The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies - Press Releases

Maureen McGovern Makes Follies Debut

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:00:00 -0800

Grammy Nominated Singer Performs Hits That Bring Back Memories

Palm Springs, California (December 28, 2011) A superlative songstress, Maureen McGovern's 40-year career has encompassed recording, songwriting, concerts, radio, television, film and Broadway. Now, the woman who's been called "The Stradivarius Voice" brings her epic talents to the Fabulous Follies.

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, McGovern, 62, began singing at the age of three and grew up listening to her father's barbershop quartet rehearse. By age eight she knew she wanted to be a professional singer.

While working as a secretary and part-time folk singer, in 1972, she recorded a demo that was heard by the head of 20th Century Records, who promptly hired her to sing "The Morning After", Oscar-winning theme of the classic disaster film, The Poseidon Adventure. Her rendition topped the Billboard charts.

Grammy nominated for "Best New Artist" in 1973, the next year she recorded the Oscar nominated songs "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno and "Wherever Love Takes Me" from the motion picture GOLD. These were followed by hits such as "Can You Read My Mind?" from the film version of Superman, and "Different Worlds" from the TV series, Angie.

Appearing as Sister Angelina, the guitar-strumming nun, in the 1980 comedy classic Airplane! led toroles on One Life To Live, The Tracey Ullman Show, Pacific Blue, Duckman and Beyond Belief, among others. For three seasons, McGovern was a frequent special guest on Garrison Keillor's American Radio Company of the Air.

In 1981, she made her Broadway debut in The Pirates of Penzance. She later starred in Nine with Raul Julia and in 3 Penny Opera with Sting, and has appeared in many musicals and dramas throughout the country. In 2005, McGovern returned to Broadway, originating her Drama Desk-nominated role of Marmee in Little Women, The Musical. She continued in that role with the National Touring Company.

During the mid-80s, the vocalist also established herself as an outstanding nightclub and cabaret performer, often paying tribute to songwriters like George Gershwin, Harold Arlen and Richard Rodgers. A career highlight was a solo concert at Carnegie Hall in 1989.

A member of the National Board of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, McGovern has performed for over 30 consecutive years on the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

Follies audiences now have their first-ever opportunity to hear one of the truly great voices of our generation, in-person onstage at the historic Plaza Theatre.

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During its 21 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of Mid-Century America with a cast ranging in age from 58 to 82 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers, and plays five days a week from November through late-May. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted old movie house, which is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2011.12.28_maureen_mcgovern_follies_debut.doc

Christmas In FolliesLand

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:15:09 -0800

Two New Year's Eve Shows Cap Seasonal Festivities

Palm Springs, California (November 29, 2011) When the balloons drop at the stroke of midnight on December 31 and the final strains of Auld Lang Syne play, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies' holiday season will have officially ended. But until then, the Follies' presents its all-new holiday production -- up to eight performances per week -- featuring musical selections both sacred and comedic.

A soaring medley of "Silent Night," "Ave Maria" and "O' Holy Night"; "Hanukkah In Santa Monica" performed by beach-clad dancing rabbis; a burlesque Mrs. Claus; and a shimmering onstage snowfall to the strains of "White Christmas" all combine to make the Follies' Yuletide offering unlike anything you've seen before.

Then, on December 31, the Follies presents two special New Year's Eve performances at 3:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., each with a glittering champagne reception, and hats and noisemakers to welcome in 2012 ("Rio de Janeiro midnight" for matinee-goers).

As in previous seasons of giving, the Follies is again a drop-off location for the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Program. Through December 17, anyone in the vicinity during a performance may donate a new, unwrapped toy at the bin placed outside the theatre doors. Follies fans have made the Plaza Theatre one of the top donor sites for this most worthwhile annual toy drive benefiting needy children.

The Follies also makes holiday shopping easy with convenient gift certificates, redeemable for any performance that may be purchased at either the box office or by calling 760-327-0225.

So if you are searching in vain for holiday spirit among the rush and crush of year-end obligations, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies offers you a haven of Christmas cheer and imagination.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2011.11.29_follies_holiday_news.doc

Multi-Talented Star Returns To Open Follies Season

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:00:00 -0700

John Davidson Has Shone in Nightclubs, Film, Television and Broadway

Palm Springs, California (October 24, 2011) The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies opens its all-new show entitled Hot! Hot! Hot! on November 1, guest starring an unrivaled audience favorite. When it comes to all-star entertainment, you name it, John Davidson has done it! We all know him as the host of such iconic televisions shows as Hollywood Squares and That's Incredible!, but his show business career actually began 47 years ago. Fresh with a drama degree, he immediately landed on Broadway, co-starring in the musical Foxy, opposite the legendary Bert Lahr.

From there the credits for the everlastingly youthful singer and actor multiplied exponentially.

Theater: Lead in Broadway revival of Oklahoma; lead in Rodgers and Hammerstein's original State Fair; lead in regional and national productions of such hits as The Music Man, Camelot, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, Chicago, Neil Simon's Rumors, and Will Rogers Follies; and his very own theater for three years in Branson, Missouri.

Movies: Starring or supporting roles in The Happiest Millionaire, Edward Scissorhands, Airport '79, and others.

Television: Two years as host of The John Davidson Show; 80 appearances on The Tonight Show -- the only singer to achieve that milestone; regular host of The Kraft Music Halland The $100,000 Pyramid; even a dramatic role on The Streets of San Francisco. And that's not all.

Nightclubs: Introduced to Las Vegas audiences by Jack Benny in 1966, Davidson has headlined at the Las Vegas Hilton, the MGM Grand, Caesar's Palace, the Riviera, the Desert Inn, the Golden Nugget and Harrah's.

In recent years he has written and starred in his autobiographical play, Father/Son (& Holy Ghost), derived from his experiences growing up as the offspring of two ordained American Baptist ministers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A smash hit with Follies audiences three years ago, Davidson returns to headline the Follies' holiday show, aglow with the fervor to please an audience with which the 70-year-old veteran star can identify.

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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of Mid-Century America with a cast ranging in age from 58 to 82 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers, and plays five days a week November through late-May. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted old movie house and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2011.10.24_davidson_opens_follies_season.doc

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Themes Follies' All-New 21st Edition

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:00:00 -0700

Box Office Reopens September 26 for Upcoming Season

Palm Springs, California (September 15, 2011) Kicking off its extraordinary third decade on November 1, 2011 and playing through May 20, 2012, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates perpetual summer vacation with an all-new show entitled Hot! Hot! Hot! In preparation for the show's gala grand opening, theFollies Box Office reopens Monday, September 26.

In a city where the sun shines 12 months of the year, join the Follies cast in remembering your own endless summer holidays with a music and dance-filled journey through Mid-Century America … all performed by a cast definitely old enough to remember the way it really was!

Lavish production numbers, a star-spangled finale and, through December 31, a special Yuletide celebration all make this edition of the Follies the best ever!

Joining The Follies Man, his Legendary Line of Long-Legged Lovelies and the Follies Gentlemen are three world-renown guest stars and a remarkable variety act:

John Davidson (November 1 -- December 31, 2011) By popular demand, the Follies is happy to welcome back this multi-talented performer. He's the quintessential star of stage, screen and TV, including his own John Davidson Show, and the long-time host of The Hollywood Squares.

Maureen McGovern (January 5 -- March 10, 2012) This Grammy-nominated artist is making her long awaited Follies debut. Her first hit was "The Morning After", from the film The Poseidon Adventure, which earned an Oscar and a Gold Record.

The Diamonds (March 13 -- May 20, 2012) Their 1957 release of "Little Darlin'" became an instant million-seller, and was followed by "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" and the chart topping "The Stroll", which became a national dance craze on American Bandstand.

Brad Cummings & "Rex" (All Season) You won't want to miss the return engagement of Brad Cummings and his prehistoric sidekick, "Rex", the dinosaur. He may well be the best ventriloquist in show business today!

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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of Mid-Century America with a cast ranging in age from 57 to 82 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers. and plays five days a week November through late-May. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted old movie house and an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 beginning September 26 or online now at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2011.09.15_follies_box_office_opens_21st_season.doc

"Follies Forever" But Current Edition Ends May 15

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:00:00 -0700

Last Chance to See 20^th Anniversary Show

Palm Springs, California (April 27, 2011) After nearly 200 performances, the 20^th edition of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies comes to a close on Sunday, May 15. All season long, the Follies has celebrated its 20th anniversary -- dedicated to the proposition Follies Forever! -- with over four decades of America's favorite music and dance.

From Doo-Wop to Disco, it's been a fabulous party, but there's only a few performances remaining.

This is also the last opportunity to hear the legendary Four Preps perform their classic hits including 26 Miles (Santa Catalina), Big Man, Down By the Station and many more.

And concluding his debut Follies season is juggler extraordinaire Rejean St. Jules, who well may be the best juggler in show business today.

As always, lavish production numbers, and a star-spangled finale are all performed by a cast old enough to remember the way it really was!

Select seating is still available for Follies Forever!, but don't delay in securing favorite seats today.

In preparation for the Follies' all-new show opening November 1, 2011, auditions will be held in late May, and the cast returns in August to begin 10 weeks of rehearsals.

Ticket sales for the Follies' 21^st edition begin online July 11, and the Follies Box Office reopens September 26.

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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 81 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, early November through mid-May. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre--a neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2011.04.27_follies_20th_season.doc

Dancer Resumes Stage Career at 78

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:20:00 -0700

78-YEAR-OLD DANCER SAVED BY PALM SPRINGS FOLLIES
Hank Brunjes Re-Starts Performing Career After Retirement

Palm Springs, California (March 16, 2011) The first time he heard the symphonic-like score by Leonard Bernstein and saw Jerome Robbins' ballet-jazz fusion choreography, Hank Brunjes--one of the show's original cast members--knew that West Side Story was destined to become something special.

"On opening night, September 26, 1957, Leonard Bernstein, the great man himself, conducted. It was fantastic," says Brunjes, who is still dancing at age 78 in The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies.

More than half a century has passed since that Broadway opening, but for Brunjes, West Side Story is still as fresh as when he created the role of Diesel in that original production. Brunjes was also the understudy to Mickey Callan as Riff, the leader of the Jets and succeeded Callan in the role. And when "Cool," a big number, was performed on the televised Ed Sullivan Show, Hank played Riff--and got $400, he remembers--with Jerome Robbins directing the camera shots.

Original West Side Story Broadway Cast (Hank, third from right)

New York remains in his blood and in his brogue because Brunjes, who started tap dancing at the age of four, was literally born under the Brooklyn Bridge--the maternity ward of the hospital was located beneath the span's trusses. He started his Broadway career in Pal Joey, and during 30 years as an ensemble member, also had long runs in such hits as Mame, The Rothschilds, Chicago and Sugar Babies. Because of his height--he's over six feet--Brunjes danced with such tall and elegant leading ladies as Ann Miller and Angela Lansbury.

