PALM SPRINGS THEATER REVIEWS

Now on stage in an exquisite new regional production at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through February 21, 2016, John Logan's riveting Tony Award-winning two-character play RED imagines a specific time period in the life of world-renowned abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko (played with...

Filled with eye-popping visuals, optical trickery, risky stunts, hilarious audience participation, and lots of hammy showmanship (complete with Solid Gold-style background dancers-slash-magicians' assistants), THE ILLUSIONISTS - LIVE FROM BROADWAY is a supremely entertaining if occasionally cheesy s...

Neil Simon's autobiographical play, LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR, as presented by Desert Theatreworks (DTW), provides a side-splitting few hours of theatre. The play is based on the mayhem in the writers' room of Sid Caesar's YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS. Director Lance Phillips-Martinez does a fine job of dire...

BULLETS OVER BROADWAY's national tour tour shot over to the Fox Performing Arts Center (PAC) in Riverside for a single performance on January 27th, after a run at the Pantages. The top-notch cast delivered a hilarious night of theatre at the Fox, with fabulous dancing and singing....

Before I even begin my review of SUICIDE DOGS, which opened last Friday evening in Palm Springs for a limited two week run, I want to give Dezart Performs a standing ovation. Dezart Performs is dedicated to the development of new theatrical works, providing a safe haven for new plays and giving voic...

EMPIRE THE MUSICAL has been knocking around in the wings ever since Caroline Sherman and Robert Hull began writing it in 1999. Its first fully-staged production took place at the Hudson Theatre in Hollywood in 2003 and it has had periodic readings through the years in both Los Angeles and New York. ...

CVRep has undertaken something new -- a medium-sized musical comedy with a four-piece orchestra. The result of its production of A CLASS ACT, the story of A CHORUS LINE's lyricist, is an enjoyable evening of theatre, with fabulous dancing....

Much like the opening night performance I experienced at the show's debut at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood last month, I was once again blown away by Menzel's incredible musical gifts with the show's opener at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa (which plays through January 24). Even be...

While certainly far from a perfect show (both in staging and execution), the bus-and-truck version of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY - THE MUSICAL---the quirky and highly-amusing stage musical adaptation of the 1994 big screen comedy penned by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath---is nonetheless a supremely fun ...

Desert Rose Playhouse succeeds spectacularly in its 2016 Gay Heritage play: Tony Kushner's ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART ONE: MILLENIUM APPROACHES. Director Jim Strait superbly stages the iconic show about the challenges of being gay in the 1980's. The cast and design are excellent. The production is a mu...

The National Tour of PIPPIN is, hands down, the finest touring production to land at The McCallum Theatre during my tenure in the desert cities. Passionate. Polished. Near Perfection! It is a glorious spectacle of sight, sound and immaculate storytelling that, despite its mesmerizing visual feast of...

BULLETS OVER BROADWAY became a screwball Broadway musical comedy in 2014, written by Woody Allen (adapted from his film) and directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. The production, which consists of songs adapted from those popular in the Roaring Twenties, was nominated for six Tony awards. The...

The Desert Rose Playhouse, in Rancho Mirage, will present Tony Kushner's award winning play, ANGELS IN AMERICA, Part 1- MILLENNIUM APPROACHES, as its 2016 Gay Heritage production. Jim Strait directs the ensemble cast. The play will run for six weeks, from January 15, 2016 through February 21, 2016....

Desert Theatreworks's new version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is touching and funny. Director Lance Phillips-Martinez adapted the Charles Dickens novella by using Dickens' words for narration and dialog. He also selected period Christmas carols, sung primarily by the chorus,The clever staging, the use of a...

Luck has nothing to do with it. Mary Zimmerman's GUYS AND DOLLS is a well thought out, surprisingly fresh reinvention of one of the best golden age musicals ever written. The charming production just concluded a 9-month run at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and can now be seen on stage at the Wallis An...

Desert Rose Playhouse's production of A QUEER CAROL, by Joe Godfrey, is well-acted and funny, A QUEER CAROL is a modern take on the classic Dickens tale, with Scrooge as a talented interior designer and Marley as his late business and life partner....

For one 'wonderfully entertaining' night only, Coyote Stageworks brought to the stage an all-star cast in a tremendously engaging staged-reading of Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST -- with a twist! Helmed, and created, by Tony Winner David Zippel, this EARNEST was set in modern day Manh...

Rancho Mirage's CVRep is premiering George Eastman's dramedy, HAPPY HOUR. Director Ron Celona, veteran actor Gavin MacLeod, and Los Angeles-based actor John Hawkinson do justice to Mr. Eastman's sensitive and intelligent play about a son's worries over his aging father's safety. The result is anothe...

One of the things Independent Shakespeare Co. does exceedingly well is communicate Shakespeare's text to audiences who may have little or no background with Shakespeare in a way that they can understand it. And since an audience member rarely comes back to see another production when they haven't ha...

Desert Theatreworks, in Palm Desert California, has mounted a top-notch production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS. The acting is Broadway-quality, and the sets and costuming are also superb....

s I was waiting for my theatre guest to arrive at the Pantages Tuesday night for the opening of ANNIE, a school bus pulled up. Within seconds, a gaggle of little girls spilled out onto the sidewalk shrieking in anticipation and taking pictures of the sparkly marquee on their smart phones. They were ...

You can tell when a theatre company cares about its audience, especially when that audience is largely made up of young people. It doesn't talk down to them and it doesn't assume they will only understand the obvious. Instead, its directors take the time to seek out work that is worthy of engagement...

LOOT, a 1965 satirical farce -- a bizarre, dark parody of an English drawing room comedy -- by British enfant terrible Joe Orton, is a difficult production. Desert Rose Playhouse, in Rancho Mirage, California, pulls it off. Excellent acting and directing result in a great deal of hilarity....

MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL-THE SURVIVOR TOUR is a great deal of fun. Each bouncy number has plenty of clever lyrics and deliberately silly choreography to keep the audience laughing. It is almost impossible not to clap and dance along with the performers as they perform such antics as playing instruments...

Palm Desert's Desert Theatreworks has mounted a must-see production of Sarah Ruhl's edgy, comedic, metaphysical play, DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE.The director has created such a visual and musical feast that it doesn't matter if anyone understands the story, any more than it does with a ballet....