Dezart Performs’ upcoming season is ready to dazzle, but thanks to a recent grant from IECF through the FitzDell Gifting Fund, its final show in April 2025 will be historic.
“We’re excited that the grant will help us fund our production of Falsettos because it will be only the second musical that we produced in our 17 years,” says Dezart Performs Artistic Director Michael Shaw. “It’s wonderful we’re getting funding to help put on this production because we’re not known for musicals.”
The performing arts organization’s 17th season launches in November with the 2019 Broadway political dark comedy Hillary And Clinton, running Nov. 15-24. The 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner Fat Ham, a modern-day Hamlet by James Ijames, follows, running Jan. 17 – 26. The Off-Broadway drama Grand Concourse premieres Feb. 28.
Falsettos, a Tony Award-winning musical written by William Finn and James Lapine with music and lyrics by Finn, will take place at The Pearl McManus Theater at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club.
“I thought this would be a great piece to do in the Valley because it speaks to the LGBTQ+ community,” Shaw says of the show. “It also speaks to an older generation, and it’s just intensely beautiful and rich in storytelling.”
The production is an inventive and contemporary musical about family, relationships, bar mitzvahs, baseball, and AIDS. Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus as Whizzer, Barbara Walsh, Chip Zien, and Jonathan Kaplan helmed the Broadway hit.
Shaw launched Dezart Performs in 2008 with Daniela Ryan at the Dezart One Gallery in the Backstreet Art District in Palm Springs. It captured attention from the get-go with its play readings of new works performed in the main gallery while both actors and the audience were surrounded by art.
“At the time, there were three gallery owners of this particular gallery,” Shaw recalls of the Dezart’s origins. “The artist wanted to create a salon-type setting in the gallery where you could have poetry readings, sketch readings, theatrical pieces, monologues, or even book readings. Then Daniela befriended the artist.
The connection was kismet. Ryan, a local actress who had also worked in Los Angeles, was soon commissioned to write a one-woman show. Shaw happened to be in the area for the weekend and was familiar with the artists but surprised to discover a performance there one night.
“I fell in love with Daniela’s piece and her talent,” he shares. “We eventually struck up a friendship and spearheaded the whole salon aspect in the gallery. And that was actually the legs to Dezart Performs.”
Today, the organization is thriving, thanks to its solid board of directors, long list of sponsors, and inventive programming.
On that note, heading into Season 17, Dezart Performs nabbed 26 nominations for the 38th annual Desert Star Awards, which honors Coachella Valley and High Desert communities’ theatrical performers from the 2023-2024 season. All the organization’s 2023-2024 productions were nominated in multiple categories, with all four of its season productions being nominated in the outstanding professional production categories.
In addition, things are moving quickly with the next stage campaign, and the organization hopes to share some exciting news soon.
“We continue to raise funds,” Shaw says of the campaign, which has been in the silent phase for more than a year, with the goal to raise $2,200,000. “We’re very excited about the future.”
In addition to being used by Dezart Performs, the new venue will be a destination for other local businesses and nonprofits. The Dezart Playhouse is expected to open for the 2025-26 season.
“We continue to raise funds,” Shaw says of the campaign, which has been in the silent phase for more than a year, with the goal to raise $2,200,000. “We’re very excited about the future.”
Learn more at dezartperforms.org.
This article originally appeared in the Desert Sun, September 2024.
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