He was lured to the Follies in 2003 by Leila Burgess, the company dance manager. They had been students together at the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan, showcased in Fame. Eight years later, at the age of 78, Brunjes notes a difference in himself.

"I'm getting better and better," he says immodestly. "I'm losing weight (his contract calls for him to stay under 183 pounds). When I first came here, my cholesterol was 265. I had a test the other day, and it was 186. I'm starting to feel that I should be on stage more so than ever. You start to work your craft. We're doing nearly 190 shows a year. You start to get pretty good."

He also is getting more to do. Playing the drums has been his life-long fellow passion, and he gets to "beat the skins" on stage; he has a son, David Henry, who, he proclaims proudly, is the best professional drummer in Leicestershire, England.

Hank is unfazed doing a number in drag. "People tell me I have beautiful legs," he laughs, and recalls that the great Bob Fosse first put him in a dress for Chicago, in which he also came out in diapers for "Me and My Baby." He adds, "I don't care what I wear, if it's a great number."

And he revels in the camaraderie of the Follies. "It's a great feeling after the show," he elaborates, "to go out and shake hands with the folks from the audience because you feel like you're shaking hands with aunts and uncles, people you know. I was shaking hands with a lady 90 years old the other day, and she said, 'You know, I'd like to take you home with me.' Her daughter said, 'C'mon, Mom, that's enough.'

"These are some of the best years of my life. Between seasons, I go fishing in Canada and go back to New York and take some jazz classes. When you're performing, you're able to express yourself on stage, and that has a cleansing effect. If something bothers me, it comes through me and goes out."

And a svelte, upbeat Hank Brunjes dances blithely on.

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Links/URIs:

Hank Brunjes Media Profile & High Resolution Photos: http://www.psfollies.com/news/29/211/Brunjes/d,Cast-Media-Gentlemen/
View "Back From The Brink" a documentary short about Hank Brunjes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi1JEno0dPU
Hank Brunjes on the Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=77204
High School of Performing Arts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_of_Performing_Arts
Leila Burgess Media Profile: http://www.psfollies.com/news/30/212/Burgess/d,Cast-Media-Lovelies/
Download Broadcast Quality Follies' Season 20 Video: http://www.psfollies.com/press/video/
Follies' RSS Media Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/follies_pr

During its 20 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrated the music and dance of the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s with a cast ranging in age from 57 to 81 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week from late October through mid-May. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2011.03.16_brunjes_hank.doc

The Four Preps Debut at Plaza Theatre

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:00:00 -0800

"26 Miles (Santa Catalina)" Among Their Many Hits

Palm Springs, California (February 24, 2011) When no male students showed up to audition for Hollywood High School's 1955 fall talent show, the school bulletin pleaded for "any guys who can do anything." Bruce Belland and three of his campus buddies formed a quartet overnight (literally) and ended up stealing the show as The Four Preps. Those clean-cut California teenagers went on to record the songs that Dick Clark called "The Soundtrack of Our Lives." Now, over 50 years later, lead singer Belland along with Robert Duncan, Skip Taylor and Michael Redman bring their many memorable hits to the stage of the Historic Plaza Theatre from March 8 through May 15 to close the Follies' 20th anniversary season.

Shortly after their talent show debut, legendary Capitol Records Producer Voyle Gilmore–who had previously recorded such stars as Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and Louie Prima and Keely Smith–signed them to a long-term recording contract.

In 1958, the group recorded a song co-written by Belland, which Dick Clark claims was "the first surfer hit," and 26 Miles (Santa Catalina) became a million-seller. That same year, they appeared with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and others in an Emmy-winning TV special; filmed the movie Gidget with Sandra Dee; and were honored as "Newcomer of the Year" by Billboard Magazine.

The Preps' popularity led to frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and American Bandstand, concerts worldwide, and Billboard Magazine naming them "The Nation's Number One College Concert Attraction" for three consecutive years.

Their long string of chart-topping singles, all co-written by Belland, included Big Man, Down by the Station and Lazy Summer Night. Before disbanding in 1969, they amassed eight gold singles and three gold albums.

Then in 2004, PBS asked Belland to re-assemble The Four Preps for a star-studded musical special, The Magic Moments: The Best of '50s Pop and thus the legendary group was reborn.

The Four Preps continue to bring their fresh harmonies and irrepressible humor to fans throughout the U.S. and, now, to Follies audiences as well!

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During its 20 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrated the music and dance of the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 81 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week from late October through mid-May. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2011.02.24_four_preps_open_at_follies.doc

Recording Star Lesley Gore Debuts at Follies

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:08:06 -0800

The Little Lady with the Very Big Voice Wows Audiences

Palm Springs, California (December 13, 2010) In 1963, a 16-year-old high school junior recorded a song that instantly became the anthem for a generation of teenage girls. It's My Party was Lesley Gore's very first recording, and rocketed to the top of the charts, reaching #1, and selling over one million copies. On January 5, 2011, she makes her long-awaited Palm Springs Follies debut, playing through March 5, 2011.

Born in New York City in 1946 and raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, Gore was discovered by famed record producer Quincy Jones. Her first smash hit was quickly followed by a string of other Jones-produced chart-toppers, including That's the Way Boys Are, Maybe I Know, The Look of Love and Judy's Turn To Cry. Her proto-feminist anthem You Don't Own Me held the #2 spot on the charts for four weeks behind The Beatles' I Want To Hold Your Hand, and earned Gore her second Gold Record.

Gore headlined the 1964 concert film, The T.A.M.I. Show (Teen Awards Music International), along with James Brown, Chuck Berry, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and The Rolling Stones. Considered by some as one of the very best rock-and-roll movies ever made, it was filmed at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and played movie theaters nationwide.

Gore's Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, from the 1965 movie Ski Party, brought her a second Grammy nomination for Contemporary Rock and Roll female vocal performance.

Throughout the following decades Gore continued performing and song writing, including composing songs for the soundtrack of the 1980 film Fame. Gore received an Academy Award nomination for that film's Out Here on My Own, written with her brother. The song was a Top 20 hit for Irene Cara.

In 2005, the singer-songwriter recorded her first album of new material since 1976 entitled Ever Since. Songs from that album have been used in major television shows and films, including CSI:Miami, The L Word and Flannel Pajamas.

"You know what I say when people ask me what I've been doing for the past 30 years?" With a wry smile, she states, "Practicing." And when Lesley Gore steps onto the Plaza Theatre's stage, Follies audiences know it was time well spent--her powerful voice and catalogue of hit songs reflect the hard-won wisdom of time.

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During its 20 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrated the music and dance of the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 81 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week from late October through mid-May. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2010.12.13_lesley_gore_opens_at_follies.doc

Christmas in Folliesland

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:32:24 -0800

Annual Holiday Show Continues Through New Year's Eve

Palm Springs, California (November 22, 2010) From now through the last chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates the winter holidays like you've never seen it before!

The moment Follies audiences step into the lobby of the historic Plaza Theatre, they enter a child's Christmas-morning dream come true, complete with a lavish tree and exquisite ornaments inspired by Follies showgirls. The fun continues onstage where comic elements of the season like "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" and "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)," meet the more traditional, including a soaring medley of "Silent Night," "Ave Maria" and "O' Holy Night;" an audience sing-along; and a shimmering onstage snowfall. "Christmas In FolliesLand" is a wildly improbable treat for the eye, ear, heart and funny bone.

The Follies schedule includes up to seven shows a week until December 12. Then, after a 14-day Christmas hiatus, the Follies resumes on December 27 and continues daily through the final week of the year. On December 31, the Follies presents two very special New Year's Eve performances at 3:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., each with a glittering champagne reception. At the stroke of midnight (or "Rio de Janeiro midnight" for matinee-goers), the Follies Man and cast will join audiences with hats and noisemakers to welcome the New Year under a confetti shower.

As in previous seasons of giving, the Follies is again a drop-off location for the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Program. Through December 12, anyone in the vicinity during a performance may donate a new, unwrapped toy at the bin placed outside the theatre doors. Follies fans have made the Plaza Theatre always among the top donor sites for this most worthwhile annual toy drive benefiting needy children.

The Follies also makes holiday shopping easy with convenient gift certificates, redeemable for any performance, and a wide array of gift items at its online store at www.psfollies.com/store.

So if you are searching in vain for holiday spirit among the rush and crush of year-end obligations, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies offers you a haven of Christmas cheer and imagination.

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During its 20 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrated the music and dance of the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 81 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week from late October through mid-May. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES HOLIDAY PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT http://www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2010.11.23_follies_holiday_news.doc

The Crystals Open Follies' 20th Season

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:10:33 -0700

Renowned Girl Group Bring Hits to Plaza Theatre Stage

Palm Springs, California (October 13, 2010) The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates its 20th anniversary season with an all-new show entitled Follies Forever! The festivities begin on October 27 with legendary guest stars, The Crystals, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.

Making their Follies debut, The Crystals are acknowledged as one of the defining acts of the early-1960s girl group era and hold the notable distinction of having recorded two of the Top 50 most popular records in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

When legendary record producer Phil Spector first signed the group in 1961, not one was yet out of high school. Their first recording, "There's No Other (Like My Baby)," became an instant hit and catapulted them straight to the Apollo Theatre.

In 1962, Brill Building songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil's "Uptown" gave the girls their second radio hit. Ethnically flavored with flamenco guitar and castanets, this more up-tempo tune featured the girls once again emoting convincingly over a boy, though this time with class issues woven into the story.

"He's a Rebel" is perhaps The Crystals' best-remembered song and one of the most enduring of the girl group genre. It marked a shift in girl group thematic material, where the singer loves a "bad boy," a theme that would be amplified by later groups. It was also a #1 hit for them.

The group's next release was the classic "Da Doo Ron Ron," which even featured Cher on backup vocals long before she became a pop diva. The song was a Top 10 hit in both the U.S. and the U.K., as was their follow-up single "Then He Kissed Me."

The group disbanded in 1967, but reunited in 1971 and has been performing ever since. Scaling back from five members to three, the group is now comprised of Dee Dee Kenniebrew, who was there from the very first recording; Patricia Pritchett-Lewis; and Melissa Antoinette.

In addition to their catalogue of timeless melodies, they will also perform such Yuletide favorites as "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as an added fillip to this season’s holiday show, playing through December 31.The Follies is truly proud to present this classic act to inaugurate its spectacular 20th anniversary edition.

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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 81 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre, a charming, neon-encrusted old movie house and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 beginning Spetember 20 or online at www.psfollies.com now.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2010.10.18_crystals_open.doc

"Follies Forever!" Themes 20th Anniversary Edition

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:47:14 -0700

Box Office Opens September 20 For Upcoming Season

Palm Springs, California (September 7, 2010) This season, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates its extraordinary 20th anniversary with a show entitled Follies Forever!,playing October 27, 2010 through May 15, 2011.This all-new edition commemorates the Follies' two decades with over four decades of America's favorite music and dance. In preparation for the show's gala grand opening, theFollies Box Office opens Monday, September 20.

