PALM SPRINGS – The Board of Directors of the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation is proud to report that it is exceeding all of its mission goals: Providing affordable access to world-class entertainment, presenting incredibly diverse programming, serving as home to nonprofit organizations, and driving significant economic impact for the City of Palm Springs.
One of the key assumptions in the Foundation’s original economic model was that 50% of ticket buyers would be local and 50% would be from out of town.
PURCHASE PLAZA THEATRE TICKETS!Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation President J.R. Roberts said: “I’m thrilled to report we’re doing even better than projected. We’re seeing 66% of guests from out of town and 33% from the Palm Springs Metro Area. This exceeds our projections for economic development. As originally envisioned, the Plaza Theatre is projected to generate $40 million in annual economic impact with an estimated $4 million annual tax benefit to Palm Springs. This has helped keep our hotels, restaurants, bars, and stores busy throughout the week.
Our hotel partners, including Hotel Zoso and the Thompson Hotel, are reporting increased bookings with multiple weekends already sold out.
Thanks to our restaurant partnerships, we’re generating strong pre-show meal sales, driving business to downtown establishments. If you’ve been downtown recently, you can see the transformation. Running shows virtually every night has added incredible vibrancy throughout the week. In February alone, we’ve run 28 different shows.” Anyone visiting downtown can sense the palpable energy and excitement. This is reinforced by guest surveys with very positive feedback.
“Restoring the Plaza Theatre was not only the right thing to do for historic preservation, it was also expected that the theatre would become a new economic driver for the city,” said Jeffrey Bernstein, City Councilmember and city liaison to the Plaza Theatre Foundation. “We are pleased to see that the Theatre’s economic impact is even greater than projected, and this will increase as the Theatre continues to provide year-round programing, even through the summer.”
A key part of the Foundation’s mission is to serve local nonprofit organizations. The Plaza has designated several official resident artists and groups: The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus are the inaugural resident artists, Modern Men are ensemble-in residence, and the Palm Springs Symphony is the official Symphony in Residence. The Palm Springs International Film Festival and Modernism Week are confirmed recurring nonprofit partners.
The Plaza is serving as home base for 8 to 10 resident performance groups including the Palm Springs International Jazz Festival, Pops at the Plaza featuring the Palm Springs Pops Orchestra, Arts Teach Kids arts in education program and rePLAY, a Script-in-Hand series created by David Zippel and the Plaza Theatre.
PURCHASE PLAZA THEATRE TICKETS!Thanks to the incredible connections and hard work of operations partner Oak View Group, the Plaza is presenting an incredibly diverse mix of entertainment from worldclass talent like Cynthia Erivo on opening night to stand-up comedians including Lily Tomlin, Fortune Feimster, Brad Williams, and more. It has hosted exclusive film screenings with Queens of the Stone Age, vocal performances by Broadway sensations Lucie Arnaz and Liz Callaway, family fun cinema events such as White Christmas Singa-Long, theatrical events such as Spamilton and Piaf! The Show, Rock and Roll legends Don McLean and Mickey Dolenz, special concerts of Aloe Blacc, Joss Stone, Esperanza Spalding, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
The Theatre has presented multiple screenings for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, piano concerts from artists like Jim Brickman, and the Palm Springs Public Library’s Palm Springs Speaks series featuring Cheech Marin. In addition, the Plaza hosted holiday programming featuring Broadway stars like Jane Lynch, a sold out 4-performance run with comedian Matteo Lane, local performers including Modern Men, stage performances like the rePLAY series, and a special screening of Camille – the film that originally opened this theatre on December 12, 1936.
Plaza Theatre General Manager & OVG Senior VP John Bolton said “The Plaza Theatre has become the heart and center of our community in Palm Springs.
Presenting and hosting 94 events in our first 90 days exceeds all our expectations.”
The Foundation is pleased to also announce a new pilot program in which tickets to selected events will be distributed to partner charity organizations.
The rebirth of this cultural icon and economic driver for our community has been made possible by donors. Community support has been vital in restoring the theatre which will boost local tourism. Ongoing philanthropy allows us to provide quality entertainment, accessible events, and educational programs while promoting the arts in our community.
The Foundation is seeking ongoing community support through annual memberships, sponsorships, and for those inspired to make an extraordinary impact, the Icons of the Desert Theatre Society represents the pinnacle of philanthropic leadership within our Annual Major Giving Program.
PURCHASE PLAZA THEATRE TICKETS!For more information about the Theatre and the Foundation, please visit
PalmSpringsPlazaTheatre.com.
