If you’re a fan of the arts, musical theatre or symphonies, you already know the Segerstrom Center for the Arts is one of the premier artistic venues in Orange County and, in fact, in the Western United States.
But don’t be surprised if you see a television camera capturing scenes before or after performances or an artist performing a major hit outside among the ticket holders at some point in the future as the center keeps pace with trends of the street.
These are some of the innovations being considered by Casey Reitz, President and CEO of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, who has just announced a blockbuster Broadway season while tracking the industry’s hot topics.
The anniversary season for the Segerstrom will be legendary, he said, offering a bit of entertainment for everyone.
Courtesy photo
“I am thrilled to share this sensational Broadway lineup with our community. This season is especially meaningful as we celebrate 40 years of presenting Broadway in Orange County, something we’ve proudly done since our very first season. The 2026–2027 lineup is a true celebration of Broadway at its very best, bringing remarkable productions directly from New York to our stage. These stories continue to uplift, inspire, and transform us, and I cannot wait to welcome both new and returning audiences to another unforgettable season at Segerstrom Center for the Arts,” he said.
Kicking off the season with a tale as old as time is Beauty and The Beast, Disney’s first North American touring production of the beloved musical in over 25 years, with members of the original creative team reuniting to bring this enchanting and timeless tale to life. Based on S.E. Hinton’s acclaimed novel, the rumble-ready Tony Award®-winning Best Musical, The Outsiders, brings the story of brotherhood and resilience to life in a powerful new way.
Grabbing the reins just before COVID, Reitz has been busy stabilizing the business as the county is finally managing escape velocity from those paralyzing years. And during an interview with ENE, Reitz made it clear that, going forward, he is keeping it fresh and innovative.
“We try to provide a variety of things that are new,” he said, “what’s fresh from Broadway, what’s right now hitting Broadway. And I think we’ve done that with shows like ‘The Outsiders,’ it’s going gangbusters, won ‘Best Musical,’ and then another like ‘Maybe Happy Ending.’”
“It’s a bit quirky about two robots who’ve fallen in love,” said Reitz, “but I think it’s just innovative and charming and sweet and funny as anything I’ve seen on Broadway in a long time.”
Also, said Reitz, the musical is a peek into the next wave of techno-infused musicals “and what they’re going to look like.”
Reitz knows for the Center to stay relevant, he faces the task of keeping multiple generations of theatre goers happy at the same time, so he’s bringing back timeless favorites like “Beauty and the Beast” while also booking the techno-infused hits.
“Beauty and the Beast hasn’t toured in 25 years so to get that back is really wonderful,” he said. “And you know, the shows that people kind of grew up with, they want to revisit, like Jersey Boys, Book of Mormon, etc.”
The old stuff mixed in with the new stuff is always a good, he said. And when you mix in musical premieres, that makes the next Broadway schedule awesome.
“This year, we have a lot of premieres, and in large part, it is a year of new stuff,” said Reitz. “I mean, this is the first time we’re getting “The Outsiders,” “Water for Elephants,” “Buena Vista [Social Club],” “Great Gatsby,” and others that will arrive at Segerstrom as they depart Broadway and tour the country.
“It tends to take a year or 18 months after a show has its premiere on Broadway to get onto the road,” he said, and in that time, you’ve had time to check out The Tony Awards to see “what you have and haven’t won.”
In addition, Reitz said another challenge is the cost of funding a touring Broadway show has roughly doubled since COVID, with an average production now costing approximately $25 million. Moreover, the expanding production costs causes casualties as well, he said, expressing disappointment that they were not able to schedule “Almost Famous” and “Queens of Versailles” because of their financial difficulties.
“We were hopeful for those two, but COVID certainly affected what was going to make it on the road. Some shows just came and went,” he said.
“It’s been a much more challenging economic time on Broadway,” said Reitz, but even so, he monitors Broadway, London’s West End and other entertainment hubs to keep SoCal audiences served with top entertainment.
Accordingly, Reitz said the Segerstrom has put together an outstanding Broadway lineup for the coming year and is also looking at “immersive” and other new age type productions for the future.
Reitz said he visited one such production in New York where producers reinvented an abandoned building and built out with modern technology a totally immersive production of “Phantom of the Opera.”
He said there is a similar building in London dedicated to an immersive “Guys and Dolls” production.
“We don’t have the room to do that here but there are things we can do,” he said. Already, he said digital technologies are, in some cases, replacing large, bulky set pieces in major musical theatre productions.
“And you know, that’s why you’re starting to see shows on Broadway, start to film people doing things outside. You know, what can you do that’s different from what people have seen? And we’ve done a little bit of that with the camera going backstage, the camera going outside, with a with a dance piece we did a couple years ago,” he said.
“So that’s the other thing is, you know, maybe you start to follow the artists away from the stage itself. I mean, in London, they just did an ‘Evita’ where [the title character actor] was performing, ‘Don’t cry for me, Argentina,’ to the people on the street, not the people in the theater. And that never had been done before, or really not in that scale,” he said.
“So, people are playing with form a lot more, and I think that’s what you’re going to start to see, is just those unique tweaks to things to make people feel, ‘Oh, this is a new experience for me than what I’ve had before,’” said Reitz.
The Segerstrom CEO said that’s why he’s so happy with the extremely variety of emotion and storytelling wrapped around next year’s Broadway lineup even as he looks for ways to enhance the “experiential” realm of the Segerstrom.
Reitz saved the best for last, then a laugh in the upcoming 40th season lineup.
“Maybe Happy Ending, the reigning Tony Award® Best Musical winner, tells the deeply human story of a chance encounter that sparks connection, adventure, and maybe even love. It’s the totally original new musical adventure that explores what it means to be human. Even if they are not,” said Reitz.
Then the pinnacle season ends with the outrageous humor, jaw-dropping visuals, and immortal ambition of the drop-dead entertaining musical comedy Death Becomes Her.
“You just never know,” said Reitz. “From rock and roll to water for elephants, we have an amazing Broadway lineup for next season that should touch the hearts of just about everyone along the way.”
Subscriptions for the 2026-2027 Broadway Season are available now. Packages are available in the full 10-show Mega Broadway Season, the 7-Show Broadway Season, or the 3-Show Curtain Call Season option. Tickets for individual performances will go on sale at a later date. Visit the Center’s website www.scfta.org for more information. For Group sales call (714) 755-0236.
And along with the Broadway talent inside the Segerstrom, don’t be surprised to see entertainment vignettes soon blossoming all across the complex, as Reitz keeps his eyes open, and his mind focused on what’s next in the rapidly evolving entertainment ecosystem.
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Broadway on the Segerstrom stage for the 2026-27 season.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
September 22 – October 11, 2026
The Outsiders
October 20 – November 1, 2026
Water for Elephants
November 10 – 22, 2026
Jersey Boys
January 26 – 31, 2027
The Who’s Tommy
March 9 – 14 , 2027
Buena Vista Social Club
March 30 – April 11, 2027
Waitress
April 27 – May 2, 2027
The Great Gatsby
May 18 – 30, 2027
Maybe Happy Ending
June 15 – 27, 2027
Death Becomes Her
July 27 – August 8, 2027