PALM SPRINGS THEATER REVIEWS

Sisters are doing it for themselves at the Palm Canyon Theatre (PCT). Although Whoopi Goldberg's two Sister Act movies are well known, the Broadway musical that they spawned is a bit less familiar to most folks. That will not be the case from this point forward as PCT is filling houses with the vall...

Leonard Bernstein would have been 100 years old this year, on August 25th to be precise, and there are literally thousands of commemorative events around the globe including performances of symphonies, operas and ballets, lectures, exhibits, and film and music festivals. Last Friday I attended the ...

CVRep's production of Albee's THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA? is worth seeing for those who don't mind weirdness. However, theatregoers need to be aware that this is a disturbing play....

Desert Rose Playhouse's current production of Tennessee Williams' SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER is a must-see for all audiences, thanks to the fine acting, directing, and design work. ...

Grease is still the word! Since its first appearance in 1971, Grease has become an indelible element of American culture. Indio's Desert Theatreworks has assembled a dozen of the valley's top young actors who have brought such an amazing level of talent, hard work, and enthusiasm to the show that it...

Desert Theatreworks' (DTW's) production will make you reevaluate everything you thought you knew about ON GOLDEN POND -- it has many comedic moments. Here, the play is expertly performed and directed....

Desert Ensemble Theatre's production of Josh Tobiessen's off-Broadway comedy, ELECTION DAY, is a winner. All five actors deliver howlingly funny performances, full of mostly impeccable timing and seemingly effortless physical comedy....

Coyote Stageworks is an unusual and wonderful inclusion in the desert's theatre scene; unusual because it only produces two shows per year, but wonderful because both of those shows continually turn out to be excellent. Their current production, Dirty Blonde, adds another jewel to their crown....

Writer Lloyd J. Schwarz, a veteran of such television comedies as The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island, has scribed a new stage comedy called Dinner at Five which has just commenced a five-week run in Palm Desert. Starring four familiar faces from 70's and 80's television, experiencing the play is ...

Palm Canyon Theatre has pulled off quite a coup by acquiring rights to Hello, Dolly, one of America's favorite musicals, while the revival is still packing houses on Broadway. In one year, we have had Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters (Bette's replacement), and now Se Layne all giving their take on th...

Coachella Valley Repertory (CVRep) has a winner in ROMANCE ROMANCE, two one-act musicals by Keith Herrmann (music) and Barry Harman (book and lyrics). The superb cast makes the most of the material; it is a pleasure watching these four Equity performers own the stage....

Dezart Performs has always aspired to quality rather than quantity in their productions, staging just three mainstage plays each season. I have never been disappointed with one of their shows, and it somehow seems that each new show tops all the ones that have preceded it. Rabbit Hole, the second pr...

Desert Rose Playhouse's 2017-18 'gay heritage production' is Lanford Wilson's FIFTH OF JULY, which the company pulls off admirably except for some pacing problems....

Desert Theatreworks has mounted a high-quality production of THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK CHRISTMAS MUSICAL, with a superb cast and excellent design. If you're looking for laughs, toe-tapping melodies, corny albeit raunchy jokes, and great performances, you won't want to miss this show....

Desert Rose Playhouse's director, Jim Strait, and musical director, Joel Baker, have added popular numbers and Christmas songs to Charles Busch's TIMES SQUARE ANGEL to create what the playbill calls a musical pastiche. Their fine work, along with the terrific acting and singing, result in a producti...

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is sumptuous and fanciful and bursting with all of the ingredients necessary to make up the perfect family musical . The score is timeless and emotionally stirring. The costumes and scenic elements are candy for the eyes. The dancing ensemble is impeccable and t...

Once again, Desert Ensemble Theatre has kicked off its new season with an Opening Gala, and once again, it was an unabated delight! I found myself smiling broadly throughout the 75-minute revue, and those around me were tapping toes, clapping, hooting, and occasionally singing along....

Desert Theatreworks continues their tradition of a Neil Simon comedy every season with Last of the Red Hot Lovers. Written in 1969, it is Simon's nod to the Swinging Sixties, with a nebbish middle aged man making three attempts at having a sexual fling outside of his 22-year marriage. Although fir...

Coachella Valley Repertory's (CV Rep's) first offering of its 2017-18 season is David Ives' Tony-nominated VENUS IN FUR. Primarily a drama, the play hooks the audience with comedy in the early minutes. Later, as things get more serious and more disturbing the script introduces a mystery, and eve...

Three cross-dressing entertainers bringing mirth and mayhem to a desert. Has there ever been a show more destined for Palm Springs? The production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert currently playing at Palm Canyon Theatre, deserves every full house, every standing ovation, and every word of enthus...

There's nothing like a creepy tale told well for these cool October nights, and Desert Theatreworks delivers with The Woman in Black. This two-hander is the second-longest running non-musical in London, and still scaring British audiences today....

Desert Rose Playhouse has opened its 2017-18 season its sixth with a brilliant production of Christopher Durang's simultaneously literary and loony 2012 comedy, VANYA & SONYA & MASHA & SPIKE (VSMS), which Durang has likened to taking Chekhov scenes and characters and whirling them around in a bl...

While watching Crystal Sep lveda perform during the opening of Pacific Standard LA/LA's Condemned To Be Modern exhibit, I couldn't help but think of a quote by Frank Lloyd Wright: 'Space is the breath of art.' Poetic in its simplicity, it is an observation that is particularly eloquent when consider...

Desert Theatreworks' (DTW's) rip-roaring production of the Broadway musical, ANNIE, is a winner. The cast (both grown-ups and children), perform their roles with heart and expertise, resulting in a fabulous, feel-good presentation that all ages can enjoy....

It's official. I have a new favorite thing, and it is called MUSE/IQUE. You would too if you'd been in the audience for GLOW/TOWN, the third in a 3-part series celebrating Motown and its roots Saturday night at Caltech. From the structure of the program to the sophistication of the environment, Arti...