Dezart Performs (www.dezartperforms.org) is proud to announce the grand opening of the NEW Dezart Playhouse at 605 South Riverside Drive, Palm Springs with WEST SIDE STORY IN CONCERT: A GALA CELEBRATION featuring a live orchestra and vocal ensemble November 13-15, 2025. Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. This special presentation will be directed by Dennis Courtney with musical direction by Stephen Hulsey, the team behind last season’s acclaimed FALSETTOS.
WEST SIDE STORY IN CONCERT: A GALA CELEBRATION will spotlight the emotional depth and musical brilliance of Leonard Bernstein’s 1957 legendary score, celebrating both the production and the 1957 Chambers & Frey-designed church, now transformed into the new Dezart Playhouse. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, WEST SIDE STORY is set in the mid-1950s on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The dark theme, sophisticated music, tragic love story and focus on social problems marked a turning point in musical theatre.
“The new Dezart Playhouse was envisioned as a home where artists and audiences gather to celebrate the power of live theatre. Launching this beautiful space with West Side Story In Concert, a work that pulses with music, passion, and community, feels like the perfect beginning to a bold new chapter.” – Michael Shaw, Producing Artistic Director
Celebrating the NEW Dezart Playhouse
As an adaptive re-use project, the former by Robson Chambers and Albert Frey designed First Church of Christ, Scientist, in the last six months, has been transformed from a preserved architectural gem to a state of the art performing arts theater overseen by Architect Susan Secoy-Jensen. Phase 1 of the transformation includes a spacious, fully equipped state-of-the-art theater, rehearsal room, four dressing rooms and event prep room. Phase 2 will include new seating, a full service bar, expanded box office and updated exterior.
“[Michael Shaw has] led Dezart Performs to become
the best theater in the valley AND [he] has nurtured and grown it to the place where you can purchase your own awesome building. Can’t wait to watch Dezart soar in your fabulous new home!!!”
– Terry R.
“I continue to be blown away by your productions! I will continue to support what I have come to know as the BEST company in the valley. Thank you for continuing to inspire and move us as you repeatedly do every season. Bravo!”
– Steve S.
“We’ve been so impressed with the performances that we also wanted to support Dezart Performs beyond the ticket price. We’ve been very moved by some of what we have experienced at the shows. Dezart Performs stands in our mind as the best of the best in the Coachella Valley.”
– Paul M. and Bob T.
WEST SIDE STORY IN CONCERT: A GALA CELEBRATION Opening Night on November 13, 2025 begins at 5:30 PM with a red carpet pre-show patio reception including tray-passed and stationary hors d’oeuvres, hosted bar, live entertainment and valet parking followed by the performance at 7:00 PM. Additional performances will be held on November 14 and 15 with a 6:00 PM pre-show patio reception with tray-passed hors d’oeuvres, complimentary wine and champagne followed by the performance at 7:00 PM. Catering provided by 849 Fine Catering & Events. Ticket prices (including fees) are $535 for opening night and $187 for second and third evenings. Tickets can be purchased online at www.dezartperforms.org, or by calling the box office at 760-322-0179.
Dezart Performs, Palm Springs’ only Equity theatre and one of 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.
For additional information about Dezart Performs’ 2025/26 season, visit dezartperforms.org or call 760-322-0179.
Dezart Performs’ 18th Season Event Listings
EUREKA DAY
A political comedy by Jonathan Spector
Directed by Michael Shaw
January 15-25, 2026
2025 Tony Award Winner for Best Revival of a Play
“Critic’s Pick! Jonathan Spector’s lively portrait of a debate over mandatory vaccinations is the perfect play for our age of disagreement. It becomes possible to identify with each of these characters, no matter what your own feelings about vaccination are.”
– The New York Times
“Spector extracts comic gold from the little tugs-of-war for control among the members of the committee. But, this comedy of manners yields to a serious probing of interpersonal responsibility and the limits of consideration.“
– Time Out New York
“I’m still trying to figure out how hard to laugh is appropriate for a critic at the theatre ;this night, I made myself hoarse.”
– The New Yorker
DESTROYING DAVID
The West Coast premiere of a drama by Jason Odell Williams
Directed by Craig Wells
February 26-March 8, 2026
“DESTROYING DAVID is a triumph. Mesmerizing from start to finish. Brilliant and beautifully layered. This is a work of art about a work of art. Destroying David needs to be seen. Don’t miss the brilliant world premiere production.”
– Broadway World, Dallas
“Superb! Imaginative! Pure stage magic! Without straining, DESTROYING DAVID shifts from fascinating history to a statement about how everything we love eventually disappears.”
– The Dallas Morning News
“A Theatrical Triumph! A masterpiece! A once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience. Masterfully written and utterly breathtaking. A must-see, unforgettable night of theatre. Don’t miss your chance to witness theatrical brilliance.”
– Artsy Scoop
LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!
The Tony Award-winning dramatic comedy by Terrence McNally
Directed by Philip Wm. McKinley
April 9-19, 2026
1995 Tony Award Winner for Best Play
1995 Drama Desk Award for Best Play
“LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! Is a haunted comedy that is both very funny and filled with intimations of time’s passage, of loss and death. It’s Mr. McNally’s breadth of vision and his ambitious attempt to deal with characters, who are both privileged and threatened, in a way that ignores self-pity but doesn’t ignore the larger world outside.”
– The New York Times
“This beautifully written work McNally presents humbling evidence of what human love is and can be.”
– The New Yorker
“LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! is one of Terrence McNally’s very best. Unshowy and quiet, it rings louder with authenticity than his satiric farces do with laughter.”
– Village Voice