From Doo-Wop to Disco, the stage of The Historic Plaza Theatre this season truly will be The Land of A Thousand Dances.

As always, lavish production numbers, a holiday spectacular (through December 31), and a star-spangled finale are all performed by a cast old enough to remember the way it really was!

Joining the Follies Man and his Legendary Line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Follies Gentlemen are three world-renown guest stars and a remarkable variety act, all making their Follies debut:

The Crystals (October 27 – December 31, 2010) Singing their smash hits, including "Uptown," "He's A Rebel," "Then He Kissed Me," and "Da Doo Ron Ron."

Lesley Gore (January 5 – March 5, 2011) Remember "You Don't Own Me," "Judy's Turn to Cry," "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows," and, of course, "It's My Party."

The Four Preps (March 8 – May 15, 2011) Stroll down memory lane with "Big Man," "Lazy Summer Night," "Down By the Station," and their chart-topping "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)."

Rejean St. Jules (All Season) You won't want to miss juggler extraordinaire Rejean St. Jules, who'll be appearing all season. He well may be the best juggler in show business today.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2010.09.07_box_office_opens_20th_anniversary.doc

Follies' 19th Edition Nears Season Finale

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:25:39 -0700

Last Chance to See Original "Supreme" Mary Wilson

Palm Springs, California (April 26, 2010) After nearly 200 performances, the 19th edition of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies comes to a close on Sunday, May 16. All season long, the Follies has celebrated happy days with its newest production entitled Let The Good Times Roll!, featuring the greatest good time music of the '40s, '50s and '60s!

Just a few performances remain to hear such Golden Oldies as "Can't Buy Me Love," "My Girl," "Hound Dog," "Devil with the Blue Dress On" and dozens more! From Big Bands and Swing to Doo-Wop, Motown and Pop, this season's Follies has truly been the jukebox of our lives.

This is also the last opportunity to see "Dreamgirl" Mary Wilson perform the hits of the world's most famous female trio, The Supremes, plus other memorable classics.

And concluding his debut Follies' season is ventriloquist extraordinaire Brad Cummings and his prehistoric sidekick "Rex." Since opening day, Cummings has wowed Plaza Theatre audiences at every performance.

As always, lavish production numbers and a star-spangled finale are all performed by a cast old enough to remember the way it really was!

Select seating is still available for Let The Good Times Roll!, but don't delay in securing favorite seats today!

In preparation for the Follies' all-new show opening October 27, 2010, auditions will be held in late May, then the cast returns in August to begin 10 weeks of rehearsals.

Ticket sales for the Follies' 20th anniversary edition begin online mid-July, and the Follies Box Office reopens September 27.

###

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 86 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre-a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2010.04.26_follies_19th_season_finale.doc

"Dreamgirl" Mary Wilson Makes Follies Debut

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:39:00 -0700

Original Supreme Performs Classic Hits At Plaza Theater

Palm Springs, California (March 22, 2010) Visions of stardom danced in teenaged Mary Wilson's head, inspiring her to co-found, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, the most successful female singing trio in recording history - The Supremes. That was 1962. Now, 48 years later, Wilson makes her debut appearance with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, performing the hits of The Supremes plus other memorable classics, from March 30 to May 16, 2010.

Growing up in Detroit's Brewster Projects, Mary Wilson had long fantasized about being a performer, her love for singing having blossomed when she befriended Ross, Ballard and Betty McGlown at age 13. The quartet formed a singing group, The Primettes, and signed with the fledgling Motown label. When one dropped out, the trio became known as The Supremes.

At first success eluded them, then Motown founder Berry Gordy connected them with his top writing and producing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Twelve #1 hits followed, including five in a row - "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Come See About Me," "Stop, In The Name Of Love," and "Back in My Arms Again." With these hits, The Supremes set the precedent for super group success.

After Ballard and Ross left the group, Wilson kept the Supremes dream alive, and with Jean Terrell and Cindy Birdsong, the trio racked up three Top 10 hits, "Up The Ladder To The Roof," "Stoned Love" and "River Deep, Mountain High" (with The Four Tops). Her first solo album, Mary Wilson, was released in 1977 by Motown and yielded the dance hit, "Red Hot."

Their contribution to the music industry was recognized when The Supremes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, receiving the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, which Wilson personally accepted.

Wilson's autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, published in 1986, sold over 250,000 copies in hardback and was one of the most successful rock-and-roll autobiographies of all time.

Taking on the challenge of legitimate theater in 1988, Wilson debuted in Beehive, a musical tribute to the female groups of the '60s. She recently starred in a national tour of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, the celebrated tribute to the music of this legendary jazz great. Her television and film credits include ABC's Motown's 45th Anniversary Special and Miramax's Only The Strong Survive, a 2002 documentary that catches up with the soul music stars of the '60s and '70s.

Still living her dream at age 66, Mary Wilson shares her legendary hits with Plaza Theatre audiences to conclude the Palm Springs Follies' 19th season.

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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 86 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre—a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2010.03.22_dreamgirl_wilson_mary_follies_debut.doc

Two-Time Grammy Winner Makes Follies Debut

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:46:01 -0800

Rita Coolidge Lifts Plaza Theatre Audiences "Higher & Higher" With Billboard Hits

Palm Springs, California (January 27, 2010) One of the most masterful singers of the past 30 years is two-time Grammy Award-winner Rita Coolidge. In 1977, she topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher" and has continued charting hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts ever since. She now shares those hits in her debut appearance with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies from February 9 to March 27, 2010.

Born in 1945 in Lafayette, Tennessee, of Scottish and Cherokee Native American ancestry, she began her career as a highly in demand session vocalist for artists such as Delaney & Bonnie, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell.

Her first solo single was recorded in 1968, after former Elvis Presley chief aide and close friend Marty Lacker discovered her. Lacker produced Coolidge's "Turn Around and Love You", which became a regional hit in Los Angeles and the West Coast. She then worked with Leon Russell, and both became members of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour. Her performance of "Superstar" on the Mad Dogs and Englishmen album helped her gain national attention.

Coolidge became known as "The Delta Lady" and inspired Leon Russell to write a song of the same name for her. It was during this time that she met Kris Kristofferson while filming Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, in which she played Maria; the two married in 1973. With Kristofferson, she recorded several duet albums, two of which earned a Grammy.

Her most successful album, the platinum certified Anytime . . . Anywhere, spawned three Top 10 singles, including (the aforementioned) "Higher and Higher", "The Way You Do the Things You Do", and the gold certified, "We're All Alone."

She also found success vocalizing for movie soundtracks. In 1983, she recorded the song "All Time High" for the James Bond film Octopussy. The single was one of her two #1 hits and topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts. Coolidge also recorded the love theme from the movie Splash, "Love Came For Me."

In 1997, Coolidge formed Walela, a Native American recording trio, with sister Priscilla and niece Laura Satterfield. Walela means hummingbird in Cherokee. "In the Cherokee nation, women are revered as they age," says Coolidge. "I am in the middle of the process, and I'm trying to embrace it with grace and dignity."

And, along with her hit music, that's exactly what Rita Coolidge brings Follies audiences this season to the stage of The Historic Plaza Theatre.

###

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 86 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre—a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2010.01.27_rita_coolidge_follies_debut.doc

Four Aces Return to Follies by Popular Demand

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:22:42 -0800

Good Times Roll with Fifties Super-Group

Palm Springs, California (December 21, 2009) Half a century before teen girls went crazy for 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys, radio airways and record players were dominated by the close harmony and soaring melodies of golden-throated male vocal groups. By any measure, the most successful of these original "boy bands" are The Four Aces, who return to guest star at The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies from January 6 to February 6, 2010.

Like many groups in the early 1950s, The Four Aces began playing locally in the Philadelphia area. Unable to land a recording deal at first, they released their first record, "(It's No) Sin", themselves. When that debut sold more than a million copies, major label Decca Records signed the group in time to release its next platinum record, "Tell Me Why."

By 1958, The Four Aces had seen more than 30 of their records climb the Top-40 charts, and had earned widespread acclaim for their live performances. Among their best known hits were "Heart and Soul," "Perfidia," "Dream," "Mr. Sandman" and "Stranger in Paradise." But the group scored its biggest successes with the title tunes from a pair of hit movies: Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing and Three Coins in the Fountain. Each theme song shot to #1 on the Billboard charts, won the Academy Award for Best Song for its year and became an international standard.

Since the 1960s, the group has continued to perform and their recordings remain perennial favorites on radio and compact discs. The Four Aces include Fred Diodati, 79, the group's senior member and lead singer; Joe Giglio, 69, high-tenor; Danny Colingo, 65, baritone; and Harry Heisler, 64, bass. Heisler also serves as the quartet's musical conductor.

One of the last "super groups" of the pre-rock 'n' roll era, The Four Aces never abandoned the loving interpretation of well-crafted songs that made them stars and typified mid-20th century pop. Their importance in music history and their enduring popularity with audiences of all ages guarantee a "good time" as they headline the Follies' 19th edition, Let The Good Times Roll!

###

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 86 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre—a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2009.12.21_four_aces_return_to_follies.doc

Christmas in Folliesland = Double the Fun

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:25:28 -0800

Guest Star Susan Anton Adds Holiday Cheer to Follies' Yuletide Production

Palm Springs, California (November 11, 2009) A Jewish snowman? Tiny, manic Santas who sing like chipmunks? A 90-proof grandma looking for Santa to "shake, not stir"? It may not be your notion of traditional holiday fare, but in Folliesland, anything's possible! From now through the last chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates the winter holidays like you've never seen it before!

The moment Follies audiences step into the lobby of the historic Plaza Theatre, they enter a child's Christmas-morning dream come true, complete with a lavish tree and exquisite ornaments inspired by Follies showgirls. The fun continues onstage where comic elements of the season meet the more traditional including a soaring rendition of "O Holy Night;" an audience sing-along; and a shimmering onstage snowfall. "Christmas In Folliesland" is a wildly improbable treat for the eye, ear, heart and funny bone.

And, for the first time ever, a Follies guest star has brought her own Christmas show to the Plaza Theatre thus doubling the Follies' holiday offering. From "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" to such classics as "Count Your Blessings" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", Susan Anton delivers this season's Follies' promise (as well as show title) to Let The Good Times Roll!

The evening performance on December 2 is the annual visit by spouses of deployed Marines from nearby Twenty-nine Palms as part of the base's "Operation Enduring Families" program. For the past six years, Marine spouses have enjoyed a complimentary performance of the Fabulous Follies and a special introduction by Follies Man Riff Markowitz to an always-cheering audience.

The Follies schedule includes up to seven shows a week until December 13. Then, after a 13-day Christmas hiatus, the Follies resumes on December 27 and continues daily through the final week of the year. On December 31, the Follies presents two very special New Year's Eve performances at 3:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., each with a glittering champagne reception. At the stroke of midnight (or "Rio de Janeiro midnight" for matinee-goers), the Follies Man and cast will join audiences with party hats and noisemakers to welcome the New Year under a shower of confetti.

