Among Friends Cabaret Sing-A-Long, Palm Springs Dance Project Flash Mob, Idyllwild Arts Student Showcase, HIV Risk Reduction and Aging, Marilyn Madness and Me, Walk of Stars: Melville “Buddy” Shyer, and a Weekend Preview!
Among Friends: Cabaret Sing-A-Long
Join Among Friends on Wednesday, March 4, for the Sing-A-Long version of Cabaret, starring Liza Minelli, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Dress up Cabaret-style for cocktails at 6:00 p.m. and then enter the theatre for the movie at 7:30 p.m. Get tickets
HIV Infection: Risk Reduction for Diseases of Aging
Eisenhower Health, along with the LGBT Community Center of the Desert, presents HIV Infection: Risk Reduction for Diseases of Aging on Wednesday, March 4 from 5:30–6:30 p.m. at The Center. Join Ken Lichtenstein, MD as he discusses the future of HIV and Aging Research and the challenges related to growing older with HIV. Many who have been living with HIV, some for more than 30 years, are now entering the phase of life when the consequences of aging become a reality. Other older individuals who have recently been diagnosed with HIV infection are facing the prospect of a new medical diagnosis to deal with as they age. Free event, registration required. More info
Idyllwild Arts Academy 2020 Student Showcase
The Idyllwild Arts Academy Student Showcase will be held at the Rancho Mirage Library on Wednesday, March 4 from 7.00–8.00 p.m. The evening will feature a fashion show, presenting original styles by fashion designers at Idyllwild Arts Academy as well as a fashion-inspired performance of music, dance, film, spoken word, musical theater and visual arts. The evening is free and open-to-the-public and promises a spectacular hour-long, fashion-inspired event, featuring the year’s best work from over 40 students of Idyllwild Arts Academy. More info
Palm Springs Dance Project Flash Mob Thursday
“Joyous dance happenings” are promised from the Palm Springs Dance Project in a “flash mob” experience on Thursday, March 5 at Palm Springs’ favorite weekly community event, VillageFest. The flash mob performances will take place sporadically from 6:30–9:00 p.m. [More info] Now entering its premiere season, Palm Springs Dance Project is a month-long event with dance performances, education and community programming from February 5 to March 8, with the Main Event: An Evening of Extraordinary Dance on Saturday, March 7. [Main Event info]
Marilyn, Madness, and Me
Enjoy a fantastic evening or afternoon of entertainment and support your community the original two-act play, Marilyn, Madness & Me on Thursday, March 5 from 7:00–9:00 p.m. at the Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory. With a concept by Didier Bloch, written by Frank V. Furino, and directed by Joe Leonardo, this production was born of members of the local community. LA Theatre Scene’s Margie Barron calls the show a “poignant, compelling, and shocking tale of unrequited love, centered around the last months of Marilyn Monroe’s life.” All proceeds will benefit SafeHouse of the Desert and the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory Foundation. Get tickets
La Quinta Art Celebration
The La Quinta Art Celebration, running from Thursday, March 4 through Sunday, March 8 at the La Quinta Civic Center, will showcase 220 world-class juried artists from across the country and abroad exhibiting their fine art and craft in 12 media categories including Painting, Sculpture, Glass, Ceramics, Jewelry, Photography, Fiber, Wood and Mixed Media. More info
Walk of Stars Honors Melville “Buddy” Shyer
Walk of the Stars and the City of Palm Springs are proud to honor pioneer filmmaker and former Palm Springs resident, Melville “Buddy” Shyer with the 441st star on Friday, March 6 at 11:00 a.m. Shyer is credited for being one of the first successful filmmakers at a time when sound was finally introduced to film making, also known as the ‘Talkies.’ After retiring from film making in 1960, Shyer moved to Palm Springs full-time with his family. Shyer’s son, Charles Shyer – who followed his father’s footsteps directed the popular feature films, The Parent Trap, Private Benjamin, and Father of the Bride – will be the featured speaker for the March 6th star dedication. More info
THIS WEEKEND
Palm Springs Dance Project
The Palm Springs Dance Project has been presenting its premiere 2020 season from February 5 to March 8, with dance performances, education and community programming, and it wraps up this weekend with some great showcase events!
