Confessions of a Star Maker

Confessions of a Star Maker will be presented live at the Annenberg Theatre as a benefit for the Palm Springs Art Museum on Sunday, September 17, 2023.

This award-winning, new play, written and directed by Palm Springs resident Luke Yankee, is a film noir “whodunit” told in the style of a 1950’s radio play, including a stable of professional actors from Broadway, Los Angeles and the Coachella valley, as well as one of Hollywood’s top Foley artists creating live sound effects.

Confessions of a Star Maker takes place in Hollywood, 1952:  a world where lunch at The Brown Derby, cocktails at The Trocadero, and dinner at Ciro’s was a common occurrence.  One of the players in this arena is Nick Ralston, a hustler in every sense of the word. Nick, a closeted gay man, is an “over the hill” agent who will stop at nothing to promote his clients and maintain the appearance of an extravagant lifestyle – whether that means charm, extortion, sexual favors, blackmail or selling out to the highest bidder.  With characters loosely based on Hollywood icons like Rock Hudson, Natalie Wood and Marlene Dietrich, the playreveals the thrill of 1950’s Tinsel Town as well as its dark underbelly. Add into this cocktail shaker of compromises and depravity a stable of actors, producers and publicists who are trying to keep their own dirty little secrets out of the papers in a world ripped from the tabloids and you have the glitz and glamour of the golden age of Hollywood that is Confessions of a Star Maker.

Playwright and director Luke Yankee knows “old Hollywood” first-hand. His memoir, Just Outside the Spotlight (about growing up as the son of Oscar, Emmy and Tony winning actress, Eileen Heckart) has garnered rave reviews from coast to coast and has been touted by critics as “One of the most compassionate, illuminating, showbiz books ever written.”  

The cast for the Palm Springs benefit will include Broadway veterans Tim Ewing and Barbara Niles. It also includes Emrhys Cooper, Paul Tenaglia, Tod Macofsky, Samantha Borthwick, Xander Doege, Jack Boyle and VJ Hume.

The live sound effects will be created by Vanessa Theme Ament, one of the top Foley artists in Hollywood.

The performance will take place at 2 pm on Sunday, September 17^th at the Annenberg Theatre in the Palm Springs Art Museum, located at 101 Museum Dive in downtown Palm Springs.  Tickets are $100 and will include a post-show reception. Ticket sales will benefit a variety of programs at the museum.

A cocktail reception will follow the performance from 4:00 – 5:00 pm in the Elrod Sculpture Garden with the director and actors.