“Curtains closed on Coachella Valley Repertory’s finale of Nice Work If You Can Get It on April 28, giving rise to a well-deserved sense of accomplishment backstage. For some, however, the feeling was short-lived. It would soon be time to set the stage for the Summer Cabaret Series.
Coachella Valley Repertory (CVRep) opened its doors in 2018, 10 years after founding board members Ron Celona and Gary D. Hall came together to create an Equity theater in Cathedral City, providing comprehensive benefits to actors and stage managers in alignment with the Actors’ Equity Association. It quickly grabbed the attention of local actors and touring acts, drawing in a robust lineup right away with productions of Good People, Chess, White, and How I Learned to Drive comprising its first season.
Named executive artistic director of CVRep in 2022, Adam Karsten brings a history of successful endeavors with him. “I had 20-plus years of my career in New York City,” he says. “I went to Carnegie Mellon Performing Arts for dramatic arts and theater arts, and then went to New York to pursue the career. Eventually, I transitioned into producing and directing.” Highlights from his previous role include working with Live from Lincoln Center and creating his own production company, A2K Productions, independently producing film, television, and theater projects around the country.
Karsten’s past allows him to bring new programming to the Coachella Valley, like the Summer Cabaret Series, launched in 2023 and featuring the likes of Broadway talent Lisa Vroman and Christiane Noll as well as West End favorite Mark Evans and actor Alan H. Green…”
