Coachella Valley is Coming Back with Gay Theater Companies

GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE. Last year an excellent theatre company called The Bent opened in Palm Springs. It also happened to be an LGBTQ+ company. In its first year, it produced three plays and all three have been nominated for “Best Play” by Coachella Valley’s Desert Theatre League. 

The Bent has just announced their second season and once again it sounds like an outstanding list of shows, made all the better by being of especial relevance to gay and lesbian audiences. Yes, I included lesbians in my description because, unlike previous gay companies in the desert, The Bents recognizes that we have a large and underserved group of ladies in our community.

Their season opener is Gross Indecency:  The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde by Moises Kaufman (The Laramie Project). In 1895, Oscar Wilde sued his boyfriend’s father, the Marquis of Queensbury, for defamation because the Marquis had described Wilde as “A Posing Sodomite.”  During the trial, it was shown that Wilde was more than just a poseur; numerous 16 – 20-year-old boys who were mostly unemployed (the word hustler isn’t used, but….) testified that they had been diddled, even though there’s a strong chance that their testimony was paid for.

Through three consecutive trials, 10 actors portray a multitude of characters. Most of the dialogue is from actual trial transcripts. Though the script is serious, it is often funny as well. One of the main themes is the fascination the public has with the private philandering of a public figure – a theme that resonates strongly today!!  Gross Indecency plays for three weekends at the Palm Springs Cultural Center (Camelot Theatres), starting on October 13. Tickets, dates, and information about the entire season can be found at www.thebent.org.

THE REVOLUTION STAGE COMPANY.  During the Pandemic, the desert’s former gay theatre company, Desert Rose Playhouse, developed a wonderful new theatre space at the former Zelda’s Nightclub. They somehow thought they would attract larger audiences if they did hetero-centric plays, but the result was that they lost both audiences and doners and had to close their doors. Well, nature abhors a vacuum, and an exciting new company has taken over the theatre space. It is not specifically a gay theatre company but it’s on our radar because it brings a level of professionalism and excellence that is rare for the desert. Their goal is to maximize the theatre space by presenting a wide palette of entertainment events virtually every night of the week. The company’s organizers have extensive professional experience including many years on Broadway, both performing and administrating, so they stand a better chance than most upstarts of lasting the distance.

Their initial production will be Midcentury Moderns, a jukebox musical about a plucky Wisconsin widow who finds herself at the center of modernity when her car breaks down in Palm Springs circa 1966. I have seen previous incarnations of this delightful show and I’m excited to have the chance to see it again. Frankly, it would be terrific if it could find a permanent home in the desert. The songs are familiar, the script is hilarious, and it provides a great evening’s entertainment to all audiences.  There’s even an extremely cute gay couple to balance things out. Plays October 6 – November 19^th.

It will be followed by Not in Front of the Children. Danny comes out to his family and is warned not to talk about it in front of his sister’s children. This one-person World Premiere is a heartwarming journey of finding acceptance. It plays October 12 – 29, alternating nights with Midcentury Moderns.

Off the Street, November 6 – 21, is a profound and moving look at a collection of characters trying to survive on the streets of the fictional Palm Sprinkles. The year will wrap up with A Christmas Carol, playing November 29 – December 23.

I’ve got high hopes for this exciting new company. Tickets and details are at www.revolutionstagecompany.com.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY’S GREATEST HITS.  A truly hidden little cabaret exists in the Foundation Lounge of The Palm Springs Neuro Vitality Center on Alejo Road near the airport. It is used for Open Mics on most Wednesdays, but The Center is now going to produce an actual show.  Forbidden Broadway is a musical revue which originally appeared in 1982.  It does send-ups of current Broadway shows and has been updated numerous times to include new material. The Palm Springs production will include numbers from many editions and is sure to provide laughs to anyone who is even vaguely familiar with musicals. Plays October 19 – 29. Tickets and info are at www.neurovitalitycenter.org/foundation-lounge.