Rachel Bilson, Melinda Clarke & Kelly Rowan Have Epic 'O.C.' Reunion at Unofficial Musical Debut!

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“Welcome to the O.C. b***h!”

The O.C. received a very special tribute Sunday night, thanks to The Unauthorized O.C. Musical, which made its premiere at The Montalban Theatre in Hollywood, California– and some of the original O.C. stars were on hand to show their support!


Rachel Bilson, Kelly Rowan
and Melinda Clarke made an unannounced appearance at the musical, exciting fans outside the theater. Bilson even expressed excitement days before the musical’s debut, writing on her Instagram, “I'm excited for this, even a tad bit jealous.”

Rowan seemed to be filled with equal parts nerves, anticipation and excitement, tweeting "Here we go" as the show was about to kick off.

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The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz was also spotted speaking with fans before the musical along with producers Stephanie Savage and McG, as well as Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur, whose wife J.J. Philbin was a writer on the Fox drama. Also spotted at the musical were Arrow star Emily Bett Rickards and Pretty Little Liars Janel Parrish.

The musical, billed as a one-night-only performance, retold the story of the classic O.C. pilot while sprinkling in iconic moments from the show’s four-season run – from Seth and Summer’s iconic Spider-Man kiss to Marissa shooting Trey. One pivotal scene that was omitted, however, was Marissa’s death -- though it was later touched upon in a brief emotional scene between a grieving “Julie” and “Ryan.” But, it was just as much about the music as it was about the story. As musical co-writer Jordan Ross said, The O.C. was “a soundtrack for a generation."

The sold-out crowd immediately warmed to the cast the instant the familiar chords of The O.C. anthem “California” permeated throughout the 960-seat theater. The cast, which included Tilky Jones (Ryan Atwood), Molly J. McCook (Marissa Cooper), Brendan Robinson (Seth Cohen) and Greer Grammer (Summer Roberts), sang everything from “Champagne Supernova” and “Hide and Seek” to “Hello Sunshine” and “Dice.”

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To make things super meta, original O.C. castmember Autumn Reeser played Julie Cooper! But Reeser did get to switch gears and reprise her memorable Taylor Townsend role.

But nothing can compare to this moment.

Or the cast singing “Into Dust,” a Mazzy Star song that accompanied a season one scene featuring Marissa overdosing in Mexico.

Or “Ryan” singing “Dice” like a pro. (Guess that time he was Snoopy really did pay off!)

Or "Seth" and "Summer" re-enacting that epic Spider-Man kiss from the season two episode, "The Rainy Day Women."

Or the cast singing "Hallelujah." (Cue the tears.)

But the moment that was most sentimental was the second singer Betty Who covered The O.C.’s series finale song: Patrick Park’s “Life Is a Song.”

Thanks for the memories!

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