Lyceum Theater at Vanguard University

For a wonderful evening (or afternoon), go see one of their shows. Amazing! You will be hooked after your first experience, so you may as well just buy season tickets now. ;-)

The theater is very intimate and welcoming! The set up makes for a great show! Also, the actors and actresses are beyond talented and both the shows I have seen this year were seamless! The host, Maddie, is very warm and energetic, and her ushers are helpful and kind as well. All in all, great price, great seats, great talent!

Vanguard’s students are extremely talented and the faculty of the theatre program are top notch. I have been coming for years and have enjoyed every show put on by the school/​Lyceum. Seating is limited, so book your tickets early. No seats are really bad, since the theatre is so small.

Perfectly small little theater with a larger than life show! The Beat Goes On was full of memories of the 50’s thru the 90’s music. The director brought us into each song with a flair for touching our hearts and souls. The cast was beautifully orchestrated delving into each scene with exuberance and wonderful full rich talented voices. The live band was perfect. We enjoyed every moment.

I Love Love Love going to see shows here! These students are so talented! We’ve had season tickets for a few years now and they never disappoint! We just saw «The Beat Goes On» and I swear, I don’t know how they will ever top this show! OMG I could not believe how fabulous it was. I take my daughter, age 10, to every show and we LOVED this one more than any other, and we truly love EVERY show we’ve been too. Bravo to these talented kids and directors! Get season tix! It’s inexpensive, wonderful entertainment!

Make sure to enter the campus on Newport Blvd. for best parking closest to the theater. The Vanguard Theatre Department and ACTC put on shows year round on this stage. Each show is unique and full of talented casts, musicals such as The Beat Goes On to dramas, romantic comedies and plays about Greek mythology. In a year there is always something for everyone to enjoy. The costumes are elaborate and fun and they transform the stage for each performance. This is a small theater so sometimes tickets sell out, so get them ahead of time but there are no bad seats because the are all close to the stage!

This is a great venue, it’s small and intimate. It’s kind of challenging to find, but all in all, it’s a great place. They also serve refreshments after the show. I will be back! :)

Pleasantly surprised by how good this theater was. We saw «Comedy of Error», which was a world premier. The tickets were comp on Goldstar, so I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much. The show was great… sort of a modern style comedy of mistaken identity — a la The Importance of Being Earnest. The theater is very small, so there are no bad seats. And, after the show they had cookies and mini-​muffins for everyone. Will definitely be back for more performances!!!

I love the Lyceum theater! It is amazing how they transform the stage every time to something completely different. From have a pool on stage with a rock climbing wall to a double decker double sided set these people put everything into their productions. Not only is the set phenomenal, the students are talented and fabulous. I’m so excited to see more productions at the Lyceum and k recommend all to go see Kiss Me Kate!!!

Not a bad seat in the house!
I have come here to see two different plays (both bought at discounted prices from goldstar). The seats were great both times. the cast was talented both times. I would love to see more plays here.

Fantastic place to catch a play by extremely talented young people. Over the years, have gone to see a few plays put on by Vanguard University. An intimate setting — great seat in the house no matter where you are.

One of my favorite local theater venues. Talented students who always put on a great show!

The Lyceum Theatre is an amazing place to go watch Plays, Dramas, Musicals and more. They are currently performing Metamorphoses. It is a combination of Greek stories. The stage isn’t big, yet they managed to add a swimming pool. The Lyceum Theatre is a fun place to spend some time with friends and family.

One of Orange County’s premier theaters! Always great work done here whether on the professional or collegiate context. Nice intimate space that is always accompanied with extraordinary costume, set, and light designs. Reasonably priced and I would definitely recommend this theater too anyone!

I’ve attended several performances at the Lyceum during my years as a student at Vanguard University (I graduated in May 2014), and I can say honestly that I will be back for more. Even without a student discount… Paying full price is nothing compared to the show I’ll receive.
I am always SO amazed by the hard work of the talented theatre students and professors. The Lyceum is a TINY space, but you’d never know it by each performance’s BIG personality. I am always blown away by the program’s professionalism, creativity, and ability to turn «a play in a small room» into something that bursts out of the four walls. Every time the curtain closes, I walk out with a new perspective on life. These shows make me THINK. That’s what art is supposed to do… and the actors, actresses, lighting designers, stage managers, directors, choreographers, and writers accomplish that every time.
To the theatre peeps I know and hadn’t met yet by the time I graduated: you guys are my favorite. I brag about you hardcore.

The Beat Goes On musical is a great review of American Music history. The students put on 2 hours of fun entertaining singing and dancing. It was a very well produced show and well worth the admission! The 4 pc orchestra provided great accompaniment to the cast.

Cotton Patch Gospel:
Fantastic play… Lots of fun, very talented cast!

After being a student, alumna, and staff member at Vanguard University — I am such a HUGE fan of the Lyceum Theater! I am proud to say that I have not missed a show since 2000, and the reasonably priced season subscriptions have maintained that status.
With only 200 seats in the theater, there is not a bad seat in the house. You feel like you are a part of the action! And sometimes the actors in the aisles will surprise you.
The directors, cast, crew, musicians, costumes, and up-​and-​coming talent continue to amaze me by making each performance so unique. I look forward to seeing the ‘Vanguard spin’ on each show and continue to appreciate my alma mater’s creative excellence.

Saw Narnia here and absolutely loved it.
This theater is on campus (Vanguard) and was SO hard to find. They play was in the evening and obviously after normal school hours so the parking lot and surrounding campus were pitch black. Eventually we found a sign for the theater and followed a couple people down the winding path to the theater which was tucked away mid-​campus between a million other identical buildings. Now that we’ve been once, I’m sure we’ll have no problems figuring out where to park and which walkway to take to the theater. I would definitely return here for more plays… someone I chatted with in line for the bathroom said that she and her husband are actually season ticket holders for this theater which, such a great idea. The theater is small, but I’ve definitely been to smaller community theaters. Overall very comfortable.
The play was SO well done from the acting and singing to the set design and costumes, it was amazing and if that’s the standard they go by, then I can’t wait to go back for future productions.

I came here with hubby and kids for the first time to see Narnia (got tickets from Goldstar). This is a small theater inside Vanguard University, a private christian college, where the students perform. The map shown on Unilocal makes it look like the theater is off of Fair Drive, but that is actually the front of the university. The theater is behind that, which is off of Newport Boulevard passed Fair Drive (when exiting off of 55S on Fair Drive).
The theater is pretty small and intimate, and although our seats were at the very top row on the right hand side of the stage (if facing the stage), we were still able to see the stage up close. Overall, the play/​musical was pretty good. It obviously had that student actor feel, but the students were all impressively talented. There was a 20min intermission, which during that time we were able to buy coffee, water, cookies, etc. all for $ 1 each.
If I were to critique anything, it’d be the location of the restroom and the theater set up. One of my kids had to go to the bathroom, so right when intermission began we tried to rush out the door, but there was only one entrance/​exit. With majority of the people trying to get out to take a break, and us sitting furthest away from the entrance/​exit, my kid was running in place like a jogger waiting on a sidewalk corner for the crosswalk to turn green. Once we got out, we ran (yes, ran) to the bathroom, which was located a couple of buildings away (it felt farther than it really was only because she had to gooooo). Luckily she made it (phew).