As in previous seasons of giving, the Follies is again a drop-off location for the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Program. Through December 13, anyone in the vicinity during a performance may donate a new, unwrapped toy at the bin placed outside the theatre doors. Follies fans have made the Plaza Theatre always among the top donor sites for this most worthwhile annual toy drive benefiting needy children.

The Follies also makes holiday shopping easy with convenient gift certificates, redeemable for any performance, and a wide array of gift items at its online store at www.psfollies.com/store including Susan Anton's first-ever holiday CD and the just-released CD "Great Moments at the Follies, Volume 2."

So if you are searching in vain for holiday spirit among the rush and crush of year-end obligations, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies offers you a haven of Christmas cheer and imagination.

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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 86 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre; a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Contact Information:
Greg Purdy, Media Relations
Phone (not for publication): 760-864-6516
Address (not for publication): 125 E. Tahquitz Cyn. Way, Ste. 209, Palm Springs, CA 92262
E-Mail: media@psfollies.com
Media Site: www.palmspringsfollies.com/media/

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Susan Anton "Lets The Good Times Roll" at Follies

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:13:47 -0700

Multi-Talented Star Performs Music of the Holidays for Encore Engagement

Palm Springs, California (October 15, 2009) Every year, The Fabulous Palms Springs Follies kicks off its all-new show with a spectacular holiday segment. But this season, the festivities also include sensational guest star Susan Anton. Beginning October 28, the gorgeous Anton returns to the Plaza Theatre stage with her very special tribute to the holiday season — with songs both traditional and contemporary. From "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" to such classics as "Count Your Blessings" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", Anton delivers this season's Follies promise (as well as show title) to Let The Good Times Roll!

The long-stemmed 5'11^1/2" beauty is from apple-growing country east of Yucaipa, half an hour from Palm Springs — Oak Glen is her hometown — which virtually makes her a local celebrity. Born in 1950, she was a Miss California (1969) and second place runner-up in the 1970 Miss America pageant, but quickly established herself professionally in the Broadway-Las Vegas-Hollywood orbit as a multi-talented theatrical, TV and silver screen personality.

Her very first recording single, Killing Time, hit the Top 10 on the country music charts. Her mega-hit album, Foxy, earned her a Gold Record in Japan.

However, the music has always been augmented by her striking looks and vibrant personality. She co-starred in the original Broadway cast of Tommy Tune's Tony-Award winning musical, The Will Rogers Follies. Before that, she had done a straight dramatic role on the Great White Way in Hurlyburly, David Rabe's Pulitzer Prize-winning play directed by Mike Nichols. This versatility has been omnipresent in a long career covering hundreds of roles in television and movies.

She received a Golden Globe nomination as best new female star for the film, Goldengirl, and co-starred in the Las Vegas production of the Broadway musical, Hairspray, opposite Harvey Fierstein. Other notable credits include playing the part of Susan Williams in Stop Susan Williams episodes of the NBC serial-series, The Cliffhangers; two seasons as a regular on the TV series Baywatch; starring in her own NBC-TV variety show, Presenting Susan Anton; working with country great Mel Tillis in a television special, Mel and Susan Together; and touring with the Rockettes for seven years in the Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular.

Earlier sightings included a hitch as the provocative centerpiece in quirky ads for Muriel's Cigar, but it's on center stage that Susan Ellen Anton has the greatest impact on Follies patrons where she guest stars through December 31.

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The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 86 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house, which is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2009.10.15_susan_anton_at_the_follies.doc

"Let The Good Times Roll" At Follies' All-New Show

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:26:07 -0700

Box Office Opens September 21 for 40s, 50s and 60s Musical Celebration

Palm Springs, California (September 9, 2009) The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates happy days with its newest edition entitled Let The Good Times Roll! opening October 28, 2009, and playing through May 16, 2010. In preparation for the show's 19th season gala opening, the Follies Box Office opens Monday, September 21.

All season long, the Follies brings back the greatest good-time music of the '40s, '50s and '60s. From Big Bands and Swing to Doo-Wop, Motown and Pop, we played these songs on the jukebox, listened to them on our Hi-Fi's, and watched them performed on TV, always in glorious black-and-white.

As always, lavish production numbers, a holiday spectacular (through December 31) and a star-spangled finale are all performed by a cast old enough to remember the way it really was!

Joining the Follies Man and his Legendary Line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Dapper Dans this season are four world-renowned guest stars and a remarkable variety act making his Follies debut:

Susan Anton (October 28 - December 31, 2009) This talented beauty achieved stardom in film, TV, Las Vegas and Broadway, and now returns to the Follies' stage for an encore engagement with a truly delightful Christmas performance.

The Four Aces (January 6 - February 6, 2010) This iconic male quartet of the 1950s will perform their many hit recordings, including "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing," "Stranger In Paradise" and "Three Coins in the Fountain."

Rita Coolidge (February 9 - March 27, 2010) You'll remember her first hit, "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher," which topped the charts in 1977, and we've loved her ever since.

Mary Wilson (March 30 - May 16, 2010) She made history as an original Supreme and will perform the hits of the world's most famous Motown trio. Do you recall "Stop in the Name of Love"?

Brad Cummings & "Rex" (All Season) You won't want to miss Brad Cummings and his prehistoric sidekick, "Rex" the dinosaur. Cummings may well be the best ventriloquist in show business today!

###

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the 40s, 50s and 60s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 86 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs’ historic Plaza Theatre - a charming, neon-encrusted old movie house and an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 beginning September 21 or online at www.psfollies.com now.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media/

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2009.09.09_follies_box_office_opens_19th_season.doc

Follies' 18th Edition Nears Season Finale

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:06:47 -0700

Last Chance to See Guest Stars John Davidson and Susan Anton

Palm Springs, California (April 28, 2009) This is the year when historic Route 66 made a one-time-only detour through Palm Springs, California, but only until May 17. This date marks the conclusion of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies' 18th spectacular edition entitled Get Your Kicks! — a musical celebration of the legend and lore of America's Mother Road.

"This season's Follies has clearly struck a chord with a surprising number of people, young and old," says Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz. "Without a doubt, Route 66 is a major touchstone of the American Experience. The memories it evokes and the feelings it conjures is true Americana . . . it is after all the Main Street of America."

In addition to "traveling" America's heartland, theatergoers still have time to see first-ever Follies guest star John Davidson, through May 9, and as an added fillip for the Follies' closing week, a return engagement by the dazzling Susan Anton, but only from May 13 — 17.

Rounding out the Follies' 18th season bill are Irina Markova and her Russian poodles and, for the last time on any stage before his retirement, ventriloquist extraordinaire Sammy King and his feathered side-kick "Francisco."

Select seating is still available for Get Your Kicks!, but don't delay in securing favorite seats today!

In preparation for the Follies' all-new show opening October 28, 2009, auditions will be held in late May and, in August, the cast returns to begin 10 weeks of rehearsals.

Ticket sales for the Follies' all-new 19th edition begin online mid-July, and the Follies Box Office re-opens September 28.

###

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 55 to 85 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through May 17. In 1998, it was the subject of an Academy Award-nominated short-subject documentary. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house–and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media/

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2009.04.29.follies_18th_season_finale.doc

Dancer Turned Hotel Owner Returns to Dance at Age 55

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:55:14 -0700

DANCER TURNED HOTEL OWNER RETURNS TO DANCE CAREER AT AGE 55

Former Las Vegas Dancer Is Now "The Kid" in The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies

Palm Springs, California (March 25, 2009) John Kendrick, called "The Kid" by director Riff Markowitz, waited 18 years to fulfill a long-nurtured dream to dance and sing in The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. He joined the show this season as a member of the male chorus at the age of 55.

"This," he says, "is the only place you can be young at 55. Anywhere else I'm an old guy. Invisible to the young people around you."

He had come to Palm Springs two decades ago after a dozen years as a dancer and singer in the Lido de Paris show, where he became the line captain, at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. He performed with the Las Vegas City Ballet and local opera companies. John and his life partner, Carter Poust, also a Lido singer and dancer, were in their late 30's, full of angst about their futures as performers.

Completely inexperienced, they bought a nine-room bed-and-breakfast inn near downtown Palm Springs, acquired contiguous property, expanded eventually to a 31-room hotel called Inn Exile, catering to gay clientele. As a hotelier, Kendrick was a member of the Palm Springs Hospitality Association, where he met Mary Jardin and Riff Markowitz, who were putting together this "Over 55" vaudeville revival in the Plaza Theatre. Over the years, John attended at least 10 Follies performances "that was great for those old people. Then as I got closer to 55, I was just obsessed – 'I want to be in that show!'"

But the still youthful looking Kendrick had been completely inactive in ballet or theater, was not in dance shape, had done no stretching for 15 years. "I'd see Mary on and off," he recalls, "and she told me when I was ready to give them a call. I worked my butt off. I did karaoke every now and then." And in 2008 he passed the auditions.

"I was so elated," he says. "It was just where I was meant to be in my life. It was where my happiness started, in dance and being on stage."

He grew up in Binghamton, N.Y., where his father, a would-be magician, worked carnivals on the side. His mother was the "front" for the strippers' booth. "I was a little kid and slept with the dogs in the car out back," he grins. John became an equestrian but developed an allergy to horses and switched to local theater. "To get the part," he notes, "you had to know how to dance." So he took tap lessons, and that led to ballet and jazz. He won a Mr. New York talent contest and, at 24, packed all his belongings into his "blue Impala with a white top" and drove to Las Vegas, cased the shows, called the Stardust for an interview and started his professional career.

His parents moved to Las Vegas into a house next door to John and Carter. "Five years after they moved in," he recounts, "my mother asked me if I was gay. It took her five years to ask. I told her, 'Yes.' It was extremely traumatic. She was crying and all. I said, 'Mom, do you really not want to have Carter in our lives?'" His voice goes to a barely audible tone. "'No,' she says. 'It's OK.'

"My parents, both passed, would have loved this show, the Follies."

He especially revels in his relationship with boss Riff Markowitz, a formal man: "The greatest compliment, and I don't really understand why, is when he calls me 'John.' It's 'Mr. This' or 'Mr. That' to everybody else. He calls me 'The Kid,' too." Kendrick is the ingénue in an ensemble where he's the youngest and the ages stretch to 85.

For change of pace offstage, he indulges in such challenging pursuits as roller- coaster racing against 20-year-olds at Magic Mountain. roller-blading and zip-lining on a wire through the woods. "I do things," he explains, "to awaken my fears. I'm extremely shy, believe it or not. The Follies is my ultimate, satisfying gig."

