Palm Springs Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 7

BWW Review: THE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST Lights Up at Desert Rose Playhouse
by Audrey Liebross - July 01, 2021

Live theatre returns to the Coachella Valley with the Desert Rose Playhouse's THE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST, in Desert Rose's new Palm Springs venue. The production is worth seeing, with fine acting, direction, and visual design....

BWW Review: THE WILD WEST (SH!T) SHOW at Joshua Tree Summer Theatre
by Stan Jenson - June 23, 2021

The production was called The Wild West (Sh!t) Show, an original collaborative piece conceived and developed by Haley Kooyman.  It is the first of four productions being produced by JT Theatre Under the Stars, sponsored by Wind Walkers and Thought Theatre....

DTW's THE PRODUCERS Brings Much-Needed Laughs!
by Stan Jenson - March 17, 2020

Just when gloom and doom seems to be coming at us from all angles, Desert Theatreworks presents one of the funniest, finest works they have ever staged. Following its laugh filled opening night, the company has put the show on hiatus per government guidelines, but it certainly must resume its run as...

BWW Review: BEAUTIFUL THING at Desert Rose Playhouse is, indeed, a Beautiful Thing
by Audrey Liebross - March 13, 2020

Jonathan Harvey's 1993 BEAUTIFUL THING is rightfully part of the pantheon of gay-oriented theatre. Desert Rose Playhouse's beautiful production does justice to this seminal play. BEAUTIFUL THING will run through March 29, 2020, at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets cost bet...

BWW Review: SWEAT at Dezart Performs
by Kay Kudukis - March 01, 2020

...

BWW Review: ANYTHING GOES at Rancho Mirage Amphitheater
by Kay Kudukis - February 26, 2020

...

BWW Review: THE PAJAMA GAME at Palm Canyon Theatre
by Stan Jenson - February 23, 2020

...

BWW Review: RUMORS at Desert Theatreworks is a Hilarious Evening of Fun.
by Audrey Liebross - February 11, 2020

Desert Theatreworks presents a Neil Simon play every season. This year's production is the 1988 farce, RUMORS, which is the perfect vehicle to show off DTW's team of talented actors' physical comedy skills. And they do show it off, in spades; the laughs keep coming, as much from the performers' and ...

BWW Review: A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 at Coyote Stageworks
by Kay Kudukis - February 10, 2020

For those who are unfamiliar with A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen that's perfectly fine. All you need to know is that Nora Helmer walked out on her husband Torvald and their three children with a slamming of the front door....

BWW Review: BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Is A Satisfying, If Not Remarkable, Evening In The Theatre At The McCallum
by David Green - February 09, 2020

Sometimes an evening in the theatre can be provocative, emotionally stirring, highly uplifting, mind-altering, eye-opening or even life-changing. Sometimes an evening in the theatre can bring you such immense joy or elation by the power of the story or the incredible performances that your very soul...

BWW Review: DETC's ADOPTION ROULETTE is Drama at Its Finest
by Audrey Liebross - February 04, 2020

Desert Ensemble Theatre (DETC) has a must-see winner in its world premiere production of ADOPTION ROULETTE, by Elizabeth Fuller and Joel Vig. The play tells the true story of the horrifying experiences that Ms. Fuller and her husband, Reuel Dorman, went through in 2004 in picking their way through t...

BWW Review: BALLROOM at CVRep Playhouse
by Kay Kudukis - February 04, 2020

Post-world-war-two America somehow managed to erase what 1920s women had fought so hard to create, and what the war effort at home had literally proved, that women could just as easily do a man's job. During the war, women were working in factories, becoming mechanics, if it was a 'man's job' women ...

BWW Review: Desert Rose's THOSE MUSCLEBOUND COWBOYS FROM SNAKE PIT GULCH is a Rip-Roaring Yee-Haw!
by Audrey Liebross - January 20, 2020

Desert Rose Playhouse has another winner in its laugh-filled world premiere campy musical, THOSE MUSCLEBOUND COWBOYS FROM SNAKE PIT GULCH, with book by Andy Halliday, music by Frank Schiro, and lyrics by CJ Critt. This production is well-done in every way....

