Dezart Performs Celebrates Grand Opening Of New Dezart Playhouse With West Side Story In Concert

Dezart Performs is celebrating a major milestone as the company officially opens its brand new Dezart Playhouse in Palm Springs. Artistic Director Michael Shaw says the opening weekend has been both exciting and emotional as the long-awaited vision finally becomes reality.

The theater company purchased the 1957 Albert Frey–designed building, which previously served as a church, and transformed it into a fully functioning performing arts center. Shaw says the renovation moved at lightning speed, with the first piece of carpeting removed at the end of June and doors opening to the public on November 13.

The project is unfolding in two phases. Phase one included upgrading electrical systems, communications, lighting, sound, dressing rooms, and other core technical elements to ensure the venue could operate as a full theater. Phase two, beginning in April, will add a completed lobby, a built-in box office, an expanded bar, and upgraded restrooms, rounding out the venue’s multi-year transformation.

West Side Story in Concert serves as the gala opening production. The show features a 15-piece orchestra and 24 vocalists, all fitting onto the newly built stage. Shaw describes the experience as similar to a Hollywood Bowl performance, with limited choreography and staging but a rich symphonic sound.

The company’s official season begins in January with three productions. First is Eureka Day, the Tony Award–winning play by Jonathan Spector. Next is the West Coast premiere of Destroying David, a one-person show directed by Craig Wells. The season will conclude with Love! Valour! Compassion!, Terrence McNally’s 1995 Tony Award–winning play. Shaw will also return to the stage for the first time since the pandemic, co-starring in the production.

The new space marks a significant moment for Dezart Performs as it steps into a broader future within the Coachella Valley arts scene. Audiences are already responding enthusiastically, and excitement continues to grow for the theater’s inaugural season.

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