PALM SPRINGS THEATER REVIEWS

Director Michael Shaw talks comedy, and more with actress Phylicia Mason who is appearing in DezArt Performs next show 'Perfect Arrangement' opening on January 11th....

Desert Theatreworks' THE SOUND OF MUSIC is a must-see, with great acting, singing, staging, and technical production....

Theatre 29!'s current production, the Broadway perennial favorite, ANNIE, presents an impressive array of adult and child cast members with comedic and vocal ability, all of whose enthusiasm is catching. The show is a great deal of fun....

After surviving a tumultuous election season and, let's face it, a pretty scathing couple of years of anger, hatred and division, sometimes you just need to grab a couple hours of joy wherever you can find it. Last night I found my joy at The McCallum Theatre as The Ten Tenors opened a six show stre...

CHURCH AND STATE by DezArts Performs' opening night brings the audience to their feet with a well-deserved standing ovation....

It's 12:01 a.m. and a message slides into your inbox. It holds a secret location and a hint - what you should wear - and it all means your next adventure with P.S. Underground is beginning to unfold....

'The Understudy' at Coyote StageWorks is a theatrical nightmare of comic proportions....

Indio's Desert Theatreworks continues their strong 2018/19 season with a stylish production of Agatha Christie's MURDER ON THE NILE. Smartly dressed characters with distinct, larger-than-life personalities, come together in the early 1940's onboard an Egyptian riverboat. One of them gets shot throug...

AVENUE Q is the funniest, warmest, most talented musical production I have seen in a very long time. I urge you to run, not walk, to the box office to make sure you get tickets!...

'How I Learned To Drive' took a circuitous route to CV Rep, but the end results are so very, very satisfying....

JIM BORAX'S CALIFORNIA CABARET is a hidden gem. It consists mostly of standards from the Great American Songbook, sung by Broadway-quality performers. There are also dancing and audience participation sing-alongs....

The Desert Rose Playhouse, the Coachella Valley's LGBTQIA theatre, has a winner in THE SUGAR WITCH, one of its first productions since Robbie Wayne became producing artistic director and Kam Sisco managing director....

Desert Theatreworks has mounted a must-see production of Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS. The acting, singing, and choreography are superb....

Fittingly, Palm Canyon Theatre has opened their 2018/2019 season with the classic Oklahoma!, deemed by many to be the foundation of the modern musical theatre. Originally appearing on Broadway in 1943, it is the first collaboration of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, was a blockbuster hit i...

Desert Theatreworks has opened its 2018-19 season with a hilariously funny production of SOUTHERN FRIED FUNERAL. A clever script, great acting by the ensemble cast, great direction, and great set and costume designs ensure that audiences will have a great deal of fun at the dysfunctional Frye family...

Summer is the time for light, fun entertainment, and Palm Canyon Theatre has always selected their brightest, breeziest show as their summer offering. This year's choice is The Wedding Singer, a musical firmly set in the 80's which is based on the 1998 movie with the same title. Director Anthony Nan...

Desert Rose Playhouse, the Coachella Valley's LGBT theatre company, always picks something light and enjoyable as their season finale, the slot they refer to as 'Hot summer nights.' To balance out the fact that the last two summers had an all-male show, this year's choice is Women Behind Bars with a...

Summer in the Coachella Valley certainly has a dearth of theatrical choices. However, the companies that do produce shows recognize that hot summer nights call for big, brash comedies. Desert Theatreworks' current offering, The 39 Steps, more than qualifies. The company's Artistic Director, Lance Ph...

Encore Theatre District is providing a welcome addition to the Coachella Valley theatre scene. The cast of its current play, Durang's BEYOND THERAPY, is filled with talented performers who all do a fine job with their roles and who provide a great deal of laughs. Director Tiffanie Patscheck has the ...

Since its Broadway debut in 1959, Gypsy has been revered as one of the finest American musicals ever written. The touching - and sometimes horrifying - story of the quintessential stage mother bulldozing her two daughters into Vaudeville is based on Gypsy Rose Lee's autobiography, but focuses on Ros...

Who says lightning can't strike twice? Last summer, Palm Canyon Theatre staged In the Heights, the first Broadway smash hit by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton). Their houses were filled, their audiences thrilled, and young viewers arrived in droves to hear music that actually spoke to them. College of ...

Coachella Valley Repertory's 2017-2018 season theme is "Romance: Real or Imagined." As with a fine meal, they are wrapping up their season with a frothy dessert, 2 Across. This charming comedy about two people who meet on a train is as light as a souffle, and just as delicious. Like any fine dish, i...

Desert Theatreworks is finishing their season with a bang - a top-notch production of the truly smart and hilarious comedy, Jewtopia. Two friends, one Jewish and one Gentile, are looking for girls to date. The Gentile wants a Jewish girl so he will never have to make another decision in his life, th...

'Message Plays' are a difficult breed. When they hammer you with their themes, they are more painful than an over-long sermon on a hot Sunday morning. However, when they click, as Desert Rose's production of Dare does on all cylinders, they deliver one of the highest functions of theatre: entertainm...

DAMN YANKEES is one of those fun, classic musical comedies with no message and familiar tunes. The show is a bit too long, and many of the lyrics are dated. Still, in the hands of a company such as Palm Canyon Theatre, a community theatre with the expertise to present large-cast musicals, the feel-g...