BWW Review: YOU MAKE ME LAUGH: A LOVE SONG TO GILDA RADNER at Temple Isaiah Ballroom
by Kay Kudukis - January 20, 2020

Accompanied by Wayne Abravenel on keyboards, cabaret performer Francesca Amari takes us through Gilda Radner's early years, her loves, and her ultimate challenge, facing her own death, through storytelling and song. If you didn't love Radner already, you will by the time the show ends....

Palm Canyon's Camelot Shines With Strong Performances
by Stan Jenson - January 19, 2020

The finest moments of the evening for me were Arthur's speeches, notably his telling of the story of removing Excalibur from the stone and his soliloquy at the end of Act I when he tries to find how to deal with the two greatest loves of his life betraying him, as a man and as the king. Grant's hand...

BWW Review: DANIEL'S HUSBAND at Dezart Performs
by Kay Kudukis - January 13, 2020

There are plenty of couples that eschew the institution of marriage. Ricky Gervais and Jane Fallon have been together for 37 years, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell for 35, Robin Roberts and Amber Laign have 14, and none have ever walked down the aisle together and said 'I do'....

BWW Review: The Music of the 60's is Alive and Well at Desert Theatreworks With BEEHIVE: THE 60'S MUSICAL
by Stan Jenson - January 13, 2020

Let's be frank. A lot of us in the Coachella Valley remember the music of the 60's very, very well. Just the first few notes of familiar songs can ignite memories of young love, a memorable party, long ago friendships or a school dance. Indio's Desert Theatreworks is currently presenting Beehive: Th...

DTW's Mary Poppins is Practically Perfect!
by Stan Jenson - December 17, 2019

One of the most enjoyable treats of this holiday season is the Desert Theatreworks (DTW) production of Mary Poppins, wrapping up its successful run this weekend. As Mary herself would say, it's practically perfect in every way...

BWW Review: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS at Desert Theatreworks is a Great Deal of Fun
by Audrey Liebross - November 12, 2019

Desert Theatreworks (DTW) has mounted an excellently acted, enjoyable, comedic production of Ken Ludwig's 2017 adaptation of Agatha Christie's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. The script drags in spots, but director Lance Phillips-Martinez has created a visual feast that keeps the audience's attention....

BWW Review: DINNER WITH FRIENDS at CVRep Playhouse
by Kay Kudukis - November 12, 2019

Many years ago, I was having drinks with a married couple who were my two best friends. They both greeted me with warm hugs, and then he ran out to the store for cigarettes. She had a pitcher of homemade margaritas, and suggested we enjoy them on the back patio. We'd just settled in, and were lookin...

BWW Review: HAND TO GOD at Dezart Performs
by Kay Kudukis - November 11, 2019

Dezart Performs high-octane production of Robert Askins' Obie Award-winning Hand To God isn't preachy, it's just the opposite; it's rip-roaring, devilish fun that's non-stop laughs....

BWW Review: PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT at Palm Canyon Theatre
by Stan Jenson - October 29, 2019

Just in time for Pride, Palm Canyon Theatre has rolled out a new production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and she is firing on all cylinders! PCT did a knockout production of the show a few years ago and it was so good, I was concerned about the new staging, many new actors, new set, etc. I had...

BWW Review: You'll Die Laughing at Desert Rose's DIE MOMMIE DIE.
by Audrey Liebross - October 21, 2019

With fabulous acting by Loren Freeman and his supporting team of kooky characters and superb direction by Robbie Wayne, DIE MOMMIE DIE at Desert Rose is a great deal of fun....

BWW Review: MAMMA MIA! is the Happiest Show in Town!
by Stan Jenson - October 19, 2019

If you notice an inordinate number of smiles in the east end of the Valley, chances are that they're on people who have seen Desert Theatreworks newest show, Mama Mia! The musical includes 25 songs by the Swedish rock group Abba, and every one of them is so enjoyably recognizable that after the firs...

BWW Review: 25 QUESTIONS FOR A JEWISH MOTHER at Encore Theatre District
by Stan Jenson - October 01, 2019

COD student Katrina Dixon has set a performance level in local theatre that will be hard to surpass. In Encore Theatre's production of 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, close to 90% of the 70-minute show is her monologue, and she holds the audience's attention throughout, proving herself to be a def...