at 562-985-7000 or visit CarpenterArts.org. Paid parking is available in Lot G12, recently renovated and directly in front of the theater. The Carpenter Center is at 6200 E. Atherton St.