If the college’s proposal is accepted by the theater company, the move will leave Garden Grove without summer Shakespeare for the first time since 1979.
Author Archives: Paul Hodgins
Paul Hodgins was born in Canada, where he studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music and became a professional accompanist by the age of 20. Hodgins worked widely in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. as an accompanist and music professor at Simon Fraser University, the Banff Centre for the Arts, Nonington College (Kent), Eastern Michigan University, and many festivals. He moved to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies in the 1980s and has lived here ever since, completing his doctorate in musical composition at the University of Southern California.
Hodgins was a professor of music at the University of California Irvine from 1985 to 1992, where he served as music director of the dance department and founding director of the Gassman Electronic Music Studio. After freelancing as a classical music critic at the San Diego Union-Tribune, he became an arts journalist and critic for The Orange County Register, where he wrote principally about theater and later about dance and classical music.
In addition to his expertise in the performing arts, Hodgins has written extensively about jazz, architecture, interior design and urban planning. For the last decade he has written a regular column about wine, beer and spirits for the Register.
Hodgins has written two books. Music, Movement and Metaphor, a study of dance-music relationships in 20th-century choreography, was published in 1992. The Winemakers of Paso Robles came out in 2017.
Hodgins remains active as an educator. He has been on the journalism faculty at California State University, Fullerton since 2001. He has also taught journalism at Cal State Long Beach and UCLA Extension.
Hodgins and his wife have lived in downtown Huntington Beach for 20 years. Some day he will learn how to surf.
Languages spoken: English
Areas of expertise: Orange County, theater, dance, music and arts issues.
Not To Be? All’s Not Well for Shakespeare in a Garden Grove Standoff
Shakespeare/Summerfest Orange County, the City of Garden Grove, and LFA Group LLC are at odds over the use of the city’s Festival Amphitheater.
Hodgins: Solid Performances and Classic Pop Songs Overcome Predictability in the Carole King Musical “Beautiful”
REVIEW: Touring production at Segerstrom Center features a likeable and credible performer in the crucial role.
Rita Wilson’s Trip to Nashville Runs Through O.C.
PREVIEW: Wilson brings her band and original songs to the Samueli Theater.
Hodgins: Marsalis and His Orchestra Dazzle with Duke in Irvine
REVIEW: The all-Ellington evening combined standards with lesser-known and sometimes exotic masterpieces.
Hodgins: ‘The Other Place’ Analyzes Mental Problems With Wit and Grace
REVIEW: Sharr White’s play looks at what happens when a brilliant scientific mind gradually starts coming apart.
Hodgins: Pacific Symphony Turns 40 With a Bang and a Big Party
REVIEW: Season opener, bookended by parties, featured the orchestra’s new concertmaster and a fiery pianist.
Pulitzer Winner Donald Margulies on Theater in the Trump Era
The Pulitzer-winning playwright talks about his new play, the importance of SCR to his career, how to approach his art form in the Age of Trump, and a lot of other things.
Hodgins: Placido Domingo Brings LA Opera to O.C. Again, Reminding Us of What We’re Missing
Concert performances like the LA Opera’s “Don Carlo” are a special treat for Orange County opera lovers. With no opera company in the county since 2008, the economics of the art form and recent trends make its revival here unlikely.
El Centro Cultural de México Celebrates Its Grand Re-Opening on Saturday
El Centro, which helps to build community through the arts and social justice, will celebrate the opening of its fifth location.



