Review: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER at Palm Springs Cultural Center

One of the great things about small towns is, they are generally avid caretakers of the past. Modernism Week has earmarked Palm Springs as the mid-century modern capital of the US, some claim the world, but the point is, we preserve historic buildings. Such is the case with the former Camelot Theaters, now Palm Springs Cultural Center (PSCC), the first cineplex in Palm Springs.

The state of the art theatres are now an entertainment complex housing two local theatre companies, as well as being an in-demand venue for numerous film festivals. 

“We get lots of requests for music programs, play readings, and live shows that we currently cannot accommodate,” says Executive Director Michael Green. That is because, he says, theatre two is specifically outfitted for film which means it doesn’t get as much use as the other two. They needed, at a minimum, $50,000 to bring the theatre up to live performance standards. Enter Doug Graham.

Graham has performed in the Broadway and National Touring Companies of Bob Fosse’s DANCIN’, A CHORUS LINE, CATS (as the Rum Tum Tugger), Andrew Lloyd Weber’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and CHICAGO with Chita Rivera. Now living in Palm Springs, he has been hosting and producing shows at the cultural center for years. And he had an idea. He combined the cinema’s movie past and present, to create an immersive experience highlighting academy award-winning music from films of the 1970s. He then gathered some of the top entertainers in the Coachella Valley, led by musical director Alex Danson to create Nobody Does It Better, hosted by best friends Craig Ramsay and Catherine Wreford who won the tv show competition The Amazing Race Canada (ARC) in 2022.

The show opens with the Rocky theme song Gonna Fly Now with Ramsay and Wreford recreating their outfits from (including backpacks) ARC - entering as one might enter a challenge, with iconic training clips from the movie. 

After the intro, Graham kept the show moving apace and Boo Rigney performed Hopelessly Devoted To You from Grease, followed by Nobody Does it Better from the James Bond franchise The Spy Who Loved Me, and returns to the stage later with It Goes Like It Goes. 

Melba Miller took the stage next and gave us the gorgeous Pieces of Dreams from the movie of the same name, and we’re all settled in now, we know we’re in for a treat. Patrick Wallace then belted out Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die backed by Ramsay and Wreford.

I’d never heard of Angela Delaire prior to this performance, but I will definitely remember her. She sang Maureen McGovern’s We May Never Love Like This Again and The Morning After. I don’t know what was more impressive, her strong vocals, or her glorious mane of hair. They both return to the stage later to perform Evergreen and You Light Up My Life. 

Graham brought in performers from all over the Coachella Valley, including Daniel Stewart (I’ll Never Say Goodbye), Johnny Spinks (I’m Easy) and Terry Larson (Ready to Take a Chance Again). I will admit that the ratio of male to female vocalists I have heard leans heavily on the “fe” side, so it was nice to hear some rich baritones.

Two of the valley’s most awarded and beloved entertainers, Francesca Amari and Keisha D then performed The Way We Were with Amari performing a comedy bit as Lisa Lubner (from her Gilda Radner cabaret show You Make Me Laugh) followed by Keisha D’s heartbreaking rendition.

Wreford takes the stage again with Do You Know Where You’re Going To? followed by Bonnie Gilgallon and How Lucky Can You Get. 

Surprise guest, Larry Luckinbill regaled us with a few stories from his past, now in his 80s Luckinbill still has the charm he's oozed on screen whether in a leading man role, or as an enemy of Kirk in a Star Trek movie.

We approach the finish line with Amari singing the theme from Ice Castles, and Lizzie Smelling giving us the rich sounds of Karen Carpenter’s Bless the Beasts and the Children and For All We Know from her Karen Carpenter cabaret. 

They wrap up the night with the entire cast returning for The Rainbow Connection, and Keisha D performing Last Dance from Thank God It’s Friday.

Alex Danson did a great job as musical director, as well as on keyboards, with the talented Bill Saitta and Jay Lewis holding down the rhythm section. This band was tight.

And now for the big news, their efforts, and our town’s love for the arts raised $84K for the Palm Springs Cultural Center. And if they did it again, they could likely raise more. It was a very good show that didn’t lag, and the sound and lights were on point. It’s a beautiful thing to see a community so dedicated to keeping the arts alive. 

The Palm Springs Cultural Center incubates, produces and encourages arts and cultural programs in order to leverage the unique power of creativity to open minds, bridge what divides us, and discover what connects us.

Programs include film festivals, farmers’ markets, live performances, art installations and lecture series—all of which act as creative inspiration points—expanding our learning and building meaningful relationships with the people and the environment around us.

As an organization, The Palm Springs Cultural Center is also at the forefront of recognizing the interconnection between the cultural arts and food culture, and their combined importance to the vitality, collective consciousness and sustainability of the community.

https://psculturalcenter.org/special-events

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