SEASON TO TASTE : Summer Smorgasbord Features Light Fare for All Manner of Entertainment Interests

Summer may be the cruelest season for devotees of the “serious” arts as High Culture takes a holiday, but it’s shaping up as a windfall for just about everybody else in Orange County.

Kicking things off this week are two of the hottest tours in recent memory: Barbra Streisand, in Anaheim for six nights at The Pond, and the reconstituted Eagles, putting in a five-night stint at Irvine Meadows.

In between the big-name attractions, meanwhile, are some smaller pleasures, from Cajun stars Beausoleil at the down-home Coach House to Ray Charles at the tony Orange County Performing Arts Center. Even the usually nostalgia-oriented Orange County Fair gets into the act, with a concert by the Neville Brothers.

The Performing Arts Center, meanwhile, will play host to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” starting in July. A multidate engagement of the Rockettes (with Susan Anton) is set for June.

At Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, the Pacific Symphony loosens its bow-tie as it moves to its alfresco digs.

And amid it all, there’s still room for Shakespeare, though not at the now-quiet Festival Amphitheatre in Garden Grove. Shakespeare Orange County, heir apparent to the late GroveShakespeare, puts on “Twelfth Night” and “King Lear” at Chapman College.

Over at the amusement parks, meanwhile, it looks like a low-key summer. Knott’s opens its special-effects-laden but relatively sedate Mystery Lodge on Saturday, while Disneyland has nary a new attraction (unless you haven’t checked out Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, which opened a few months back).

For the details, read on.

* SUMMER SPLASH: A complete list of summer entertainment highlights (including those in Los Angeles and San Diego counties) can be found in this Sunday’s Calendar section.

TOPS IN POP * May 27, 29, 31, June 2, 4: Barbra Streisand sings at The Pond of Anaheim. (Dates subject to change.) * May 27, 28, 29, 31 and June 1: The Eagles, country-rock legends, play at Irvine Meadows. * May 28: Rock singer-songwriter Peter Case plays at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. * June 1: Beausoleil, noted Cajun band, plays at the Coach House. * June 2: Alternative rock band Possum Dixon performs at the Coach House. * June 3: The Paladins, roots rock and blues band, come to the Coach House. * June 4: The Reggae Sunsplash revue, including Steel Pulse and Maxi Priest, plays at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. * June 5: Pop rockers The Grays play at the Coach House. * June 6: Veteran guitarist Otis Rush brings the blues to the Coach House. * June 7: Traffic, re-formed classic-rock band, plays at The Pond of Anaheim. * June 7: Hoyt Axton, country music veteran, sings at the Crazy Horse Steak House, Santa Ana. * June 8: Singer-songwriter Ben Harper plays at the Coach House. * June 9: Ray Charles plays at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa. * June 11: KROQ “Weenie Roast,” daylong alternative-rock festival, takes place at Irvine Meadows. * June 13-14: Gary Morris, country-pop singer, appears at the Crazy Horse Steak House. * June 14: Irish singer-songwriter Luka Bloom comes to the Coach House. * June 16: Leon Redbone, traditional blues performer, plays at the Coach House. * June 17: Holly Near, folk-pop singer, plays the Coach House. * June 18: Folk-pop icon James Taylor sings at Irvine Meadows. * June 18: Leon Russell, roots-rocker, plays at the Coach House. * June 19: Little Richard, legendary rock ‘n’ roller, performs at the Coach House. * June 20: Chris LeDoux, cowboy-style country singer, plays at the Crazy Horse Steak House. * June 23: Blues guitarist Robben Ford appears at the Coach House. * June 24: Los Lobos, versatile roots-music band, plays at Taste of Orange County, Irvine Spectrum. * June 25: Latino pop singer Juan Gabriel performs at The Pond of Anaheim. * June 25: Ottmar Liebert, flamenco-influenced guitarist, plays at the Coach House. * June 26: Country singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore performs at Taste of Orange County, Irvine Spectrum. * June 26: Boy Howdy, country-rock band, plays at Taste of Orange County, Irvine Spectrum. * July 1: Singers Reba McEntire and John Michael Montgomery perform country songs at Irvine Meadows. * July 6: Dan Hicks & the Acoustic Warriors, roots-folk band, play at the Coach House. * July 8: Rock ‘n’ roll innovator Bo Diddley sings and plays guitar at the Coach House. * July 8: The Pointer Sisters, R&B; singing group, play at the Orange County Fair, Costa Mesa. * July 9: Roger Daltrey sings Who songs with an orchestra at Irvine Meadows. * July 10: Rapper Queen Latifah performs at the Orange County Fair. * July 11: Emmylou Harris, country singer, performs at the Crazy Horse Steak House. * July 11: Pop-R&B; singer Michael McDonald comes to the Orange County Fair. * July 12: Ben E. King and the Shirelles, pop oldies acts, play at the Orange County Fair. * July 15: The Neville Brothers, New Orleans R&B; band, appears at the Orange County Fair. * July 16: Pop-R&B; diva Whitney Houston sings at The Pond of Anaheim. * July 17: Pantera, Sepultura and Prong, punk-metal bands, come to Irvine Meadows. * July 18: Country rockers the Kentucky Headhunters perform at the Orange County Fair. * July 19: Wailing Souls, veteran reggae vocal group, plays at the Orange County Fair. * July 20: Country performer Tim McGraw sings at the Orange County Fair. * July 22: Crystal Gayle, country-pop singer, appears at the Orange County Fair. * July 22: Spirit and Arthur Lee & Love, classic rockers, appear at the Coach House. * July 23: Jan & Dean, surf-rock duo, play the Orange County Fair. * July 24: Pop singer Vicki Carr performs at the Orange County Fair. * July 25: Country singer Mark Collie plays the Crazy Horse Steak House. * July 29-30: Tower of Power, R&B; band, plays the Coach House. * July 31: Country singers Travis Tritt, Joe Diffie and Lee Roy Parnell perform at The Pond of Anaheim. * Aug. 10: Meat Loaf, grandiose rock singer, plays at Irvine Meadows. * Aug. 24: Earthy country singer Jerry Jeff Walker appears at the Coach House.

