MISSING THE BOAT: Legendary playwright Edward Albee’s...

MISSING THE BOAT: Legendary playwright Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Three Tall Women” opened last year in New York, but it could have opened in Orange County. . . . The South Coast Repertory was initially offered what turned out to be his first success in many years. A recent issue of Back Stage West reports why Orange County missed out: Martin Benson, SCR’s artistic director, turned it down without reply. “At the time,” he told the magazine, “we had a season of plays (already) committed.”

FINALLY LA CALLE: The second edition of La Calle, a forum for gang members to express their views, is expected to hit the streets this month. . . . The magazine debuted in 1993, but financial problems postponed its second appearance. Garden Grove Publisher Fernando Leon, a former gang member himself, says the message he’s trying to convey to readers is positive. “We tell them, ‘Hey, it’s all right to do the right thing,’ ” he says.

TOURING MUSICIANS: The Chapman University Chamber Orchestra soon will be exporting culture. . . . From Jan. 11-20, the 37-member group performs in 10 Northern and Central California cities, including Bakersfield, Turlock, Modesto and Fresno. Orchestra director John Koshak, who has led the tour for 24 years, says it’s good for recruitment and experience. “It’s so exciting, because it’s a time when they really get to function like professionals,” he says. “Their confidence builds.”

EYEING THE ALLEYS: A Los Alamitos City Council member has begun frequenting the city’s alleys in a controversy over asphalt. “I’ve become an alley rat,” Councilwoman Marilynn M. Poe conceded during a recent public hearing. . . . At issue: whether a local businessman should be forced to repave an asphalt alley with concrete before being allowed to open a coffeehouse. “I go looking at alleys, and I see no concrete anywhere,” said Poe, describing her inspections of alleys behind other businesses.