The Plaza Theatre is a historic theater located at 128 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California. It is an anchor of La Plaza (a.k.a. Palm Springs Plaza), a streetside collection of shops, one of the first planned shopping centers in Southern California, opened in 1936. From 1990 through 2014[1] the theatre housed The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies which was featured on ABC's 20/20, The Today Show, the New York Times, NPR[2] and other media since its founding.[3] There is currently a fundraising campaign to raise money to restore the historic building to its former glory and make it a theater that meets theatrical needs for today and tomorrow.[4]
Earle Strebe, sold the very first ticket to Annette Freeman
It was December 12, 1936 that the historic Plaza Theatre opened with the Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor premiere Camille. The theatre's owner at the time, Earle C. Strebe,[5] sold the very first ticket to Annette Freeman.[6]
The Plaza Theatre became a venue for a number of world premieres, including the musicals My Fair Lady and Music Man. The Plaza was a popular theater during the 1940s for famous stars to do their broadcasting. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Amos 'n' Andy all did radio shows from the Plaza, bringing national attention to Palm Springs.
In the early days of Palm Springs began the "Desert Circus" for which an annual show was staged by Melba Bennett called the "Village Insanities". Originally performed on the grounds of the Desert Inn, the "Insanities" would later perform at the Plaza Theatre under the name of the Village Vanities during the 1940s.[8]
The Plaza Theatre remained active for many years, finally becoming dormant in 1989.[7] It was at this time that television producer Riff Markowitz (The Hitchhiker),[9] decided to renovate the cinema and create a "Broadway-caliber celebration of the music, dance, and comedy of the 30s, 40s, and 50s with a cast old enough to have lived it!".[10]
Plans have been in the works to restore and reopen the Plaza Theater for several years. An official campaign, Save The Plaza Theatre, was launched in 2019 [13] but was paused during the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2021, former Frasier producer David Lee announced a $5 million donation to the fund drive.[14] An anonymous donor also contributed an additional $2 million to the project.[4]
The Plaza Theatre is owned by the City of Palm Springs and the restoration project is managed by the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization headed by JR Roberts. Restoration of the iconic building will begin when the Foundation achieves its fundraising goal.[4]
^ abcRode, Erin. "Plaza Theatre Foundation Chair: Restoration work could be finished by end of next year". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^A Golden Palm Star at the theater, part of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, was dedicated to Strebe in 1992. Palm Springs Walk of Stars: By Date Dedicated 2012-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
^Desert Memories Historic Images of the Coachella Valley, Page 24, by The Desert Sun, ISBN1-932129-01-4
^ abNiemann, Greg (2006). Palm Springs Legends: creation of a desert oasis. San Diego, CA: Sunbelt Publications. p. 286. ISBN978-0-932653-74-1. OCLC 61211290. (here for Table of Contents)
^Palm Springs First Hundred Years, By Mayor Frank M. Bogert, Page 154, ISBN0-9618729-0-X
plaza, theatre, palm, springs, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Plaza Theatre is a historic theater located at 128 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs California It is an anchor of La Plaza a k a Palm Springs Plaza a streetside collection of shops one of the first planned shopping centers in Southern California opened in 1936 From 1990 through 2014 1 the theatre housed The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies which was featured on ABC s 20 20 The Today Show the New York Times NPR 2 and other media since its founding 3 There is currently a fundraising campaign to raise money to restore the historic building to its former glory and make it a theater that meets theatrical needs for today and tomorrow 4 The historic Plaza Theatre 1951 Contents 1 History 2 Follies era 3 Restoration project 4 ReferencesHistory Edit Earle Strebe sold the very first ticket to Annette Freeman It was December 12 1936 that the historic Plaza Theatre opened with the Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor premiere Camille The theatre s owner at the time Earle C Strebe 5 sold the very first ticket to Annette Freeman 6 The Plaza Theatre became a venue for a number of world premieres including the musicals My Fair Lady and Music Man The Plaza was a popular theater during the 1940s for famous stars to do their broadcasting Jack Benny Bob Hope and Amos n Andy all did radio shows from the Plaza bringing national attention to Palm Springs Greg Niemann 7 139 In the early days of Palm Springs began the Desert Circus for which an annual show was staged by Melba Bennett called the Village Insanities Originally performed on the grounds of the Desert Inn the Insanities would later perform at the Plaza Theatre under the name of the Village Vanities during the 1940s 8 The Plaza Theatre remained active for many years finally becoming dormant in 1989 7 It was at this time that television producer Riff Markowitz The Hitchhiker 9 decided to renovate the cinema and create a Broadway caliber celebration of the music dance and comedy of the 30s 40s and 50s with a cast old enough to have lived it 10 Follies era Edit The theater seen in 2012 The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies ran late October through May from 1990 to 2014 The Managing Director and MC of the show Riff Markowitz is known for his cult classic television series The Hilarious House of Frightenstein and the HBO TV series The Hitchhiker Among the theatre s stars were Dorothy Kloss the World s Oldest Showgirl 11 Leonard Crofoot often remembered for his roles on Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager and Markowitz himself 9 The Plaza Theatre was the subject of a documentary through the Follies entitled Still Kicking The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies directed by Mel Damski which was nominated for an Oscar in 1998 12 The Follies held their last show in May 2014 Restoration project EditPlans have been in the works to restore and reopen the Plaza Theater for several years An official campaign Save The Plaza Theatre was launched in 2019 13 but was paused during the initial impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic In October 2021 former Frasier producer David Lee announced a 5 million donation to the fund drive 14 An anonymous donor also contributed an additional 2 million to the project 4 The Plaza Theatre is owned by the City of Palm Springs and the restoration project is managed by the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation a 501 c 3 organization headed by JR Roberts Restoration of the iconic building will begin when the Foundation achieves its fundraising goal 4 References Edit http archive desertsun com article 20131214 NEWS01 312140034 After Follies Palm Springs mulls options historic Plaza Theatre Dancers Find a Second Act at Palm Springs Follies NPR org www palmsprings ca gov http www palmsprings ca gov index aspx page 472 Retrieved 2008 11 03 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help a b c Rode Erin Plaza Theatre Foundation Chair Restoration work could be finished by end of next year The Desert Sun Retrieved 2022 05 12 A Golden Palm Star at the theater part of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to Strebe in 1992 Palm Springs Walk of Stars By Date Dedicated Archived 2012 12 08 at the Wayback Machine Desert Memories Historic Images of the Coachella Valley Page 24 by The Desert Sun ISBN 1 932129 01 4 a b Niemann Greg 2006 Palm Springs Legends creation of a desert oasis San Diego CA Sunbelt Publications p 286 ISBN 978 0 932653 74 1 OCLC 61211290 here for Table of Contents Palm Springs First Hundred Years By Mayor Frank M Bogert Page 154 ISBN 0 9618729 0 X a b https www imdb com name nm0548737 Retrieved on 2008 11 03 user generated source psfollies com Retrieved on 2008 11 03 Guinness Book of World Records 2009 p 90 ISBN 1 904994 37 7 978 1 904994 37 4 https www imdb com title tt0141856 Retrieved on 2008 11 03 user generated source https savetheplazatheatreps com Palm Springs to assist in Plaza Theatre restoration 28 January 2022 Coordinates 33 49 21 N 116 32 47 W 33 8226 N 116 5465 W 33 8226 116 5465 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Plaza Theatre Palm Springs amp oldid 1146166027, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