###

Links/URIs:

John Kendrick Media Profile & High Resolution Photos: http://www.psfollies.com/Kendrick/
Download Broadcast Quality Follies' Season 18 Video: http://www.psfollies.com/press/video/
Follies' RSS Media Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/follies_pr

During its 18 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '40s, '50s and '60s with a cast ranging in age from 55 to 85 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week from late October through May 17. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house–and is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

Download this press release in Microsoft Word format: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2009.03.25_kendrick_john.doc

Multi-Talented John Davidson Makes Follies Debut

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:42:47 -0800

MULTI-TALENTED JOHN DAVIDSON MAKES FOLLIES DEBUT

Handsome Crooner Has Shone in Nightclubs, Film, Television and Broadway

Palm Springs, California (February 23, 2009) When it comes to show-stopping entertainment, you name it, John Davidson has done it! And the "it" is just what audiences will see when this multi-talented dynamo debuts at The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies on March 10, 2009, playing through May 9.

Starting out 44 years ago, fresh from a degree in Theater Arts at Denison University, Davidson co-starred in the Broadway show, Foxy, opposite the legendary Bert Lahr.

From there the credits for the everlastingly youthful singer and actor multiply exponentially.

Theater: Lead in Broadway revival of Oklahoma; lead in Rodgers & Hammerstein's original State Fair; lead in regional and national productions of such hits as The Music Man, Camelot, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, Chicago, Neil Simon's Rumors, Will Rogers Follies; his very own theater for three years in Branson, Missouri.

Movies: Starring or supporting roles in The Happiest Millionaire, Edward Scissorhands, Airport 80 and others.

Television: Three years as host of Hollywood Squares; The John Davidson Show for two years; 80 appearances on The Tonight Show – the only singer to achieve that milestone; regular host of The Kraft Music Hall, That's Incredible! and The $100,000 Pyramid; even a dramatic role on Streets of San Francisco. And that's not all.

Nightclubs: Introduced to Las Vegas audiences by Jack Benny in 1966, he has headlined at the Las Vegas Hilton, the MGM Grand, Caesar's Palace, the Riviera, the Desert Inn, the Golden Nugget and Harrah's.

In recent years he has written and starred in his autobiographical musical, Father/Son (& Holy Ghost), derived from growing up as the offspring of two ordained American Baptist ministers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Davidson and his wife Rhonda, whom he met in Branson while she was singing with Vicki Carr, even found the time to create a popular game, Borderline, that educates children in world geography.

He has three achieving children in John, Jr., a business consultant; Jennifer, a professional ice skater; and Ashleigh, who appeared with her father on the national tour of State Fair and, while still a high school honors student, has her sights on a career in the arts.

Through it all the Big Smile of Papa has dominated. You don't think of handsome, mop-haired John Davidson without envisioning the beaming countenance that exudes natural exuberance to frame his unique singing and performing talent. He comes to The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies as the celebrity guest for the spring run, aglow with the fervor to please an audience with which the 67-year-old veteran star can identify.

###

Contact Information:
Greg Purdy, Media Relations
760-778-7654 (not for publication)
125 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Ste. 209, Palm Springs, CA 92262
media@psfollies.com
Media Site: http://www.psfollies.com/media/

"Word" Document of Press Release: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2009.02.23_davidson_john.doc

World's Oldest Showgirl in 2009 Guinness Record Book

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:44:32 -0800

WORLD'S OLDEST SHOWGIRL IN 2009 GUINNESS RECORD BOOK
Dorothy Dale Kloss, Age 85, Now in Her 14th Season of Fabulous Palm Springs Follies

Palm Springs, California (February 4, 2009) Physical allure, vitality, and advancing age can co-exist! For proof of this claim, you need look no further than The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies and Dorothy Dale Kloss, an 85-year-old sensation of youth and energy. She has been tap dancing on the Follies' stage for 14 years with the skill and electricity of someone a quarter her age—continuing a dance career that began decades ago, in the 1930s.

Her legendary status is confirmed on page 90 of the just published Guinness World Records 2009 edition, where she is shown in full showgirl plumage and is designated as the "world's oldest still performing showgirl."

Little Dorothy Hunn (her maiden name) was already dancing when Calvin W. Coolidge was president of the United States, took lessons at three, taught the legendary Bob Fosse to tap dance when she was a teenage prodigy, and emerged at the famed Empire Room of the Palmer House in Chicago as, Dorothy Dale, a show business headliner at 15!

She was paid $35 for the first week, bought a dress for her mother, and still has the cancelled check as a souvenir. Dorothy went on to become a featured act with the touring Eddie Duchin Orchestra and appeared with other notables of the Big Band era such as Ray Noble, Skinnay Ennis and Shep Fields, as well as working with renowned comedian Cantinflas in Mexico City in the Folies Bergere.

In the early days of television, she was the first tap dancer ever to appear on the tube and had her own show at WBKB in hometown Chicago. She married and raised one son, and taught dance at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Domesticity then took her to Florida and California and even a five-year stint as director of guest services on the Queen Mary, moored in Long Beach. But she also retained her ties with dance by running her own studios, and one of her students in Pasadena suggested in 1994 that she return to performing, in the Follies. An audition tape was sent to Palm Springs, and Leila Burgess, the company dance manager, proclaimed, "Now that's a great dancer." At 71, Dorothy Dale Kloss had a new career.

Just half a dozen years earlier, she had overcome a bout with colon cancer. When the doctor started to warn her, "Now, Dorothy, in five years . . . ," she answered, "I don't want to hear about that, about how long I've got. Don't tell me. When the time comes, that's it." That has remained her philosophy: "I just never thought about it any more." And she has sailed blithely through her senior years, with a perky, positive attitude.

Ask her if her feet and body ache after a performance, one of nine weekly, and she replies jauntily (and apocryphally), "No, I just soak them in vodka."

She revels in being a silver-blonde 5 foot 5^1/2 inch "Long-Legged Lovely."

"The advantage of being in the Follies," Dorothy says, "is that when I get up in the morning, I know where I'm at, what I'm going to do the rest of the day."

Adversity doesn't faze her. A year ago, she was doing a back step during her tap solo in the show when her heel caught in an elevator slot on stage and she fell flat on her posterior. Wayne Albritton, a fellow dancer, picked her up, still dazed. She recalls, "Joni Naber, another of our dancers, who's so cute, looked over and barked, 'Hands up, Dorothy!' It got me back on track, and I finished the number."

According to Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz, "If the rest of my Long-Legged Lovelies are impressive—and indeed they are—Miss Kloss is nothing less than a Force of Nature! She is just like us, except she is also a miracle."

Dorothy's favorite song, she says with a wink, is "When My Old Wedding Ring Was New."

But more meaningful is the quote first uttered appropriately enough in Follies, Steven Sondheim's Broadway hit, that has become the mantra of Dorothy Dale Kloss, octogenarian hoofer:

"Good times and bum times, I've seen them all and, my dear, I'm still here."

###

Links/URLs:

Dorothy Dale Kloss Media Profile & High Resolution Photos: http://www.psfollies.com/Kloss/
Follies Season 18 Video with Dorothy Kloss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjRQQ3lHiM
Download Broadcast Quality Follies' Season 18 Video with Dorothy Kloss: http://www.psfollies.com/press/video/
Follies' RSS Media Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/follies_pr
Riff Markowitz Interviews Dorothy Dale Kloss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRI2L6KOIu0
Bob Fosse on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fosse
Palmer House on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_House
Eddie Duchin on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Duchin
"Dorothy Kloss Day" on CBS2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYA-UeaCqcU
Dorothy on The Today Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ijYBv9T_Cw
Dorothy on NTV (Russian TV): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QcnQei6dio&feature=PlayList&p=A317CEFF9DD2B2C2&playnext=1&index=2
Dorothy on CBS2 for Tin Pan Alley Follies Edition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFg9tpU6Uhw
Dorothy on CBS2 with Sammy King: http://www.psfollies.com/kloss-king/
Dorothy in Reminisce Magazine: http://www.psfollies.com/kloss-reminisce/
Dorothy at the Indian Wells Center for Healthy Living at Eisenhower: http://www.psfollies.com/kloss-healthy-living/
Dorothy on Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141856/
Riff Markowitz Profile: http://www.psfollies.com/markowitz/

During its 18 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '30s, '40s and '50s with a cast ranging in age from 55 to 85 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week from late October through May 17. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house–and is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

"Word" Document of Press Release: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2009.02.04_kloss_dorothy_2009_guinness.doc

Long-Legged Lovely Shines From Broadway to Las Vegas to Hollywood

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:27:30 -0800

MULTI-TALENTED SUSAN ANTON MAKES FOLLIES DEBUT
Long-Legged Lovely Shines From Broadway to Las Vegas to Hollywood

Palm Springs, California (December 30, 2008) Long-Legged Lovely becomes a singular attraction with the appearance of Susan Anton on center stage as guest star of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies from January 7 — March 7, and then again, May 13-17.

The long-stemmed 5'11½" beauty is from apple-growing country east of Yucaipa, half an hour from Palm Springs — Oak Glen is her hometown — which virtually makes her a local celebrity. Born in 1950, she was a Miss California (1969) and second place runner-up in the 1970 Miss America pageant, but quickly established herself professionally in the Broadway-Las Vegas-Hollywood orbit as a multi-talented theatrical, TV and silver screen personality.

Anton always was an eye-catcher, but the blonde-maned, elegant California Girl mastered pleasing the ear to enhance her image as an entertainer for more than three decades. Her very first recording single, Killin' Time, hit the Top 10 on the country music charts. Her mega-hit album, Foxy, earned her a Gold Record in Japan.

She received a Golden Globe nomination as best new female star for the film, Goldengirl, and co-starred in the Las Vegas production of the Broadway musical, Hairspray, opposite Harvey Fierstein. Other notable credits include playing the part of Susan Williams in Stop Susan Williams episodes of the NBC serial-series, The Cliffhangers; two seasons as a regular on the TV series Baywatch; starring in her own NBC-TV variety show, Presenting Susan Anton; working with country great Mel Tillis in a television special, Mel and Susan Together; and touring with the Rockettes for seven years in the Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular.

Earlier Anton sightings included a hitch as the provocative centerpiece in quirky ads for Muriel's Cigars. In 1992, she married actor/director Jeff Lester. Through their own production company, Big Picture Studios, Anton has been the executive producer of an award-winning short film, The Last Real Cowboys, starring Billy Bob Thornton, and a short documentary, Speed of Life.

But it's on center stage that Susan Ellen Anton has the greatest impact on Follies patrons.
###
The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s with a cast ranging in age from 55 to 85 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through May 17. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house–and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

"Word" Document of Press Release: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2008.12.30_susan_anton_debuts_at_follies.doc

Broadway, Television Dancer Still Hoofing at Palm Springs Follies

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:32:38 -0800

FEATURE RELEASE

BROADWAY, TELEVISION DANCER STILL HOOFING AT PALM SPRINGS FOLLIES
Leonard Crofoot, Age 60, Looks Back At Diverse Career

Palm Springs, California (December 17, 2008) It's difficult to reconcile the Leonard John Crofoot cavorting spryly on a stage matinees and evenings, executing pas de deux and acrobatic leaps, with the youngster once confined to a wheelchair in Lawndale, Calif., for three years, unable to walk.

