Stan Jenson

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE PCT A radiant Dorothy leads an enchanting journey down the Yellow Brick Road The 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz is part of our cultural DNA, so whenever it’s brought to the stage, the inevitable question is: How will they pull it off? Miss Gulch on her bicycle, the…

WORKING STIFFS An unapologetically bawdy comedy that delivers laughs with plenty of cheek Palm Springs’ Prism Theatre has selected Ronnie Larsen’s Making Porn as its second production for its permanent downtown home. Larsen first produced his play in 1995, and Palm Springs was one of the stops before its 500-performance Off-Broadway run, which started in…

EVERYTHING’S COMING UP MORMONS A campy musical mashup finds laughs, heart, and the perfect home at Prism Theatre Palm Springs’ Prism Theatre is christening its permanent home with a production of The Book of Merman, and audiences are eating it up. This gleefully irreverent musical comedy spoofs The Book of Mormon while celebrating the larger-than-life…

THE GOLDEN BOYS A sitcom-worthy comedy finds surprising heart beneath the laughs The Palm Springs stage has long been fertile ground for stories about reinvention, friendship, and chosen family. Silver Foxes, receiving its West Coast premiere at Revolution Stage Company, embraces all three with a sitcom veteran’s knack for punchlines and a playwright’s understanding that…

A LITTLE SHOW WITH A VERY BIG HEART The Bent’s first musical proves this company is ready for anything The Bent, Palm Springs’ queer theatre company, closes its fourth season with its first musical, A Man of No Importance — and what a debut it is. This intimate chamber piece proves the company’s trademark excellence…

ICE, LOVE, AND LOOP PEDALS A technically dazzling two-hander that charms with ingenuity Coachella Valley Repertory closes its season with the inventive two-hander Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, a production that reflects the company’s recent pivot toward more musical offerings; it’s a shift that’s paying off. On the surface, the show—with a book by Joe DiPietro—seems…

PALM SPRINGS DISPATCH FROM HEADAH HOPPER  Your faithful correspondent in the desert My dear reader, If you are planning a visit to Palm Springs and think your evenings will be limited to early dinners, tasteful cocktails, and discussions of real estate values, allow me — helpfully, lovingly — to redirect you. You are going to…

PLAIDS, CAROLS & COMIC CHAOS A tuneful Yule celebration filled with charm, harmony, and holiday silliness If you’re craving holiday nostalgia served with tight four-part harmonies and a side of goofy, good-hearted comedy, Plaid Tidings at Revolution Stage Company should be on your December shortlist. Stuart Ross’s follow-up to his wildly popular 1989 revue Forever…

A DARKER LOOK AT THE GANG WE GREW UP WITH Dog Sees God, Bert V. Royal’s 2004 reimagining of the Peanuts universe, wonders what might happen if those familiar childhood figures stumbled into late high school. The answer is a swirl of drugs, profanity, identity crises, and more than a little homophobia. Though the script…

SUNNY SIDE UP IN PALM SPRINGS A production that belts, dances, and tail-wags its way into the season ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ Palm Canyon Theatre’s production of Annie delivers a sleigh-full of Christmas delights. All the elements of great musical theatre are here: talented performers, a terrific show and…

BLOOD AND GORE HAVE NEVER BEEN SO MUCH FUN – OR TUNEFUL This Halloween season has seemed to be unusually focused on horror movies so it came as a welcome relief for Revolution Stages to produce Evil Dead The Musical, a side-splitting parody of the Evil Dead movie franchise. Five college students – Ash (Julian…

WITH DISCO, DRAG AND DESERT DRAMA, PRISCILLA GLITTERS AT PALM CANYON THEATRE The Palm Canyon Theatre’s production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a glittery, high-octane joyride packed with campy humor, outrageous costumes, and jukebox favorites that never quit. Based on the beloved 1994 film, this jukebox musical bursts to life in a Sydney…

The Bent Theatre Company Tackles – and Conquers – Part 2 of Matthew Lopez’s Epic The Inheritance This past May, Palm Springs’ LGBTQ+ company The Bent Theatre staged The Inheritance, Part 1 as the final offering of their third season. They were justifiably proud to be the first non-professional theatre on the West Coast granted…

A man leaves his wife to start a relationship with another man. Together, the two men—Marvin and his new partner, Whizzer—try to co-parent Marvin’s twelve-year-old son, Jason, alongside Marvin’s ex-wife, Trina. Over time, Whizzer becomes a close friend to Jason, while Trina begins a relationship with Marvin’s psychiatrist, Mendel, whom she eventually marries. They are…