After a $34 million restoration, Palm Springs' Plaza Theater is nearing its opening.
For the well-heeled, the first event is a Dec. 1 opening gala headlined by “Wicked” co-star Cynthia Erivo, for which tickets cost $1,000 to $1,500. From December 2nd there is a busy program of concerts, comedy, Christmas music, films and other entertainment at cheaper prices.
But before that there is an open day.
This will take place on Saturday November 22nd from 10am to 2pm. Anyone can enter the 700-seat theater, 128 S. Palm Canyon Drive, and take tours, where singing groups perform on the hour.
“We wanted to create an opportunity to tour the theater for free,” JR Roberts told me Wednesday as we looked around the auditorium. He is the president of the non-profit organization responsible for the restoration and operation of the municipal theater.
Before Wednesday's media event, only 50 people probably saw the inside, Roberts said. Your reaction?
“People are so moved to see the restoration,” Roberts said.
I've written about the Plaza twice before, first as the fundraiser neared its goal and then again last summer when the theater became an active construction site. What can I tell you, I like old theaters.
Since the Plaza was about to reopen, I felt like I should finish this story.
The Plaza started out as the first movie theater. After closing in 1989, the theater returned in 1991 as the site of the new Palm Springs International Film Festival and as the home of the popular Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The revue, featuring high-profile performers, attracted busloads of tourists. This is how most people remember the Plaza.
The theater closed permanently in 2014 and sat empty with no apparent third act in sight.
Many in the city felt that was a shame. Roberts, a former city council member, founded the Plaza Theater Foundation in 2019 with the goal of restoring the theater and reopening it as a community venue.
The pandemic halted any momentum and led Roberts to question whether the effort should be halted. Maybe after the pandemic, people would no longer be interested in community gatherings.
“I feared this would be the death knell for theaters,” Roberts recalls.
Then came a $5 million donation from “Frasier” co-creator David Lee, a Claremont native and University of Redlands graduate, who breathed new life into the campaign. Other large and small donations followed.
The next challenge was that construction bids were $27 million, after meeting the $17 million funding goal.
“The board has decided not to cut corners or attempt to reduce the value to $17 million,” said Kevin J. Corcoran, the foundation’s vice president.
Instead, those responsible stuck to the plan for state-of-the-art lighting, sound and acoustics. City Hall committed $20 million to keep the project on track. The foundation agreed to repay half of that amount, “which we have already done,” Corcoran said Wednesday.
Everyone's faith also seems to have been repaid.
Oak View Group, which built and booked Acrisure Arena, took over the plaza. The theater booked 140 shows in its first six months, a number Corcoran called “remarkable.”
He added: “As of yesterday we have sold 24,000 tickets for the month of December alone.”
Imagine: 24,000 tickets in one month, for shows that otherwise wouldn't exist. Half were sold to addresses outside the Coachella Valley. Where are you from?
“They come from all 50 states and all four provinces of Canada,” said John Bolton, senior vice president and general manager of the Plaza at Oak View.
Bolton said the goal is to have a diverse program: music, musicals, comedy, classical music, opera, lectures and shows for children and families.
In addition to national touring acts, several community groups, including the symphony orchestra and a choir, will make the Plaza their home.
“Our average ticket price is $90,” Bolton said. “We will have programs all year round.”
In December, the program includes comedian Lily Tomlin, swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, singer Jim Brickman, Christmas variety shows by director John Waters and actress Jane Lynch, a sing-along version of the film “White Christmas” and a two-hander with Hal Linden and Sally Struthers.
Erivo's appearance at the gala is a coup. She will squeeze in the show after the opening of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and before she flies to London to rehearse for a musical version of “Dracula.” In the meantime, she's busy promoting Wicked: For Good and her memoir Simply More.
“We are incredibly lucky that she was able to do this,” Bolton said.
The Plaza Theater opened on December 12, 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression. Like many other theaters of the 1920s and 1930s that might resemble a Chinese pagoda or an Egyptian temple, the Plaza had a theme designed to transport visitors to a different mental space.
Behind a Spanish-style façade, the auditorium was intended to resemble a Mexican outdoor plaza. Its two side walls resembled picturesque adobe buildings with windows, balconies and lamps.
When the lights in the house went out, tiny lights lit up on the deep blue ceiling as if they were stars in the night sky and the show was taking place outside.
“Originally there was a star field with 800 lights. We recreated that, but with LED technology,” said Corcoran.
It looked beautiful on Wednesday, even though there was no show. When the time comes and the stars come out, I can imagine the cheers will be loud.
However, the effect will be new for most customers.
“A lot of it has been changed and watered down,” Roberts said of the atmospheric accents. “The peak came when we were young or before we were born.”
According to Jim Cook, the Plaza's official historian, in the late 1970s the Plaza's new owner “built a wall in the middle of the theater” to convert the auditorium into two long, narrow halls. This wall was removed in 1991 before reopening.
The recent extensive restoration by Architectural Resources Group added seismic reinforcements and replaced the heating, air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems.
Original photos, paint rubs and descriptions in newspaper articles allowed the theater to return to close to its original appearance, Roberts said.
“When you walk into the Plaza Theater, it will be 1936,” Roberts said. “Behind the walls it will be 2026.”
David Allen writes Friday, Sunday and Wednesday like it's 1999. Email dallen@scng.com, call 909-483-9339 and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook or Instagram, @davidallen909 on X or @davidallen909.bsky.social on Bluesky.