TOPS IN MUSIC/DANCE * May 28 and 29: The Brockus Project Dance Company will offer a modern and jazz dance concert at the Orange County High School of the Arts, 3591 Cerritos Ave., Los Alamitos. * June 1 and 2: Carl St.Clair will conduct the Pacific Symphony in music by Berlioz, Mendelssohn and Michael Daugherty at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Kyoko Takezawa will be the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. * June 3 and 4: Henry Mancini will lead the Pacific Symphony in a pops program that includes some of his own works at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. * June 4: The Arpana Foundation of Irvine will present a program of Indian dance at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. * June 5, 8, 10 and 12: Burton Karson will lead four varied programs as part of the 14th annual Corona del Mar Baroque Festival, at St. Michael and All Angels Church (June 5 and 12) and the Sherman Library and Gardens (June 8 and 10), Newport Beach. * June 17: The Southwest Chamber Music Society will play Halsey Steven’s Septet, Purcell’s Theatre Music and Brahms’ Sextet in B-flat at Chapman University, 333 N. Glassell St., Orange. * July 4: John E. Hall will conduct the Cypress Pops Orchestra in a holiday program at Cerritos Park East, 13200 166th St., Cerritos. * July 4: Jack Everly will lead the Pacific Symphony in a holiday program with fireworks at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band will also play. * July 8: Organist Peter Baicchi will give a recital at the Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis Drive, Garden Grove. * July 16: John Hall will conduct the Cypress Pops Orchestra in a “South of the Border” program, at the Cypress Civic Center Green, 5275 Orange Ave. * July 22: Organist Frederick Swann will give a recital at the Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis Drive, Garden Grove. * July 23: Carl St.Clair will lead the Pacific Symphony in Beethoven’s “Wellington’s Victory” and Symphony No. 8 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist Meng-Chieh Liu at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. * July 24: Carl St.Clair and the Pacific Symphony will repeat the July 23 program in Irvine at the Pearson Park Amphitheatre, Harbor Boulevard and Cypress Ave., Anaheim. * July 30: Ballet Pacifica will dance works created for the company in the fourth annual summer “Pacific Choreographic Project ‘94” at South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. * Aug. 5: Organist Jan Pieter van Driel will give a recital at the Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis Drive, Garden Grove. * Aug. 13: Klaus Donath will lead the Pacific Symphony in a Mozart program at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. Anne-Marie McDermott will be the soloist in the Piano Concerto No. 21. * Sept. 3: Carl St.Clair will conduct the Pacific Symphony in works by Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. * Sept. 4: Carl St.Clair and the Pacific Symphony will repeat the Sept. 3 program in Irvine at the Pearson Park Amphitheatre, Harbor Boulevard and Cypress Avenue, Anaheim.

