If you're looking for an exciting night of theater, look no further than "Shrek The Musical."

After 12 years of performances, it's not surprising that young actors from Tonicism Productions are headed to college (or already there), including Josephine Dethlefson, daughter of the children's theater group founder, Guinevere PH Dethlefson.

Kneeling on asphalt to create chalk art would be a fool's errand now but cooler temperatures will return and with them the Via Arté Italian Street Painting Festival.

Bakersfield Community Theatre will cede the stage to child performers this weekend for its Youth Theatre Summer Workshop.

Although it may be odd to start with the parting message of a show, it's important in "A Bronx Tale," which opens Friday at Ovation Theatre. 

Drug addiction and the toll it takes not only on the users but their loved ones fuels the new production “Temperance in Reverse” at The Empty Space.

We love our growing local arts scene, but do you think something is missing? Then the Arts Council of Kern wants to hear from you.

Not long after the conclusion of its first nationally recognized art show in Tehachapi, the Tehachapi Arts Commission was already at work planning Art 2022 Tehachapi.

"Oh, the thinks you can think, if you're willing to try!" That's a sentiment Bakersfield College is feeling heading into the opening weekend of "Seussical."

Although those involved in creating theater know why they love it, the process may be more of a mystery to the audience. 

Last month, the California Arts Council awarded more than $31 million for more than 1,100 grants supporting nonprofits throughout the state, including $163,600 divided among three in Kern County — Kern Dance Alliance, Arts Council of Kern and Creative Crossing Co-Create — in the first cycle …

Kern Dance Alliance combines two great pastimes — reading and dancing — for its Books in Motion program, which returns to local libraries on Thursday.

If every dog has its day, Saturday is the one for Bird Dog Arts, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a reception and art opening.

Without planning it, Gaslight Melodrama is capping its season with a trilogy of theatrical dynamics.

If there's one message you take away from this month's First Friday, it should be that it's never too late to return to doing what you love.

For 94 seasons, Bakersfield Community Theatre has amused, moved and entertained local audiences. 

Over the last 11 years, Stars Theatre Restaurant has continued to bring together an impressive cast of performers age 55 or older for "Wrinkles."

When a show is called "The Play That Goes Wrong," it may not be surprising that something did, in fact, go wrong.

When you got it, flaunt it. That’s exactly what the folks at Ovation Theatre will do this week with the opening of “The Producers.”

If viewing art is part of your weekend plans, take advantage of First Friday offerings in downtown Bakersfield.

The narrator of the song might "Fall to Pieces," but the woman playing the singer is fully in control in "Always ... Patsy Cline."

Family is one of those tried and true themes in the theater world. Regardless of the setting or circumstances, narratives about how we navigate the world with (or in spite of) those we call family resonate with a wide audience.

Friday marks the opening night of Gaslight Melodrama's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Fox," a musical about a different opening night that goes completely awry.

Along with the work of Gary Knerr, the Bakersfield Art Association's Art Center will host another show featuring the work of local high school students.

There will be art galore for this First Friday, both from established artists and up-and-comers.

Singing Marines, a country headed to war and an unlikely romance? If those intrigue you, then "Dogfight" at The Empty Space may be the show for you.

How does one celebrate their 70th birthday? If you’re Gus Flamingo, you plan to perform and raise funds for a good cause.

"As seen on TV" is not normally a phrase used when it comes to visual art but in the case of Gina Herrera, it applies.

As a play concludes, audiences often speculate what becomes of the characters after the resolution. For those attending Stars Playhouse this weekend, the answer is on the stage.

We've seen plenty of depictions of men's locker room antics but young female athletes take center stage this week in "The Wolves," playing at Bakersfield College.

Opera may intimidate some, but its themes and dramatic impact are universal.

Identity is a recurring theme in art, with creators often depicting how they see their world or how they are portrayed within it. For its spring exhibitions, the Bakersfield Museum of Art explores this idea with three thought-provoking collections.

Director Alex Neal, in describing "Nice Work If You Can Get It," which opens Friday at Stars Theatre Restaurant, identified what many are seeking from theater — and life.

The Plein Air Painting Festival is in full swing this week but residents may not yet have had a chance to see artists at work. That changes Thursday when six of the seven painters will set up in downtown Bakersfield for an afternoon paint out.

The Arts Council of Kern's first big project of the year is the 2022 Plein Air Painting Festival.

Take a journey into the surreal with a new exhibition at The Empty Space Gallery.

Broadway is peppered with musicals but have you ever wondered about the first-ever musical? Historically, it's 1866's "The Black Crook," but "Something Rotten," opening this weekend at Ovation Theatre, proposes a comically different alternative.

It's more common to see Shakespeare's comedies or tragedies such as "Hamlet" or "Macbeth" take the stage before "Titus Andronicus." This not-often-produced tragedy brings its bloody tale of revenge to The Empty Space for just two weekends.

From the moment people walk through the gate of the Bakersfield Museum of Art's Sculpture Garden on Thursday, they will be surrounded by the sights and sounds of ARTMIX.

Art lovers can enjoy the spring weather (while we have it) with a trip downtown for First Friday.

More so than family ties, friendships offer real insight into those who not only chose to forge a bond but to sustain it, sometimes for decades. Bakersfield Community Theatre explores the ties that bind in its new show "20th Century Blues."

Along with studying and performing established theatrical works, students at Cal State Bakersfield are also given the opportunity to put their own pieces on the stage in the biennial Theatre of New Voices.

It has been a new challenge and wonderfully eye-opening experience serving as student directors for East Bakersfield High School’s production of "The Little Mermaid," which plays this weekend.

The course of true love never did run smooth, especially if it blooms along the Panorama Bluffs. Gaslight Melodrama explores that possibility of romance in "Meet Me at The Bluffs."

If you missed your chance to see this phenomenal show recently at the local Ovation Theatre, or if you just want to see it again, head over to Centennial High School as the drama department presents the very popular musical "Into the Woods" this weekend.

Those who love theater — whether making it or simply enjoying it — can agree that sometimes a story finds you. One so riveting that you know it will play a role in the future. That was the case for director Cristina Goyeneche, who is bringing "Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life…

Many people know the story of "the boy who lived," but what about all those other students magically matriculating at the same school?

There is no doubt that "On the Edge: Los Angeles Art, 1970s-1990s, from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection" is a personal collection. 

Although musical sensation Gloria Estefan initially struggled with her mother over her career, the actress playing her in the new Stars production "On Your Feet!" couldn't have had a more different experience.