2022 Pulitzer Prize-winner, Tony Award-winning musical and Award-winning Playwright Highlight 2024/25 Season
Dezart Performs (www.dezartperforms.org) continues to build on its past successes of fearless, provocative, and inspiring theatre with Season 17. The Season opens with the 2019 Broadway political dark comedy HILLARY AND CLINTON by Lucas Hnath (November 15 – 24, 2024). Next is the 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner FAT HAM, a modern-day Hamlet by James Ijames (January 17 – 26, 2025). The season continues with the Off-Broadway hit drama GRAND CONCOURSE by award-winning playwright Heidi Schreck (February 28 – March 9, 2025). Finishing the season is the Tony Award-winning musical FALSETTOS (April 18-27, 2025), written by William Finn and James Lapine with music and lyrics by Finn. Performances at The Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club), 314 S. Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs. Showtimes are Fridays at 7:00 pm (NEW TIME); Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm (NEW TIME); Sundays at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm with an after-show wine and dessert Meet & Greet Opening Night. Tickets: www.dezartperforms.org, or call (760) 322-0179.
“I am thrilled about the upcoming 2024/25 season as it promises to offer a diverse range of experiences, from moments of laughter and intense drama to introspective reflection and impactful storytelling,” expresses Michael Shaw, the Artistic Director of Dezart Performs. “After a successful past season where we saw a significant number of first-time attendees, we eagerly look forward to sharing these exceptional performances with our dedicated longtime supporters and newly welcomed audience members.”
Season 17 appropriately kicks off with the 2019 Broadway political dark comedy HILLARY AND CLINTON by Lucas Hnath (November 15 – 24, 2024). In an alternate universe, light-years away from our own is a planet called Earth. It looks a lot like our Earth, except it’s slightly different. And living on this other Earth is a woman named Hillary. Hillary is trying to become the president of a country called the United States of America. It’s 2008, and she’s campaigning in a state called New Hampshire. She’s not doing very well in the polls. She needs more money to keep the campaign going, so she calls her husband for help. He offers her a tough deal, but when she gets his help, she gets more than she bargained for. You may think you know where this story is going, but you don’t. After all, the play takes place in an alternate universe where anything can happen.
The 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner and five-time Tony Award nominated FAT HAM is a modern-day reinvention of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet by James Ijames (January 17 – 26, 2025). In this delectable comedy, an uproarious family barbecue instigates a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy. FAT HAM is about a Black, queer discovery of self, softness, and resilience. Your typical Southern family cookout just got anything but. Juicy gets a visit from his father’s ghost seeking revenge for his death by his brother – now married to his mother! Sound familiar? This Pulitzer Prize winner is as profound as it is funny. Pass the napkins because things are about to get messy…
Award-winning playwright Heidi Schreck brings us to a Bronx, New York soup kitchen with GRAND CONCOURSE (February 28 – March 9, 2025). Having dedicated her life to religious service, Shelley runs a Bronx soup kitchen with unsentimental efficiency, but lately her heart’s not quite in it. Her brisk nature masks an unsettling fear that her efforts are meaningless. When Emma, an idealistic but confused college dropout, arrives to volunteer, her reckless mix of generosity and self-involvement pushes Shelley to the breaking point. With keen humor and startling compassion, Heidi Schreck’s play navigates the mystery of faith, the limits of forgiveness, and the pursuit of something resembling joy.
The hilarious, heartbreaking and utterly unique FALSETTOS (April 18-27, 2025), written by William Finn and James Lapine with music and lyrics by Finn, is a Tony Award-winning contemporary musical about family, relationships, bar mitzvahs, baseball, and AIDS. When Marvin leaves his wife Trina and son Jason to be with his lover Whizzer, tempers flare, problems escalate, and everyone learns to grow up.
New Season subscriptions go on sale July 26, 2024; Individual ticket purchases go on sale September 13, 2024.
All performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club), 314 S. Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs. Ticket prices are $57 – $66 (including service fees) and may be purchased online at www.dezartperforms.org or by calling (760) 322-0179. Showtimes are Fridays at 7:00 pm (NEW TIME); Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm (NEW TIME), Sundays at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. The Opening Night performance includes an after-show wine and dessert reception where audience members may meet the performers.
Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding, and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting–edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.
In December 2023, Dezart Performs announced plans for a new space to be called the Dezart Playhouse, located in Cathedral City. The new Dezart Playhouse will have versatile, movable seating for up to 125, including the flexibility for proscenium, thrust, theatre-in-the-round, or cabaret-style formats. A modern, warm, and inviting lobby with a full bar and patio area will be available during performances and other non-theatrical events. The design includes expanded dressing rooms, backstage areas, and a designated box office. Besides being used by Dezart Performs, the venue will also welcome other businesses and non-profit organizations in the community to make use of the space. The Dezart Playhouse will be ready for the 2025 / 2026 Season based on the current plan. The campaign has been in the silent phase for over a year, with the goal to raise $ 2,200,000 to convert the former retail space into a state-of-the-art Equity Theater. In addition, the campaign seeks another $200,000 per year over five years to help sustain program and operation costs.
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Dezart Performs’ Season 17 Event Listing
HILLARY AND CLINTON – A political dark comedy written by Lucas Hnath. November 15-24, 2024
“An audacious, whip-smart, highly entertaining piece of writing.” – Chicago Tribune
“A cogent, snappy and perceptive about political and emotional realities.” – TimeOut
FAT HAM – A modern-day dramatic comedy adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet written by James Ijames. January 17 – 26, 2025 2022. Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 2023 Nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Play
“For all that Ijames dismantles in Shakespeare’s original text, he builds it back up into something that’s more tragic but also more joyous, more comedic, more political, more contemporary.” – The New York Times
“…a vicious critique of masculinity and violence infused with a much-needed hilarity. Ijames crafts a tender story on being queer, Black and “soft” in the American south.” – The Guardian
GRAND CONCOURSE – The Off-Broadway hit drama written by Heidi Schreck. February 28 – March 9, 2025
“Grand Concourse may well break your heart. You may need tissues by the end.” – The New York Post
“Insightful with a moving, even shocking epiphany.” – Chicago On the Aisle
“Heidi Schreck’s beautiful tragicomedy of life… reminds you of why you go to the theater in the first place..” – The Chicago Sun Times
FALSETTOS – A dramatic musical written by William Finn and James Lapine with music and lyrics by Finn April 18 – 27, 2025. 1992 Tony Award winner for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score 2017 Nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.
“Exhilarating and heartbreaking.” – The New York Times
“The lyrics make you constantly marvel at the ability to combine clever humor, complex phrasing and searing tenderness.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“There’s no shortage of laughs, from tuneful one-liners, to entire numbers. And act two is a work of lyrical comic genius.” – Entertainment Weekly
