Cast

Alicia Robinson Stranded on an island, dressed to the nines and followed around by cameras. It sounds more like a reality show than a vacation, but for Glenn and Mindy Stearns, it was both. The Pelican Hill couple spent most of September shooting "The Real Gilligan's Island," a reality show that will premiere Nov. 30 on the TBS network. On the show, two casts representing characters from the 1960s "Gilligan's Island" sitcom complete challenges in an effort to win spots in the final cast of seven.

The cable reality series ?The Real Housewives of Orange County? is tossing a Newport Coast resident into the mix for season five of the hit series. Alexis Bellino, 32, will join cast members Tamra Barney, Lynn Curtin, Vicki Gunvalson, Jeana Keough and Gretchen Rossi. Married to entrepreneur Jim Bellino, Alexis Bellino is a stay-at-home mom to 3-year-old son James and 20-month-old twins Melania and Mackenna. A news release announcing the addition to the cast describes Alexis Bellino as ?

There have been a few shows (“Noises Off” comes to mind) in which one gag is piled onto another and the cast quickly establishes and sustains an atmosphere of perpetual pandemonium. One such play, which curiously has seen little attention locally, is George Furth’s early 1980s howler “The Supporting Cast.” It’s now holding forth (as a replacement vehicle) at the Newport Theater Arts Center under the inspired direction of Michael Ross. Furth wove some sure-fire location chuckles into his mix. Four of the five characters are New Yorkers transplanted briefly to the Malibu beachfront in the midst of California’s fire and earthquake seasons.

He saw something in me — a 17-year-old Costa Mesa High School senior — that I couldn’t see myself. Don Miller cast me as a lead in our 1962 spring musical. “You were an introvert,” Miller conceded as we ate breakfast together the other morning. It had been 47 years since we’d last seen each other. He’d spied my column in this space a couple of weeks back and gave me a call. “But, I loved your spirit, and you were willing to take risks.

The one-act play is alive and well at Orange Coast College. A dozen of them will be unveiled this weekend only at OCC's Drama Lab Studio Theater. Billed as "original and published one-act plays for mature audiences," the program, which opened Thursday, continues Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. Curtain is 8 p.m. for the evening performances Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. for the Saturday and Sunday matinees and 7 p.m. for the Sunday evening session. In Series A, which will be presented Saturday afternoon and evening, OCC student Shawn Greenfield kicks things off with "The Mediation," a play he wrote and directs, focusing on a divorced couple.

Play: "The Wizard of Oz" School: Andersen Elementary School Story line: The adventures of Dorothy, Tinman, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow in the wonderful land of Oz Producers: Jennifer Spindler, Jenny Tomlin Costumes: Vicki Brown Set designer: Gina Frisbee Cast: All of the roles are double cast, with the exception of Toto, which will be performed by four actors. The red cast is comprised of Cari Levine, Jenna Morris, Ford Noe, Stephanie Brown, Holly VanHiel, Ryan Hultman, Anna Fletcher, Kate Gritsch, Megan Splindler, Michelle Atkins, Haley Prickett, Taylor Canale, Julianne Piggot, Hailey McCarter, Chelsea Giger, Quinn Kawata and Melissa Hohl.

TUESDAY FEATURE FILMS EDWARDS ISLAND 7 CINEMAS 11:30 a.m. "4 Faces" Orange, 1999 Dir.: Ted Post Cast: Eugene Butler, Gabriel Dell, Lane Garrison, Julie Janney, Mehemiah Persoff, Orien and Peter MarkRichman Running time: 102 minutes Attended by director Four distinctly different people and the crisis each one confronts; how each handles relationship with God 1:15 p.m. "Never Be...

Jennifer K Mahal There are the families we are born with and the families we make. James Sherman's "Beau Jest" at the Newport Theater Arts Center has both. There are the fictional Goldmans, the Jewish clan at the center of the play. And then there is the cast, which has found in each other support and camaraderie. "This cast is so cohesive," said Renee Oran, who plays matriarch Miriam Goldman. "We truly work together." Her words echo the sentiments of other cast members.

Deirdre Newman NEWPORT BEACH -- Like any large high school, Newport Harbor High has its share of divisions among its students -- financial divisions, ethnic divisions, academic divisions. For the fall play, drama director Gail Brower-Nedler wanted a show that would bridge the chasm between various factions by exposing the raw feelings universally shared by people, no matter what group they happen to be in. She chose "The Boys Next Door", a poignant rendering of four mentally disabled men in a group home who have to deal with the possibility of their social worker abandoning them.

In the past decade, one of the most distinctive fundraisers to hit the Newport-Mesa area has also been one of the most successful. This is the 12th year Gloria Zigner has produced her musical extravaganza “CHOC Follies,” which supports the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and in the first 11 years the production raised about $4 million. This year’s performance has earned $400,000 in sponsorship and major donations. Proceeds from this year’s show will support a new schoolroom at the hospital, which will allow kids to continue education while they seek medical care.

