Desert Ensemble Theatre Company Opens Season with BROADWAY D-LIGHTS Benefit

Desert Ensemble Theatre Company will open its 2014-15 season on Friday, October 17 with a benefit performance of "Broadway D-Lights," featuring three of the Valley's top vocalists - Keisha D, Charles Herrera and Jerome Elliott. Charlie Creasy is music director for this lively evening of songs spanning decades of American musical theater. The 7:00 p.m. performance, preceded by a reception, will take place at the Pearl McManus Theater (Palm Springs Woman's Club) at 314 S. Cahuilla Road. A portion of proceeds will support DETC's scholarship fund for motivated high school students moving on to college theater studies. Tickets are $30 and are available by calling 760-565-2476 or by visiting www.brownpapertickets.com/event/848586.

Keisha D, honored as Outstanding Vocalist in the McCallum Theater's Open Call 2008, is in demand throughout Southern California and is known for her electrifying vocals and captivating stage presence. Charles Herrera regularly dazzles Valley audiences with his rich tenor and vast repertoire ranging from the classics to pop to Broadway. Jerome Elliott is a Palm Springs-based actor and cabaret artist with recent performances in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis and Chicago.

DETC's season continues with a concert reading of Esperanza, a new musical with a book by Ken Luber and score by Salverio Rappezzi (January 24, 2015). The company will then produce the world premiere two new one-acts - Family Meetingand The Comeback - by award-winning Palm Springs playwright Tony Padilla (March 13-15 and March 20-22). The season closes with the Palm Springs premiere of Fred Barton's 1983 New York cabaret cult classic Miss Gulch Returns, with Jerome Elliott as the feisty Kansas spinster from The Wizard of Oz (April 17-19 and April 24-26).

Desert Ensemble Theatre Company, established in 2011, engages audiences and creates theater that speaks to relevant issues in our lives and community. The company's work guides audiences on in-depth and entertaining explorations of classical works, nurtures development of emerging theater artists and playwrights, and maintains the vitality of theater through performance of important contemporary works, staged readings, and educational outreach programs.

For more information: www.detctheatre.org