Our annual Segerstrom at the Frida series showcases films that inspired upcoming stage adaptations at OC’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts! Join us as our 2025 series continues with 2004 tearjerker The Notebook!
Directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook tells the decades-spanning love story of Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams), two young lovers from different social worlds who fall deeply for one another during a summer in the 1940s. Their bond is tested by class divides, war, and the passage of time, but through it all, Noah remains steadfast in his devotion. Framed by an elderly man reading their story from a notebook to a woman in a nursing home, the film explores memory, endurance, and the transformative power of love. Highlighted by lush cinematography and sweeping emotion, The Notebook has become a hallmark of early 2000s romantic cinema.
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Our annual Segerstrom at the Frida series showcases films that inspired upcoming stage adaptations at OC’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts! Join us as we present a couple of encores of Baz Luhrmann’s eye-popping 2001 musical Moulin Rouge!
A fever dream of romance, music, and heartbreak in turn-of-the-century Paris, Moulin Rouge! stars Ewan McGregor as Christian, a penniless writer who falls madly in love with the dazzling courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman), star performer at the titular famed cabaret. Set against the backdrop of the bohemian underworld and bursting with mash-ups of modern pop songs reimagined through Luhrmann’s hyper-stylized lens, Luhrmann’s vision is a sensory whirlwind of color, musica, and passion that blends theatrical spectacle with melodramatic tragedy, as love and art collide under the threat of greed and ambition. Winner of the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, the film was also nominated for Best Actress (Nicole Kidman), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Makeup, Best Sound, and Best Picture of the Year.
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This year’s Segerstrom at The Frida series kicks off with Some Like it Hot, Billy Wilder’s hilarious 1959 screwball comedy that follows two down-on-their-luck musicians, Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon), who witness a gangland massacre and flee Chicago disguised as women in an all-female band on their way to a Florida resort. On the run, they become Josephine and Daphne, traveling with the enchanting Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), a singer with dreams of marrying a millionaire. Romantic entanglements and mistaken identities spiral out of control in a Florida resort, culminating in what many consider to be one of the funniest comedies of all time.
See the movie. then experience the brand new Tony and Grammy Award-winning stage musical! Running October 7 – 19 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, experience the “glorious, toe-tapping, razzle-dazzling” (Deadline) Some Like it Hot! Visit scfta.org/events/2025/some-like-it-hot for info and tickets!
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The final film in our Technicolor Summer series reaches the celestial with A Matter of Life and Death—a visionary romance that floats between worlds, from war-torn Earth to the halls of a fantastical afterlife, in one of the most inventive films ever made.
David Niven stars as Peter Carter, a British RAF pilot who miraculously survives a doomed jump from his burning plane—only to fall in love with June (Kim Hunter), the American radio operator who heard his final words. But Peter was meant to die, and when the otherworldly authorities realize their clerical error, he must plead his case for life in a cosmic courtroom, where love itself becomes the ultimate argument.
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, this genre-defying masterpiece blends romance, fantasy, and philosophical inquiry with dazzling visual artistry.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series heads to the rolling green hills of Ireland with The Quiet Man—a sweeping romantic classic brimming with fiery passions, heartfelt tradition, and postcard-perfect landscapes.
John Wayne stars as Sean Thornton, a retired American boxer who returns to his Irish roots in the village of Innisfree, hoping to leave his past behind and live a quiet life. But peace proves elusive when he falls for the strong-willed Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O’Hara), whose pride and fiery spirit are matched only by the land itself. Their courtship is as tempestuous as the Irish weather, complicated by local customs, family pride, and a brother with a grudge.
Directed by John Ford with deep affection and painterly vision, The Quiet Man is as much a love letter to Ireland as it is a love story between two unforgettable characters.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series gets delightfully glamorous with Indiscreet—a sparkling romantic comedy that pairs the incomparable Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant in a dance of charm, wit, and stylish deception.
Bergman plays Anna Kalman, a successful London stage actress who’s all but given up on love—until she meets Philip Adams (Grant), a suave economist with a roguish smile and a secret: he claims he’s married and can’t divorce. Anna, swept off her feet despite herself, embarks on a love affair with no strings…until the truth begins to unravel.
Directed with breezy elegance by Stanley Donen, Indiscreet is a romantic farce where misunderstandings are played for sophistication, and every line sparkles with mid-century wit. But it’s the chemistry between Bergman and Grant—radiant in Technicolor—that makes this film truly irresistible.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series turns rich with mid-century emotion in All That Heaven Allows—a swooning melodrama from master filmmaker Douglas Sirk that’s as emotionally vivid as it is visually stunning.
Jane Wyman stars as Cary Scott, a well-to-do widow in a quiet New England town whose world is upended when she falls for her much younger gardener, Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson). What begins as a tender connection soon draws the judgmental glare of her country club peers and disapproving adult children. As Cary wrestles with the pressures of conformity and the cost of personal happiness, the film paints her inner conflict in bold, breathtaking hues.
Elegant, emotional, and quietly radical, All That Heaven Allows is a shining example of how Technicolor could elevate not just the world we see, but the feelings we carry. A true classic of color, style, and heart.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series slows down for a sun-drenched romantic escape with Summertime—a bittersweet story set against the breathtaking backdrop of Venice.
Katharine Hepburn stars as Jane Hudson, a middle-aged American schoolteacher fulfilling a lifelong dream of visiting Italy. Independent, curious, and slightly adrift, Jane arrives in Venice with her camera and sensible shoes, eager to soak in the beauty but wholly unprepared for what she finds: a chance at unexpected romance with Renato (Rossano Brazzi), a charming Italian antiques dealer.
Directed with warmth and restraint by David Lean, Summertime achingly romantic a perfect midsummer reverie in vivid, glowing color.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer takes a darker turn with the lush and haunting Leave Her to Heaven—a psychological thriller cloaked in sun-drenched, beautiful colors.
When novelist Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) meets the striking and enigmatic Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney), it seems like a whirlwind romance straight out of a dream. But their fairy-tale love story quickly curdles into obsession as Ellen’s possessiveness spirals into something far more dangerous. She doesn’t want to share Richard’s affection with anyone—not his family, not his work, not even his past.
A noir dressed in Technicolor’s finest, Leave Her to Heaven is a masterclass in contrasts: light and shadow. It’s a chilling reminder that darkness can lurk even in the brightest places—and a true gem of Hollywood’s golden era.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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Our Technicolor Summer series continues with one of the most lavish and visually stunning musicals ever put to film: An American in Paris!
This dazzling musical tells the story of Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly), a former American GI turned struggling painter who’s trying to make a name for himself in the City of Light. His art catches the eye of a wealthy benefactor, Milo Roberts (Nina Foch), but Jerry’s heart belongs to someone else—Lise Bouvier (Leslie Caron), a spirited young dancer with a complicated past.
With music by George and Ira Gershwin and direction by Vincente Minnelli, An American in Paris is a feast for the senses and a celebration of the intoxicating magic of post-war Paris.
In the early 1930s, the 3-strip Technicolor process was introduced to audiences, inviting them to experience a world dripping with vibrant saturation for the very first time. The Technicolor Summer series ranges from familiar classics to rarely-screened gems all Summer long!
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