To recover from hip perthes, a joint ailment that afflicted his frail legs at the age of 4, little Leonard turned to ballet lessons at 7 for recuperative exercise. Now the diminutive Crofoot, 60, has capped a long career in dance and show business with his energetic performances in the Palm Springs Follies.

He joined the cast three seasons ago because, simply, "I was looking for work. Randy Doney (a 10-year Follies cast member) called and asked if I was available? I didn't have to audition. I sent them a Nijinsky promo tape."

Doney had seen Nijinsky Speaks, the one-man show that Crofoot created on the fabled Russian ballet dancer and took on tour for nine years. He already had compiled an impressive curriculum vitae that started with the Kirov Ballet at 12, emulating a grasshopper; that flourished with his first Broadway show, The Happy Time, in which he auditioned for Gower Champion by singing "Happy Birthday" and then wowing him with "Yankee Doodle Dandy"; that peaked with his signature role as Gen. Tom Thumb in the original cast of Barnum, a long-running hit.

His vocal rendition of "Bigger Isn't Better" as Tom Thumb in Barnum can be heard on a popular CD of musical highlights called "Broadway Scene Stealers." (A young John Travolta in Over Here! is on the same disc.)

Crofoot was on the Great White Way from 1967 to 1985, adding Gigi to his musical show repertoire. He moved on the next year to television, playing diverse roles in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and one of Star Trek: Voyager. He is pictured here in the season one episode "Angel One" as the character "Trent". He also ventured into film roles.

But terpsichore remained his wellspring, and Leonard is featured as one of 40 notable dancers, ranging from classicists Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova to Broadway's Joel Grey and Chita Rivera, who were photographed and interviewed in depth for the recently published book, Dancer Within, by Rose Eichenbaum.

At 5 feet 4 inches and 141 pounds, Crofoot is a clone in size for the great Nijinsky and was once likened by Sir Anton Dolin, a contemporary of the Russian dancer, to a young version of the ballet immortal. He even has the same high cheekbones, derived from his part-Sioux heritage – his father once lived on a Sioux Nation reservation in South Dakota.

His wife, Robin Palanker, is a visual artist who works in oils and also teaches in a program at the University of Southern California. They have been married 19 years. She suggested the show on Nijinsky, whose total immersion in dance ultimately drove him to insanity, because Leonard had the same obsession for performing. And the same anxieties. He used to throw up regularly before the curtain was raised.

"Every show for me has a personal and sensitive life of its own," he says. "I'm in an altered state."

He brings the same passion to his varied turns on the Follies stage, where he is easily singled out as the smallest song-and-dance man. "Mr. (Riff) Markowitz (the show's director) wishes I were two inches taller," says Crowfoot with a twinkle. "But it's been a plus for me. I'm having a great time. What surprises me is that everybody (in the geriatric cast) is still dancing and doing what they're doing."

And quite well as senior citizens.

###

Links/URLs:

Crofoot Profile: http://www.psfollies.com/news/41/138/Crofoot/d,Cast/
Follies on My Space: http://www.myspace.com/thefabulouspalmspringsfollies
Follies on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palm-Springs-CA/The-Fabulous-Palm-Springs-Follies/10251713606
Follies on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/psfollies/collections/
Follies on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/psfollies
Leonard Crofoot on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Crofoot
Randy Doney Profile: http://www.psfollies.com/news/31/138/Doney/d,Cast/
Nijinsky Speaks: http://www.nijinskyspeaks.com/
Broadway Scene Stealers: http://www.amazon.com/Broadway-Scene-Stealers-Ben-Wright/dp/B000NJISHK/ref=pd_bxgy_m_img_b
Crofoot on the Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=95494
Crofoot on the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0188447/
The Dancer Within on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Dancer-Within-Intimate-Conversations-Dancers/dp/0819568805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228195263&sr=1-1
The Dancer Within excerpt: http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/images/cast/crofoot/crofoot_leonard_dancer_within_excerpt.pdf
Riff Markowitz Profile: http://www.psfollies.com/markowitz/
Crofoot “Yankee Doodle Dandy” Video: http://www.psfollies.com/news/41/138/Crofoot/d,Cast/
Crofoot Star Trek Profile: http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Leonard_Crofoot

"Word" Document of Press Release:
http://www.psfollies.com/uploads/multimedia/pr/docs/2008.12_crofoot_leonard_still_hoofing.doc

CHRISTMAS IN FOLLIESLAND | Annual Holiday Show Continues Through New Year's Eve

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Palm Springs, California (November 12, 2008) A dancing polar bear singing "Hanukah in Santa Monica"? A guitar-strumming Santa doing "Santa Drives A Hot Rod" and stripping for a gaggle of admiring Mrs. Clauses? It may not be your notion of traditional holiday fare, but in Folliesland, anything is possible! From now through the last chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates the Winter Holidays with its musical-spectacular salute to the Season.

The moment Follies audiences step into the lobby of the historic Plaza Theatre, they enter a child's Christmas-morning dream come true, complete with a lavish tree and exquisite ornaments inspired by Follies showgirls. The fun continues onstage where comic elements of the season meet more inspirational aspects such as traditional carols — including a soaring rendition of "O Holy Night," an audience sing-along and a shimmering onstage snowfall. "Christmas In Folliesland" is a wildly improbable treat for the eye, ear, heart and funny bone. And all in one show with the Follies' ongoing salute to Route 66 and current guest star, the incomparable Freda Payne.

The evening performance on December 3 is the annual visit by spouses of deployed Marines from nearby Twentynine Palms as part of the base's "Operation Enduring Families" program. For the past six years, the Marine spouses have enjoyed a complimentary performance of the Fabulous Follies and a special introduction by Follies Man Riff Markowitz to an always-cheering audience.

The Follies schedule includes up to seven shows a week until December 14. Then, after a 12-day Christmas hiatus, the Follies resumes on December 27 and continues daily through the final week of the year. On December 31, the Follies presents two very special New Year's Eve performances at 3:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., each with a glittering champagne reception. At the stroke of midnight (or "Rio de Janeiro midnight" for matinee-goers), the Follies Man and cast will join audiences with party hats and noisemakers to welcome the New Year under a shower of confetti.

As in previous seasons of giving, the Follies is again a drop-off location for the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots Program. Through December 14, anyone in the vicinity of the Plaza Theatre during a performance may donate a new, unwrapped gift at the bin placed outside the theatre doors. The Follies is always among the top donor sites for this most worthwhile annual toy drive benefiting needy children.

The Follies also makes holiday shopping easy with convenient gift certificates, redeemable for any performance through May 17, 2009, and an array of gift items at its online store at www.psfollies.com. Particularly popular at this time of year are the unique ornamental figures that adorn the Follies' lobby Christmas tree. Created by famed New York doll and puppet designer, Van Craig, these "flapper" and "dapper" figures recall the splendor of the 1920s and turn any tree or collector's display case into an Art Deco wonderland.

So if you are searching in vain for holiday spirit among the rush and crush of year-end obligations, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies offers you a haven of Christmas cheer and imagination.

###
During its 18 seasons, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the '30s, '40s and '50s with a cast ranging in age from 55 to 85 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week from late October through May 17. In 1997, it was the subject of an Oscar-nominated short documentary entitled Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The show is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house–and is an attraction itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.
_____________________________________________________________________________
NOTE TO EDITORS: B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES HOLIDAY PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT http://www.psfollies.com/media

"Band of Gold" Freda Payne Opens Follies 18th Season

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0700

"Band of Gold" Freda Payne Opens Follies 18th Season
Internationally-Acclaimed Chanteuse Makes Plaza Theatre Stage Debut

Palm Springs, California (October 14, 2008) A "Band of Gold" is wrapped around the jazz-inspired melodious strains of Freda Payne's distinctive voice guaranteeing a gilt-edged October 28 opening for the Follies' newest edition entitled Get Your Kicks.

"Band of Gold" was the name of the two-million-selling single, first recorded in 1970, that propelled Payne into vocal prominence, and the golden tones are still the signature of this Detroit-bred songbird.
Born in 1942, she grew up listening to the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald and the immortal Billie Holiday and, while influenced by them, developed her own unique style, nurtured as a teenager by attending the Institute of Musical Arts in Detroit. Appearances on local television and radio, augmented by radio commercial jingles, caught the attention of Berry Gordy, head of Motown, who offered her a recording contract, and Duke Ellington, who invited her to sing with his famous orchestra on a two-night stand in Pittsburgh and a consequent offer to take her on as a regular vocalist. But Mama put her foot down and insisted that the ingénue singer finish school first.

At 21, Payne went out on her own in New York, working with such entertainers as the legendary Quincy Jones and comedian Bill Cosby. She also compiled her debut jazz album, After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!!! Payne soon veered her attention to Broadway and was the understudy to Leslie Uggams for the long-running Hallelujah Baby.

Back in Detroit, a newly-formed record label, Invictus, signed her and soon produced her first mega-hit, the afore-mentioned Band of Gold and a Vietnam protest song, Bring the Boys Home, which was her second gold seller. She also joined Jayne Kennedy and Eartha Kitt in being voted the world's Most Beautiful Black Women. That made the "oh-so-glamorous" Ms. Payne a natural for venturing into television, where she hosted her own talk show, and the movies (including an Eddie Murphy Nutty Professor opus) over the succeeding decades, in addition to various theatrical productions.
Music, however, remained the key element in her professional work. Last winter she scored rave reviews for her New York nightclub appearance at "Feinstein's at Loews Regency," in which her tribute to Ella Fitzgerald had the New York Times proclaiming, "That Ms. Payne can even begin to duplicate Fitzgerald's scat-singing interludes attests to her formidable technique and swing roots."

All of which talents are in prime evidence on the Plaza Theatre stage where she headlines through Dec 31.

###

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the 30s, 40s and 50s with a cast ranging in age from 55 to 85 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through May 17. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house–and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.psfollies.com/media

Box Office Opens September 22 for Route 66 - Themed Production

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Box Office Opens September 22 for Route 66 — Themed Production

Palm Springs, California (September 9, 2008) Steinbeck called it The Mother Road. It was nicknamed The Great Diagonal Way, The Main Street of America and The Will Rogers Highway. Officially, though, it was known as Route 66. Beginning October 28, 2008 and playing through May 17, 2009, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will "travel" Route 66 via music, dance and comedy in its all-new show entitled Get Your Kicks! In preparation for the show's 18th season gala opening, the Follies Box Office opens Monday, September 22.

"Here at the Follies, we've long celebrated the American Experience of the Early- to Mid-20th Century," says Follies Man Riff Markowitz. "And nothing represents that era more perfectly than the legend and lore of Route 66. Whether the westward migration of Dust Bowl farmers, two young bachelors in a Corvette seeking adventure, easy riders looking for their own personal America, or Dinah telling us to ‘See the USA in your Chevrolet,' Route 66 was the placeholder for all this and more."