Community’s Finest Dance Showcase is a pre-professional variety show, on Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Palm Springs Art Museum Annenberg Theater, celebrating and showcasing advanced education students in performance with top talent from local dance schools, academies, and from cultural dance groups. This program provides advanced students the opportunity to perform in a professional production, in a theater of stature, while showcasing the studios and dance groups that make up our local dance community. Get tickets
The Main Event: An Evening of Dance Performance, on Saturday, March 7 at the Annenberg Theatre, features 3 acclaimed LA-based dance companies in an upbeat program mixing and melding concert and commercial dance. Scheduled to perform are BrockusRED (innovative and accessible work), Luminario Ballet (contemporary neo-classical ballet), and Lula Washington Dance Theater (powerful, high-energy, and provocative choreography). Get tickets
Palm Springs Speaks – Bob Woodward
Legendary journalist Bob Woodward will speak at the Richards Center for the Arts on Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Palm Springs Speaks series. Woodward gained international attention when he and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal in 1973. Since then, he has continued to pull back the curtain on the inner workings of Washington; revealing in meticulous detail what’s really going on in the halls power. Have the lessons of Watergate been forgotten? Is the media doing its job? Woodward offers an historical perspective as only he can. Get tickets
Mini Gay Day Anaheim
It’s that time again! Six months prior to Gay Days Anaheim in October, it’s Mini Gay Day on Saturday, March 7 at Disneyland Resort. Break out your red shirts and add even more fairy dust with your fellow “family” members. Special discount admission available through Wednesday, March 4. More info
Saturday Sisterhood of Cinema
The Saturday Sisterhood Of Cinema will be showing Portrait of a Lady on Fire on Saturday, March 7 at 10:00 a.m. at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. This local-meet up group is for women to gather, socialize, and see quality cinema. The group meets on the 1st Saturday of every month. If the film gets you thinking, mee upstairs at the VIP Lounge for sips, nibbles, and convo after. Get tickets
Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival
Friends of the Desert Mountains’ 13th Annual Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival will be held on Saturday, March 7, from 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at the City of Palm Desert Civic Center Park. This free event celebrates wellness, recreation and the outdoors with wildflower displays and a variety of fun and educational activities. More info
Hot Seat Retreat at CCBC
Join CCBC Resort for their Hot Seat Retreat from Thursday–Sunday, March 5–8. This all-male spanking event is mostly unstructured but does include a welcome pizza & beer mixer, games night, and farewell brunch to help you connect with other participants. Get tickets
Streetbar Bloody Mary Bar and Book Signing
Ron Williams will be signing copies of his book, Capturing Our Diversity: 4 Decades of Pride Photos, on Sunday, March 8 from 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. at Streetbar. Come and enjoy a Bloody Mary and say hello! More info
Desert Hot Springs Classical Concert Crawl
The third annual Desert Hot Springs Afternoon Concert Crawl takes place on Sunday, March 8 from 2:00–4:00 p.m. with performers at each at each of three venues: Mircea Gogoncea (guitar) & Marley Eder (flute) – Cabot’s Pueblo Museum / Margaret Irwin-Brandon (fortepiano) – Miracle Springs Resort & Spa / Bliss Flute Quartet – Word of Life Fellowship. Attend whichever one(s) you are interested in, in any order, as performances take place at 2:00 p.m., 2:45 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. and admission is free! More info
Sunnylands Music in the Gardens
Sunnylands’ Music in the Gardens brings you a free, live concert every Sunday in March with a different musical act performing on the Great Lawn from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. While guests are welcome to stroll the gardens as the music plays, they may also bring lawn chairs, blankets, and food and drink to picnic while listening to the bands. On Sunday, March 8 the musical act is Nathan James and the Rhythm Scratchers. This three-piece band brings a unique fusion of classic blues and rhythm and blues. More info
The Living Desert Golden Anniversary Gala
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens celebrates their 50th year at the Golden Anniversary Gala on Saturday, March 7 with an evening of animal encounters, live auctions, dinner, and entertainment. This popular event has sold out! More info
WEEKEND THEATRE
The Desert Rose Playhouse presents Beautiful Thing from March 6–29. Upliftingly optimistic, Jonathan Harvey’s play about two teenage boys falling in love refuses melodramatic clichés to offer a story bright with sensitivity, pathos and wit. With a strong supporting cast, Ste and Jaime’s tentative, awkward relationship unfolds with delicacy and joy. Beautiful Thing was first performed in 1993 at the Bush Theatre, London, and adapted into a 1996 film. Get tickets
Dezart Performs presents Sweat, from February 28–March 8 at Pearl McManus Theater. It’s the year 2000 in Reading, Pennsylvania and a group of friends go to work at the steel mill and then decompress at the bar like they’ve been doing for over 20 years. But, unbeknownst to them, their lives are about to be uprooted. Their steel mill is making some changes and the blood, sweat and tears of generations of loyal workers don’t seem to amount to much. This limited run is expected to sell out, save your seats now! Get tickets
Our theatre reviewer Stephen Radosh calls Sweat “a powerful and riveting work dealing with the human consequences of 21st Century America as it shifts away from being the leading Industrial nation of the 20th Century,” and praises the universally strong cast of nine actors, the largest for a Dezart Performs production to date! Read the full review here
Palm Canyon Theatre presents The Pajama Game, running through March 15. Romance is blossoming at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Handsome new Superintendent Sid Sorokin falls hard for feisty Union rep “Babe” Williams, and, despite her dismissal of all things love-related, it seems she’s falling right back. That is, until the pair find themselves on either side of a union protest. The Pajama Game features hit songs like “Hey There,” “Hernando’s Hideaway” and “Steam Heat.” Get tickets
THEATRE OPENING SOON
Coyote Stageworks presents The Velocity of Autumn, from March 13–22 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Alexandra is an 80-year-old artist in a showdown with her family over where she’ll spend her remaining years. In Alexandra’s corner are her wit, her volcanic passion, and the fact that she’s barricaded herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to take out the block. But her children have their own secret weapon, too. No sooner are the words “Hi, Mom” uttered than the emotional bombs start detonating. Get tickets
Desert Theatreworks presents their next show, The Producers: A Mel Brooks Musical from March 13–29 at the Indio Performing Arts Center. Based on the 1968 film, this crowd-pleasing musical-comedy has been a smash hit since its 2001 debut. Fading Broadway producer Max Bialystock is desperate to get to the top of his profession again, and finds an unlikely ally in mousy accountant Leo Bloom, who predicts that one could make far more money with a flop of a show than with a hit. Unfortunately for them, their show is a huge hit! Get tickets
I Love Gay Palm Springs Podcast
Be sure to listen to our twice-weekly podcast, the I Love Gay Palm Springs Podcast, where hosts John Taylor and Shann Carr, and your “Gay Desert Guide” Brad Fuhr take you for a ride around Greater Palm Springs with LGBTQ+ things to do, places to go and people to meet! Listen Now