BRIEFLY IN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

First Sundays hosts ‘early music’ concert

This Sunday, Laguna Beach Live! and the Laguna College of Art & Design will present Eric Kinsley, harpsichordist, with counter-tenor Don Krim in a free afternoon of art and music at the college, 2222 Laguna Canyon Rd. The concert begins at 3 p.m.; the college art gallery opens at 2 p.m.

Kinsley is a performing artist and educator living in the Los Angeles area after having resided in New York. He holds a doctorate of music from the Manhattan School of Music.

Hailed for his “ethereal, angelic” voice, Krim brings a distinctive style to his entire repertoire, particularly to the performance of early music.

For information and directions go to www.lagunabeachlive.org or call (949) 715-9713.

‘I Feel the Need to Read’ bus tour rolls into town

On May 12, the Southern California Independent Booksellers Assn. will hold an “I Feel the Need to Read” tour that will visit several shops.

The day will begin at Martha’s Bookstore on Balboa Island at 9:30 a.m., followed by a ride to Laguna Beach, where the first stop will be at Latitude 33 Bookshop.

At 11 a.m., Mary Castillo, an OC “chica lit” author, will be discussing her novella “Till Death Do Us Part,” which is included in the book “Names I Call My Sister.”

The bus tourists will then go to Laguna Beach Books before having lunch at Casa del Camino, where a surprise speaker will join them.

Afterward, the riders will visit Compass Books & Café at Disneyland.

For more information or to reserve a seat, contact any of the participating shops or Jennifer Bigelow at (626) 793-8435 or jbigelow@scbabooks.org.

Playhouse to serenade 86th annual gala-goers

The Laguna Playhouse will hold its 86th Season Gala, “Summer Serenade,” at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel from 6 to 11 p.m. June 9.

Co-chaired by Ilona Martin and Sindi Schwartz, the “summer chic” event features a cocktail reception, gourmet dinner and dancing to the Wayne Foster Orchestra. The silent auction will feature jewelry from Lugano Diamonds.

Proceeds from the gala support the theater’s education programs that bring live theater to more than 25,000 school children every year.

Special honorees are Dick and Betty Schweickert, longtime patrons of the playhouse.

The honorees will receive a signed, limited edition bronze sculpture designed and crafted by Laguna Beach artist Chris Schulz. The design is modeled on the Laguna Playhouse logo.

For more information, call Amy Larson at (949) 497-2787, ext. 217, or e-mail amy@lagunaplayhouse.com.

College alumni present first group show

Several Laguna College of Art & Design alumni debuted their first collective exhibition yesterday at Ocean Ave. Restaurant & Brewery, 237 Ocean Ave., Laguna Beach, during First Thursdays Art Walk.

The collective — Chris Barnickel, Jared Eberhardt, Julio Fores, Kevin Peterson, Brittany Ryan and Neil Verni — formed the Out of Eden gallery online at www.outofedengallery.com.

Their work ranges from drawing to sculpture; each artist has their own style, but many exhibit surrealist imagery.

For more information, call the restaurant at (949) 497-3381.

Playhouse to have hot flashes

To kick off its 87th season, the Laguna Playhouse will present the Orange County premiere of “Menopause the Musical” from July 10 to Sept. 2. The play is written by Jeanie Linders and directed by Kathryn Conte.

The 90-minute musical is set in a Bloomingdale’s department store, where four women meet by chance. They seemingly have nothing in common — and then realize they share, among other things, a black lace bra, hot flashes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, and more.

The show features parodies of 25 re-lyricized hits from the 1960s and ‘70s, including “I Heard It Thru the Grapevine, You No Longer See 39,” “Puff, My God I’m Draggin,” and disco favorite “Stayin’ Awake, Stayin’ Awake.”

For more information, call (949) 497-2787 or visit www.LagunaPlayhouse.com.