Joining the Follies Man and his Legendary Line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Dapper Dans this season are three world-renown guest stars:

•   Hit Songstress Freda Payne, performing her million-selling "Band of Gold." Season Opening Oct. 28 through Dec. 31, 2008.
•   "Muriel Cigar Girl" Susan Anton, who gained stardom in film, Las Vegas showrooms and the Broadway musical stage. Jan. 7 – Mar. 7, 2009 and May 13 – May 17, 2009.
•   Multi-talented John Davidson, who starred in Broadway's State Fair and hosted such hit TV shows as That's Incredible and Hollywood Squares. Mar. 10, 2009 – May 9, 2009.
And, as always, the Follies presents the most brilliant and unusual variety acts from around the globe. From New York's Big Apple Circus, the Moscow Circus and, most recently, NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Irina Markova and her Russian canines make their Follies debut. And, by popular demand, you won't want to miss the encore engagement of everyone's favorite ventriloquist, Mr. Sammy King, and his wiseacre-feathered sidekick, "Francisco."
"Route 66 was established in 1926 and decommissioned in 1985," Markowitz adds. "The Follies' oldest cast member, Dorothy Kloss, was three years old in ‘26 and 61 years old in ‘85. And like the highway, she traveled from her hometown of Chicago to L.A. – 2,448 miles across our country's heartland –
to seek her own American Dream. And, at 85, she's still kickin'. So too is Route 66, even if just in our collective imaginations."
###
The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the 30s, 40s and 50s with a cast ranging in age from 55 to 85 years young. The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre–a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house–and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 beginning September 22 or online now at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: VIDEO B-ROLL AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT http://www.palmspringsfollies.com/media

"Get Your Kicks" At Follies All-New Show

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Palm Springs, California (May 23, 2008) Steinbeck called it The Mother Road. It was nicknamed The Great Diagonal Way, The Main Street of America and The Will Rogers Highway. Most commonly (and officially), though, it was known as Route 66. Beginning October 28, 2008 and playing through May 17, 2009, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will "travel" Route 66 via music, dance and comedy in its all-new show entitled Get Your Kicks!

"Here at the Follies, we've long celebrated the American Experience of the Early- to Mid-20th Century," says Follies Man Riff Markowitz. "And nothing represents that era more perfectly than the legend and lore of Route 66. Whether the westward migration of Dust Bowl farmers, two young bachelors in a Corvette seeking adventure, easy riders looking for their own personal America, or Dinah telling us to ‘See the USA in your Chevrolet,' Route 66 was the placeholder for all this and more."

Joining the Follies Man and his Legendary Line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Dapper Dans this season are three world-renown guest stars:

- Hit Songstress Freda Payne performing her million-selling "Band of Gold." Season Opening Oct. 28 through Dec. 31, 2008.

- "Muriel Cigar Girl" Susan Anton who gained stardom in film, Las Vegas showrooms and the Broadway musical stage. Jan. 7 – Mar. 7, 2009 and May 13 – May 17, 2009.

- Multi-talented John Davidson who starred in Broadway's State Fair and hosted such hit TV shows as That's Incredible and Hollywood Squares. Mar. 10, 2009 – May 9, 2009.

And, as always, the Follies presents the most brilliant and unusual variety acts from around the globe. From New York's Big Apple Circus, the Moscow Circus and, most recently, NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Irina Markova and her Russian canines make their Follies debut. And, by popular demand, you won't want to miss the encore engagement of everyone's favorite ventriloquist, Mr. Sammy King, and his wiseacre-feathered sidekick, "Francisco."

"Route 66 was established in 1926 and decommissioned in 1985," Markowitz adds. "The Follies' oldest cast member, Dorothy Kloss, was three years old in ‘26 and 61 years old in ‘85. And like the highway, she traveled from her hometown of Chicago to L.A. – 2,448 miles across our country's heartland –
to seek her own American Dream. And, at 85, she's still kickin'. So too is Route 66, even if just in our collective imaginations."

###

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the 30s, 40s and 50s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 85 years "young." The show features lavish, Broadway-caliber production numbers and plays five days a week, late October through mid-May. The Follies is housed in downtown Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre — a charming, neon-encrusted, storybook old movie house — and is an attraction unto itself. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 beginning September 22 or online at www.psfollies.com beginning mid-July.

NOTE TO EDITORS: VIDEO B-ROLL AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.palmspringsfollies.com/media

Follies' 17th Edition Nears Season Closing

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Palm Springs, California (May 5, 2008) After nearly seven months of celebrating the music and dance of the Great American Songbook, the Long-Legged Lovelies and Dapper Dans of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will rest their voices and toes when the show's 17th edition, Tin Pan Alley, closes on Saturday, May 17.

"I don't remember a season when more patrons have told us that this is absolutely the best Follies ever," says Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz. "But all good things must come to an end, and we will soon begin rehearsing our all-new Follies opening in the fall."

Just a few performances remain to hear such popular melodies as Great Balls of Fire, La Bamba, Tequila, Steam Heat and dozens of other songs that Mid-Century America embraced as perennial favorites.

May 17 is also the last chance to marvel at the sublime song stylings of guest star Anna Maria Alberghetti, the playful enthusiasm of Joanne Wilson's Wonder Dogs and the amazing impressions of Vegas-original Babe Pier.

Select seating is still available for Tin Pan Alley, but don't delay in securing favorite seats today!

In preparation for the Follies' all-new show opening October 28, 2008, auditions will be held in late May and, in August, the cast returns to begin 10 weeks of grueling rehearsals. With countless costume fittings and nearly three hours of new song and dance combinations to learn, one quickly realizes that being a member of the Follies ensemble is definitely NOT a task for the feint of heart...at any age!

Ticket sales for the Follies' all-new 18th edition will begin online in mid-July, and the Follies Box Office re-opens September 22.

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, now in its 17th season, has been seen by nearly three million patrons, and celebrates the music and dance of the 30s, 40s and 50s with a cast ranging in age from 56 to 84 years "young." The show plays five days a week, late October through mid-May, at the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: VIDEO B-ROLL AND HIGH-RES PHOTOS DOWNLOADABLE AT www.palmspringsfollies.com/media

Audience Favorite Returns to Follies Stage

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Anna Maria Alberghetti Wows With Wondrous Sounds

Palm Springs, California (March 20, 2008) "Once in a great while, audiences demand a return engagement by a truly favorite guest star," says Follies impresario Riff Markowitz. "Anna Maria Alberghetti wowed everyone during our ninth and eleventh seasons, and she returns again beginning March 26 and playing through May 17, closing out our seventeenth spectacular season."

A renowned songstress with an international schedule of concerts, lectures and personal appearances, Alberghetti, 72, was born in Pesaro, Italy. She received early musical training from her concert master father and pianist mother, and began her career at the age of six with a performance on the Isle of Rhodes, accompanied by a 100-piece orchestra. Her father was her only vocal instructor.

At age 13, she made her groundbreaking Carnegie Hall debut, prompting one New York Times reviewer to write "some of the purest, loveliest sounds that I have ever heard." She went on to perform with the New York Philharmonic and other distinguished symphonies, paving the way for the tremendous soloist career that still flourishes today.

Ed Sullivan introduced Alberghetti to television audiences, and she appeared on his show a record 53 times. She also had many starring television roles–both dramatic and musical.

On stage, Alberghetti has performed in West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Cabaret, Fanny, Side By Side By Sondheim and, most notably, Carnival. In the latter, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her interpretation of the role, Lili. Most recently, she appeared as Carlotta in the national tour of the Kopit-Yeston production of Phantom.

Her film credits include Here Comes The Groom with Bing Crosby, Cinderfella with Jerry Lewis, and The Medium with famed Danish tenor, Lauritz Melchoir. More recent film appearances have included roles in the comedies Friends and Family and The Whole Shebang.

Younger audiences may remember Alberghetti from her appearances in a series of Good Seasons television commercials, which increased her familiarity and the demand for concert appearances around the world.

Alberghetti has said, "I cannot remember a time when music wasn't a part of my life." Adds Markowitz. "Fortunately, for Follies audiences, she is part of our lives once again."

Tickets for the Follies are available through the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at http://www.psfollies.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: RELATING HIGH-REZ PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT http://www.psfollies.com/media THEN CLICK "IMAGES FOR MEDIA USE" THEN THE "GUEST STARS" TAB.

Tony Award Winner Melba Moore Makes Follies Debut

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Palm Springs, California (February 5, 2008) Genuine "Broadway Baby" and hit recording artist Melba Moore makes her debut at the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, beginning February 12 and continuing for only six weeks, through March 22. Born in the heart of New York City, Moore first attracted notice in the landmark musical Hair and won a Tony Award for her second musical, Purlie. She later headlined on the Great White Way in Timbuktu! and Inacent Black (also writing music and lyrics for the latter), and in the mid-1990s starred as Fantine in Les Misérables. Most recently, she has toured extensively in her one-woman musical autobiography, Sweet Songs of the Soul.

The stage is hardly the only medium in which Moore has triumphed, however; she starred in not one, but two TV series named for her: 1972's The Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Show and a 1986 sitcom entitled, simply, Melba. She also guest-starred on many other hit series, including The Love Boat, Falcon Crest and The Cosby Show.

On the Big Screen, Moore was one of only two original cast members to be featured in Milos Forman's 1979 film version of Hair. She also lent her talents to such films as All Dogs Go to Heaven, Lost in the Stars and The Fighting Temptations.

Even while she worked as an actress, Moore maintained a busy recording career, releasing more than a dozen albums and garnering two Grammy nominations along the way. Her pop hits include "You Stepped Into My Life", "This Is It" and "The Greatest Feeling." Her 1990 recording of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" led to the song being named in the Congressional Record as the official African-American National Anthem. Her newly released CD, Nobody But Jesus…, is a collection of inspirational songs, including the gospel standard, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

"Is there anything Miss Moore cannot do?" muses Follies impresario Riff Markowitz, quickly answering his own question: "I don't think so! She is precisely the sort of multi-talented entertainer that a classic Follies like ours requires, and we are honored to share her with Palm Springs audiences for the very first time."
Tickets for the Follies are available through the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at http://www.psfollies.com.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: RELATING HIGH-REZ PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT http://www.psfollies.com/media THEN CLICK "IMAGES FOR MEDIA USE" THEN THE "GUEST STARS" TAB.

Follies Greets New Year With Winning Hand

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Palm Springs, California (January 2, 2008) Half a century before teenage girls went crazy for ‘N Sync or the Backstreet Boys, American airways were dominated by the close harmony and soaring melodies of golden-throated male vocal groups. By any measure, the most successful of these original "boy bands" is the Four Aces, who reprise their greatest hits as the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies opens its winter season on January 9, 2008. In addition, the Follies will augment its ongoing salute to Tin Pan Alley with a never-before-seen song-and-dance salute to legendary composer Cole Porter.

Among the Four Aces' best-known records are "Heart and Soul," "Perfidia," "Dream," "Mr. Sandman" and "Stranger in Paradise." But the group scored its biggest successes with the title tunes from a pair of hit movies: Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing and Three Coins in the Fountain. Each theme song shot to #1 on the pop charts, won the Academy Award for Best Song for its year and became an international standard.