Costa Mesa City Clerk Julie Folcik was repeatedly reminded by election officials of the deadline to get a proposed city charter initiative on the June ballot, emails show. The exchanges, obtained by the Daily Pilot through a California Public Records Act request, could cast doubt on the claim that Folcik was merely mixed up about the 5 p.m. March 9 deadline — an argument she made in a failed attempt last week to put the initiative on June's ballot even though she missed the deadline.

You've never seen a Cinderella like this! The CHOC Follies return to Costa Mesa from March 29 to 31 with a modern, online take on the classic fairy tale. Now in its 15th year, the family-friendly musical comedies bring together 100 local leaders and luminaries from across Orange County to sing, dance and perform in one of the community's favorite social and philanthropic events. Proceeds will benefit Children's Hospital of Orange County; more than $5 million has been raised over the past 14 years.

The thought of portraying one of film's most iconic characters on the stage scared the spotlight-loving Danielle Ridge. But, when the time came for the 16-year-old to don the sweet A-line dresses and sweaters of Sandy Dumbrowski, she was filled with excitement. She also wanted to give Estancia High School alumni Joanna Schroeder, who played Sandy in 1982, a performance worthy of her own. "I wanted to give her a really good show," junior Danielle said. "I wanted her to be able to watch that great show that she put on. She already knows what it feels like, but I wanted to show her what it looked like.

Neil Simon's"The Odd Couple" was such a big hit that he rewrote it for a mostly female cast. Reginald Rose's "Twelve Angry Men" eventually went coed as "Twelve Angry Jurors. " Neither of these plays, to my knowledge, ever was presented in both versions during the same engagement. Which makes the Costa Mesa Playhouse's current attraction something of a rarity. "Nunsense" - Dan Goggin's spirited 1985 sendup of a band of Catholic sisters and their fundraising efforts in the form of a variety show - gained a companion piece, "Nunsense A-Men" with an all-male cast, somewhere along the way. The Costa Mesa theater is offering both versions at alternate performances.

Regarded as a destination to find sun-bleached blondes and fitness-minded coeds, Playboy is coming to Orange County for its latest casting call. The location: Costa Mesa. The time or specific place, the company won't say (wisely so, perhaps). According to the company's event calendar, registered applicants will be told where to go to apply. To register, visit http://www.playboyevents.com . This isn't the first time entertainment companies have come to Costa Mesa.

IRVINE — A divided City Council has approved $450,000 in bonuses for city employees. The council awarded $500 to each full-time employee, $250 to part-time employees with more than 10 hours per week on the clock, and $100 to part-time employees who worked less than 10 hours per week. "It's not a lot of money, but it says to every employee, 'We recognize that we've been through a tough time together,'" Councilman Larry Agran said. "It is not a bonus; it is recognition of the tough times, the harder work, the smarter work, that has allowed us to restore ourselves to a position of being whole.

Hal Landon Jr.'s yearly portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge has become as constant and cozy a yuletide apparition in Orange County as re-runs of "It's a Wonderful Life" on TV. For the 32nd time since 1980, the veteran actor is incarnating the lead role in South Coast Repertory Theatre's annual holiday season run of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Regular performances open at 7:30 p.m. Friday and continue through Christmas Eve. Landon needs not worry anymore about having to audition for the part.

IRVINE - The City Council on Tuesday night approved an agreement requiring a developer of homes near the Orange County Great Park to, among other things, provide $40.5 million in funding over the next six years to the city. The agreement, approved by a 4-1 vote, also allows Aliso Viejo-based Heritage Fields El Toro LLC - developer of Great Park Neighborhoods, a nearly 4,900-home project that will ring the Great Park by 2013 - to speed up construction of park and neighborhood infrastructure, build two hotels and a $5-million joint welcome center for the park and neighborhoods.

The one-act play is alive and well at Orange Coast College. A dozen of them will be unveiled this weekend only at OCC's Drama Lab Studio Theater. Billed as "original and published one-act plays for mature audiences," the program, which opened Thursday, continues Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. Curtain is 8 p.m. for the evening performances Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. for the Saturday and Sunday matinees and 7 p.m. for the Sunday evening session. In Series A, which will be presented Saturday afternoon and evening, OCC student Shawn Greenfield kicks things off with "The Mediation," a play he wrote and directs, focusing on a divorced couple.

The April 28 to May 5 Newport Beach Film Festival promises to be the biggest in the event's 12-year history, drawing some 400 films from 47 countries. And because of construction in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa will for the first time play a leading role. Due to the remodeling of Edwards Island Cinemas, about 70% to 80% of the festival's screenings will take place at the Starlight Triangle Square Cinemas, Todd Quartararo, the festival co-founder, said Thursday. "It's still the same great program and the same great offering of 400-plus films," Quartararo said, adding that more of the festival's post-events will be at Fashion Island and Lido Village to keep the focus on Newport Beach.