By Wendy Lemlin

Laguna Beach’s Pageant of The Masters and Festival of the Arts is a summertime tradition

On a breezy summer evening in Laguna Beach, stars twinkle above 2,600 attentive guests seated in the outdoor Irvine Bowl amphitheater. The live orchestra begins to play while the baritone-voiced narrator introduces the next work of art. The rapt audience breaks into applause as the stage curtain opens on a life sized replica Of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Annunciation. But wait—did Mary move slightly? Did the angel just blink?

At the Pageant of the Masters, art will come alive to a packed audience every night from July 7-August 31

An actor in makeup and costume for the depiction of Annie Oakley

Call it tableaux vivant, living pictures, or just plain magic, the Pageant of the Masters, brings art to life as actors are transformed into re-creations of well-known paintings, sculptures, and figurines. The original art pieces are painstakingly copied on intricate sets with well-hidden stands, footholds, and handles supporting the cast members, who, after meticulous make-up and costume sessions, are placed in the artwork. Then, as the curtain rises, each actor holds a pose, motionless, unbreathing, for at least 90 seconds. With a patented lighting system that reduces the three dimensional down to the appearance of two dimensions, the effect is spellbinding, and has made the Pageant of the Masters, running July 7-August 31, 2017, a favorite component of the venerable Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts for the past 84 years. Continue reading →