The Plaza Theatre is a historic theater located at 128 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California. Today, the theatre remains operational as the home of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies who have been featured on ABC’s 20/20, The Today Show, the New York Times, and other national and international publications since its founding.[1]
It was December 12, 1936 that the historic Plaza Theatre opened with the Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor premiere Camille. The theatre's owner at the time, Earle Strebe, sold the very first ticket to Annette Freeman.[2]
The Plaza Theatre became a venue for a number of world premieres, including the musicals My Fair Lady and Music Man. The Plaza was a popular theater during the 1940's for famous stars to do their broadcasting. Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Amos 'n' Andy all did radio shows from the Plaza, bringing national attention to Palm Springs.—by Greg Niemann
In the early days of Palm Springs began the Desert Circus for which an annual show was staged by Melba Bennett called the Village Insanities. Originally performed on the grounds of the Desert Inn, The Village Insanities would later perform at the Plaza Theatre under the name of the Village Vanities during the 1940s.[4]
The historic Plaza Theatre remained active for many years finally becoming dormant in 1989 and at long last empty.[3] It was at this time that television producer Riff Markowitz, The Hitchhiker[5], decided to renovate the cinema and create a "Broadway-caliber celebration of the music, dance, and comedy of the 30's, 40's, and 50's with a cast old enough to have lived it!"[6].
Home to The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies the Plaza Theatre has run late October through may since 1990. The Managing Director and MC of the show Riff Markowitz is perhaps most famous for his cult classic television series The Hilarious House of Frightenstein or the much beloved HBO hit TV series The Hitchhiker. Among the theatre's latest stars are Dorothy Kloss, the World's Oldest Showgirl[7], Leonard Crofoot, often remembered for his roles on Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager, and last but not least, Riff Markowitz, the creator, producer, compere and the star of the show. who also co-created the television series The Hitchhiker, and numerous other television series and specials.[5]
The Plaza Theatre was the subject of a documentary, through the Follies, entitled "Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies" directed by Mel Damski, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1998.[8]