PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The greatest show in warm and sunny Palm Springs, Calif., continues to play to packed houses, even at the start of a new decade. And with beautiful, blond and long-legged Dorothy Kloss, the oldest still-performing showgirl in the world (at 86 years young), doing a jaw-dropping, tap-dancing solo, this year's production is still wowing audiences.
Much like the famed Ziegfield Follies did nearly a hundred years ago, the Fabulous Palm Spring Follies has a stunning variety of acts, gorgeous and elaborate costumes (some costing more than $1,000 apiece), and talent to "knock your socks off." But this show has something that the Ziegfield extravaganza never had — namely, a cast entirely made up of senior citizens.
This is a group of performers unlike any you've ever seen. They have either performed in spectacular Broadway musicals or on the best and most memorable variety shows on TV, and — ranging from ages 55 to 86 — they now perform several two-hours-plus shows a week, month after month, at the beautiful Historic Plaza Theatre in the heart of downtown Palm Springs.
The theme this year is "Let the Good Times Roll," and this dazzling and rollicking spectacle will keep your own foot tapping to nearly 60 different tunes from the past, including such old-time favorites as "Happy Days Are Here Again," "June Is Busting Out All Over," "Mr. Sandman," "That Old Black Magic" and "Fly Me to the Moon."
In keeping with tradition, the program also includes well-known guest performers. I've seen nearly 20 of these programs and feel fortunate to have heard and watched such legendary acts as Tony Martin, Donald O'Connor, Howard Keel, Frankie Laine, and the Mills Brothers in past years. And my favorite group from the '50s, the now-silver-haired Four Aces, has been featured since January.
Their set features eight songs, including "Tell Me Why," "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Stranger in Paradise" and "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing." (When the Four Aces' engagement ends later this month, singer Rita Coolidge will take over the guest spot.)
The show also features a man who may be the world's best master of ceremonies, Riff Markowitz. This suave, charming and witty master of ceremonies interacts with various people he picks out of the audience, and always provides the show with some of its funniest and most memorable moments.
On this particular night, guest performer Brad Cummings, a first-rate ventriloquist, did a show-stealing routine with an older gentleman he picked from the front row. Cummings normally performs with his puppet, Rex, but pretended the unsuspecting audience was a ventriloquist dummy — having him move his mouth, as though he were talking. Meanwhile, Cummings asked this "first-time dummy" questions and then provided his own outrageous and hilarious answers.
As always, this is a big show, and it's definitely worth a trip to Palm Springs just to see it. The current show ends May 6, and if you do go, you're likely to think that you certainly must come back again … and again … and again.
If you go...
What: The Fabulous Palm Spring Follies
Where: The Historic Plaza Theatre, 128 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, Calif.
When: Through May 6
How much: $41.95-$91.95
Phone: 760-327-0225
Web: www.psfollies.com
e-mail: features@desnews.com