TOPS IN THEATER * Through June 4: “The Love of a Nightingale”--Timberlake Wertenbaker’s modern retelling of the Greek myth of Procne, Philomene and Tereus--continues at the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble in Fullerton. * Through June 11: “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” Jane Wagner’s feminist satire, is being staged by the Alternative Repertory Theatre in Santa Ana. * Through June 19: The Southern California premiere of “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” Charles Ludlam’s parody of Gothic horror films, continues at the Laguna Playhouse’s Moulton Theatre in Laguna Beach. * June 3 to July 3: The Southern California premiere of “Dancing at Lughnasa,” Brian Friel’s drama about an Irish family, will be produced on the South Coast Repertory Mainstage in Costa Mesa. * June 4: Shakespeare Orange County’s “Shakespeare and Me: The Lunatic, the Lover and the Poet,” an evening of songs, sonnets and scenes, has a one-night run at Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre in Orange. * June 9 to July 2: The Fullerton Civic Light Opera will hold the West Coast premiere of “Bedside Manners,” the Derek Benfield comedy, at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. The production is outdoors. * June 14 to June 19: The U.S. touring production of “The Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular,” a 60th-anniversary celebration starring the Rockettes and Susan Anton, moves in to the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa for six days. * June 16 to June 26: Shakespeare Orange County is producing “Alms for Oblivion,” a one-man show by Gregory Bell about the Bard’s life, at Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre in Orange. * June 18 to Aug. 14: A Saddleback Summer Stock production of “And the World Goes Round,” a revue of Kander and Ebb songs, will run at Saddleback College’s Studio Theatre in Mission Viejo. * June 21 to June 26: A U.S. touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” stars Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson at the Orange Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. * June 29 to July 30: “Talley’s Folly,” Lanford Wilson’s romantic comedy, will be put on at the Vanguard Theatre Ensemble in Fullerton. * July 7 to July 30: The Fullerton Civic Light Opera outdoor production of “Sleuth,” Anthony Shaffer’s whodunit, will be staged at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. * July 7 to Aug. 6: The Shakespeare Orange County production of “Twelfth Night” is booked at Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre in Orange. * July 8 to July 24: Saddleback Summer Stock will produce “Me and My Girl,” the British musical comedy about a cockney lad who inherits a fortune, at Saddleback College’s McKinney Theatre in Mission Viejo. * July 15 to July 31: The Fullerton Civic Light Opera will put on “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” at Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton. * July 22 to Sept. 4: A U.S. touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” will feature Grant Norman at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. * July 23: “Raices,” a celebration of indigenous cultures of the Americas by Una Noche del Teatro ‘94, plays one night at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. * Aug. 4 to Aug. 27: The Fullerton Civic Light Opera will stage Dan Goggin’s “Nunsense II, The Second Coming” in outdoor performances at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. * Aug. 5 to Aug. 6: The ninth annual Hispanic Playwrights Program features staged readings of works-in-progress at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. * Aug. 5 to Aug. 21: A Saddleback Summer Stock production of “Camelot,” the Lerner and Loewe musical about King Arthur and his court, comes to Saddleback College’s McKinney Theatre in Mission Viejo. * Aug. 11 to Sept. 10: Shakespeare Orange County will produce “King Lear” at Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre in Orange. * Sept. 2 to Oct. 9: Preview performances of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the Tennessee Williams classic, run through Sept. 8 before the official opening on the 9th. It will be staged at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

TOPS IN ART * Through July 3: “Contemporary Crafts and the Saxe Collection,” organized by the Toledo Museum of Art, consists of work in glass, clay, fiber, metal and wood by 98 prominent and emerging artists collected by a Northern California couple. At the Newport Harbor Art Museum. * Through July 24: “Commodity Image”--organized by the International Center of Photography, New York--explores the role of photography in consumer society with work by Cindy Sherman, Mitchell Syrop, Barbara Kruger, Louise Lawler, Richard Prince and 32 others. At the Laguna Art Museum. * Through Aug. 14: “Ancient Nubia: Egypt’s Rival in Africa”--organized by the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania--examines a sophisticated ancient Nile River Valley civilization that flourished between 3100 BC and AD 400. With 300 artifacts, including statuary, ceramic vessels, jewelry and funerary inscriptions. At the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art. * Through Sept. 15: ‘Artists Abroad” features paintings of foreign parts by artists who eventually came to California and worked in an Impressionist-derived style. At the Irvine Museum. * Through Oct. 9: “August Gay,” organized by the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, offers landscape paintings by a member of the Society of Six, a Northern California plein-air group. At the Laguna Art Museum. * Through Oct. 16: “The California Scene: Depression Era Paintings From the Permanent Collection.” The name says it all. At the Laguna Art Museum. * June 5 to Sept. 18: ‘Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal From the Chang Foundation”--organized by a Taipei-based foundation--is a small exhibition of works primarily from China’s Ming and Quing dynasties. At the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art. * July 19 to Oct. 23: “Permanent Collection Presentation” focuses on work by John Baldessari, Vija Celmins, Richard Diebenkorn, Ed Ruscha and others. At the Newport Harbor Art Museum. * July 29 to Oct. 9: “Fragile Ecologies: Artists Interpretations and Solutions”--organized by the Queens Museum of Art, New York--includes recent projects resulting from collaborations between artists and scientists, engineers, architects or environmentalists. At the Laguna Art Museum.

