Plaza Theatre (Palm Springs, California) facts for kids
The Plaza Theatre is a historic building located in Palm Springs, California. It's a key part of La Plaza, which was one of the first planned shopping centers in Southern California, opening in 1936. From 1990 to 2014, the theater hosted The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. This show was very famous and appeared on TV shows like 20/20 and The Today Show. Today, there's a special effort to raise money to fix up this old building. The goal is to make it a great theater for shows and events now and in the future.
History of the Plaza Theatre
The Plaza Theatre first opened its doors on December 12, 1936. The very first movie shown was Camille, starring Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor. The theater's owner, Earle C. Strebe, sold the first ticket to a person named Annette Freeman.
The Plaza Theatre became a popular spot for many important movie premieres. Musicals like My Fair Lady and Music Man had their first showings here. In the 1940s, the Plaza was also a favorite place for famous stars to broadcast their radio shows. Stars like Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Amos 'n' Andy all performed their radio shows from the Plaza. This helped bring national attention to Palm Springs.
In the early days of Palm Springs, there was an annual event called the "Desert Circus." As part of this event, Melba Bennett put on a show called the "Village Insanities." This show later moved to the Plaza Theatre in the 1940s and was renamed the Village Vanities.
The Plaza Theatre was busy for many years. However, it closed down in 1989. At that time, a TV producer named Riff Markowitz decided to fix up the old cinema. He wanted to create a "Broadway-style show" that celebrated the music, dance, and comedy from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. He wanted the performers to be old enough to have lived through those times!
The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies Era
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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies was a popular show that ran from October to May each year. It started in 1990 and had its last show in 2014. Riff Markowitz was the show's Managing Director and host. He was also known for his TV series The Hilarious House of Frightenstein and The Hitchhiker.
Some of the famous stars of the Follies included Dorothy Kloss, who was known as "the World's Oldest Showgirl". Another star was Leonard Crofoot, who many people remember from his roles on Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager. Riff Markowitz himself also performed in the show.
A documentary film was made about the Follies called Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. This film was directed by Mel Damski and was even nominated for an Oscar award in 1998. The Follies held its final performance in May 2014.
Restoration Project for the Future
For several years, there have been plans to fix up and reopen the Plaza Theatre. An official fundraising effort, called "Save The Plaza Theatre," began in 2019. However, this effort was paused for a while because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2021, David Lee, a former producer for the TV show Frasier, announced a large donation. He gave $5 million to the fund to help restore the theater. Another person, who wished to remain anonymous, also gave an additional $2 million to the project.
The City of Palm Springs owns the Plaza Theatre. The Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation, a non-profit group led by JR Roberts, is in charge of the restoration project. Work to restore this important building was planned to begin in the summer of 2023.