TOPS IN KID STUFF * May 27 to May 29: San Francisco’s New Pickle Circus performs “Tossing and Turning” at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. * Opening May 28: Knott’s Berry Farm will unveil Mystery Lodge, a “multi-sensory journey through the Native American Northwest.” * June 4, 5: Major League baseball’s “Pitch, Hit and Run” competition takes place this summer at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley. * June 4: Saddleback College presents Food Faire and Queen Ida & Her Zydeco Band. Highlights for kids at the Mardi Gras-styled event include the Bird Man and his exotic, acrobatic birds, face painting, calliope music and jugglers. * June 11 to June 19: South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservancy Players present “One Thousand Cranes” on SCR’s Second Stage. * June 25, 26: The annual Corn Feed at Parrish Pioneer Apple Ranch in Yucaipa includes gunfighter roundups by professional stunt men, butter-making, soap-making and entertainment. Other family events in the area include American history re-enactments and Civil War encampments at Riley’s Farms and Parrish’s Western Days in late August. * June 27 to Sept. 2: The AMC Summer Matinee program presents low-cost screenings of popular family films at its two Orange County theaters, MainPlace 6 in Santa Ana and Fullerton 10, Monday through Friday at 10:30 a.m. * July 2 to July 4: Knott’s Berry Farm presents Revolutionary War re-enactments on the lawn at Independence Hall, with fireworks nightly. * July 7 to July 24: “Saddle Up for Fun” is the theme of the 1994 Orange County Fair. Special “Kids Days” on July 14 and 21. * July 10: Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre presents “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” on board the tall ship Pilgrim at the Orange County Marine Institute. * July 18 to Aug. 13: The Young Actors Company presents “Aladdin” at the La Habra Depot Playhouse. * Aug. 19-21 The third annual Huntington Beach Pierfest offers a restaurant “taste” pavilion, live music and a special children’s area that includes carnival games, rides and hands-on art projects.

TOPS IN COMEDY * May 31: Mick Lazinski, who makes a habit of showing up on cable, brings his act to the Centerfield Sports Bar & Grill in Huntington Beach. * June 7 to June 12: With daily happenings providing the catalyst, Jack Coen mixes observational with topical humor to keep his act fresh. At the Irvine Improv. * June 7 to June 19: Former boxer and truck driver Rocky LaPorte brings his best contenders to the Brea Improv for a two-week run. * June 13 and June 20: Diana Jordan--author, actress and comedian--brings her one-woman show (“Female, Fertile and Frustrated” to the Irvine and Brea Improvs, respectively. * June 14 to June 19: One of the top monologuists working today, Jake Johannsen performs at the Irvine Improv. * June 15 to June 19: Margaret Smith, she of the understatement, comes to Standing Room Only in Fullerton. * June 21: Centerfield features Jeff Jena and his one-man show, “In a Class by Himself.” Jena also performs at the Brea Improv from July 19 to July 31. * June 21 to July 10: Freewheeling Todd Glass, whose act has more tangents than a geometry class, comes to the Brea Improv. * June 22 to July 3: One of Standing Room Only’s top draws, James Stephens III returns to the Fullerton club in a one-man show, plus a live band. * June 24 to June 26: Richard Jeni, the boy from New York City and king of the cable specials, brings his show to the Irvine Improv. * June 28: San Francisco funnyman Dan St. Paul comes to Centerfield for one Tuesday only. * July 6 to July 10: Chuck Booms, who tends toward the blue, appears at Standing Room Only. From there, he heads to Centerfield for a July 12 show. * July 13 to July 17: Chip Chinnery and Paul Lions co-headline at Standing Room Only. * July 15, 16: Former talk-show host and “Saturday Night Live” linchpin Dennis Miller is booked into the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. * July 28 to July 31: Fresh from a broken hip, which should supply him with a lighter look at pain, Dennis Wolfberg will appear at the Irvine Improv. * Aug. 2 to Aug. 14: Tom Wilson, perhaps best known as the bully Biff in the “Back to the Future” film trilogy, adds to his reputation with his Cowboy Tommy routine at the Brea Improv. * Aug. 9 to Aug. 21: The prince of pejoratives, Bobby Slayton, plays two weeks at the Irvine Improv.