The Four Aces include Fred Diodati, the group's senior member and lead singer, Joe Giglio, high-tenor, Danny Colingo, baritone, and Harry Heisler, bass and the quartet's musical conductor. They appear at the Follies for just five weeks, through February 9.

"When we began creating this season's salute to the Golden Age of American songwriting, it quickly became apparent that we had to have the Four Aces as guest stars," recalls Follies impresario Riff Markowitz. "They were one of the last super-groups known for performing the Tin-Pan-Alley type of song. Their work—then and now—is all about perfect songs beautifully sung."

Alongside the new guest-stars, the Follies will also debut its tribute to Cole Porter, a high-energy song and dance number featuring such evergreens as "You're the Top," "It's De-Lovely" and "Anything Goes." Markowitz explains, "We're finding that many people who have enjoyed our current season are returning to see the show a second or third time, to see another guest star or just because they really like the show. So we decided to surprise them with a new number when they return. Cole Porter fits the bill perfectly. His trademark combination of wit and romance is just as timely as ever!"

Tickets for the Follies are available through the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at http://www.psfollies.com.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: RELATING HIGH-REZ PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT http://www.psfollies.com/media THEN CLICK "IMAGES FOR MEDIA USE" THEN THE "GUEST STARS" TAB.

MARINE SPOUSES DEPLOYED IN DOWNTOWN PALM SPRINGS

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Fabulous Follies and Kaiser Grill Sponsor Night On the Town

Palm Springs, California (December 5, 2007) Nearly 40 Marine spouses enjoyed a night out in this resort town tonight, including dinner at Kaiser Grille Restaurant, courtesy of its owner Lee Morcus, and a performance of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The dinner-and-a-show event was arranged through the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center's Operation Enduring Families program and its Commercial Sponsorship Coordinator, Nina Gallagher.

"We are blessed and grateful that Operation Enduring Families and organizations like Kaiser Grille and the Follies do such a great job of supporting the spouses and children of Marines," said Kristie Mitchell, the wife of a 28-year veteran of the Corps and an ex-Marine herself. "And that's so important to our troops overseas, because the last thing a soldier on patrol in Iraq needs is to be distracted by worry about his wife and kids back home."

The Marine spouses were preceded at the Follies by their base commander, Brigadier General Melvin Spiese, his wife, Filomena Spiese, and members of his staff, who attended last Saturday's matinee performance before viewing the annual Festival of Lights parade. General and Mrs. Spiese plan to bring their three children—all military personnel themselves—to the Follies in the future, describing it as a show "for all ages," but with special meaning for servicemen and women.

"We at the Follies are well aware of the sacrifices that Marines and members of the other branches of the armed forces—along with their families—make for all of us, so we're always looking for ways to repay them," explained Follies co-founder Mary Jardin. In addition to saluting veterans at every performance, the Follies provides tickets to traveling airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines through the auspices of the Palm Springs International Airport U.S.O. facility and, for more than a decade, has served as a drop-off site for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.

Tickets and gift certificates for the Follies are available through the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at http://www.psfollies.com.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: High-resolution photos of this event downloadable at http://www.psfollies.com/press/images/ -- Click "Special Events" tab.

RED HATTERS BRAVE STORM TO ATTEND FOLLIES

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Plaza Theatre Hosts Historic Gathering of Society Members

Palm Springs, California (December 3, 2007) The rare torrential downpour that drenched this desert resort last Friday failed to dampen the spirits of 530 Red Hat Society members who flocked to a performance of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. Led by the Society's founder and president, "Exalted Queen Mother" Sue Ellen Cooper, the Red Hatters braved wind, rain and unseasonably cold temperatures to fill the historic Plaza Theatre with their trademark red and purple finery. In return, they were treated to an evening of musical comedy, including a special "Red Hat" costume modeled by Follies showgirl, Natascha Ahlborn.

The winter storm still raged after the last standing ovation of the evening, so special transportation was arranged to accommodate the large number of out-of-town visitors. Palm Springs Master Police Officer Thomas R. Beckert stepped in to direct traffic as shuttle buses began to ferry Red Hatters back to their hotel in small groups. Follies impresario Riff Markowitz returned to the stage to take questions and entertain Society members while they waited. "This is pretty much a bachelor's dream come true," Markowitz quipped, "530 ladies out on the town without an escort!" Meanwhile, Cooper met and posed for photographs with Follies cast members, who have their own Red Hat chapter called "The Long-Legged Lovelies."

With its company of performers aged 56 to 84-years-young, the Follies is a natural destination for the Red Hat Society, whose more than 1 million members in over 30 countries are devoted to "fun after 50 for women in all walks of life." And Red Hatters can be found at most Follies performances, but Friday night's gathering was by far the largest assemblage of Society members ever seen at the Plaza Theatre. Or, indeed, in Palm Springs.

The evening at the Follies was a featured event during a weekend-long convention, entitled Holiday Oasis, that attracted Red Hat members from all over the United States and Canada. Convention goers also attended a premier screening of the film, Bonneville, starring Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates, and, on Saturday night, marched in the Palm Springs Festival of Lights parade, where Sue Ellen Cooper was one of the Grand Marshals.

Tickets and gift certificates for the Follies are available through the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at http://www.psfollies.com.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: High-resolution photos of this event downloadable at http://www.psfollies.com/press/images/ then click "Special Events" tab.

TV "DANCING" STAR VISITS FOLLIES

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Ballroom Champion Kym Johnson Attends Palm Springs Performance

Palm Springs, California (November 22, 2007) Three-season Dancing With the Stars ballroom professional Kym Johnson attended a performance by the veteran dancers of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies on Thanksgiving Day. Johnson took time out from rehearsals for the ABC hit, where she has partnered Jerry Springer, ‘N Sync's Joey Fatone and, most recently, sports magnate Mark Cuban.

According to Johnson, "We were in Palm Springs on Monday, but the Follies wasn't open and I had to go back to L.A. for work. So my mother and I drove back today just to see the show. And it was worth the extra trip! I loved it and I'm thrilled to know there's a great show where I can dance when I reach retirement age!"

The admiration was obviously mutual when Johnson met the Follies cast after the show amid the flashing of cameras and a hearty exchange of compliments. "There's nothing more important to a performer than the respect of one's peers," observes Follies Company Dance Manager Leila Burgess. "Naturally we're thrilled when a dancer of Kym's stature praises our work."

"She's a fellow Australian, so of course Kym is my favorite dancer on my favorite show," says two-season Follies Long Legged Lovely Wendy Barry, age 70. "She has great technique and that famous Aussie spunk. You wait and see: she'll still be dancing when she's my age!"

Before her current run on American television, Johnson was an amateur ballroom and Latin dance champion in Australia, and appeared in the film Strictly Ballroom. She won the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars and also appeared on that country's Celebrity Survivor.

Follies tickets and gift certificates are available through the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at http://www.psfollies.com.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: RELATING HIGH-REZ PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT http://www.psfollies.com/media THEN CLICK "IMAGES FOR MEDIA USE" THEN THE "SPECIAL EVENTS" TAB.

17TH FOLLIES CELEBRATES SEASON IN STYLE!

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Annual Holiday Show Continues Through New Year's Eve

Palm Springs, California (November 20, 2007) While the sun shines and palm trees sway outside, inside Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre there's a Yuletide fantasy world of dancing penguins, candy-cane girls and frolicking Santas. From now through the last chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies celebrates the Winter Holidays with its traditional musical-spectacular salute to the Season.

At performances given most Wednesdays through Sundays until December 16, visitors to the Follies find the lobby refashioned as a child's Christmas-morning dream come true, complete with a lavish tree and exquisite ornaments inspired by Follies showgirls. The fun continues on stage where comic elements of the season—including a gleeful Chanukah bear—meet more inspirational aspects such as traditional carols, an audience sing-along and a shimmering onstage snowfall. "A Jolly Follies Christmas" is a wildly improbable treat for the eye, ear, heart and funny bone. And all in one show with the Follies' ongoing salute to the great songs of Tin Pan Alley!, currently guest-starring Kaye Ballard.

After a brief Christmas-week hiatus, Follies performances resume on December 27 and continue daily through the final week of the year. Then, on December 31, the Follies presents two very special New Year's Eve performances at 3:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., each with a glittering champagne reception. At the stroke of midnight (or "Rio de Janeiro midnight" for matinee-goers), the Follies Man and cast will join audiences with party hats and noisemakers to welcome the New Year under a shower of confetti.

As in previous seasons of giving, the Follies is again a drop-off location for the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys-for-Tots program. Through December 16, anyone in the vicinity of the Plaza Theatre during a performance may drop off a new, unwrapped gift at the bin placed outside the theatre doors. The Follies is always among the top donor sites for this most worthwhile annual toy drive benefiting needy children.

The Follies also makes holiday shopping easy with convenient gift certificates, redeemable for any performance through May 17, 2008, and an array of gift items at its online store at store.psfollies.com. Particularly popular at this time of year are the unique ornamental figures that adorn the Follies' lobby Christmas tree. Created by famed New York doll and puppet designer, Van Craig, these "flapper" and "dapper" figures recall the splendor of the 1920s and turn any tree or collector's display case into an Art Deco wonderland.

So if you are searching in vain for holiday spirit among the rush and crush of year-end obligations, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies offers you a haven of Christmas cheer and imagination.

Tickets and gift certificates are available through the Box Office at (760) 327-0225 or online at http://www.psfollies.com.

INVASION OF THE TRAVEL WRITERS!

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Nearly 100 of North America's Top Travel Writers Visit Valley

Palm Springs, California (November 15, 2007) The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies and Morongo Casino Resort & Spa are proud to host nearly 100 of North America's top travel writers at Travel Media Showcase, from November 27 through 29, 2007. The annual convention is being held for the first time in the Desert area and is designed to facilitate the exchange of destination information and story ideas and to build relationships between travel journalists and the tourism industry. Joining the writers will be an equal number of convention-bureau public relations and communications directors along with representatives of domestic and international tourism offices, visitor attractions and hotel chains.

The three-day program, spearheaded by Follies Media Relations Manager Greg Purdy and Morongo Director of Sales Michael Potts, will feature two days of scheduled journalist/exhibitor appointment sessions, regional press tours and post-convention familiarization tours, plus numerous other networking opportunities.

"Travel Media Showcase is a well-established event in other parts of the country and has a proven track record of generating extensive media coverage of any location where it is held," says Follies Co-Founder and Director of Marketing Mary Jardin. "After we attended the 2004 showcase in Tucson, we realized it was time to bring the event further west. Morongo Casino Resort generously offered to both co-host and house this year's convention."

In addition to the two event hosts, primary sponsors are the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism and the California Desert Resort Visitors Association (through the California Travel & Tourism Commission's matching rural funds program). Additional sponsors are the Morongo Basin Chambers of Commerce, Palm Desert Visitors Center/El Paseo and the Palm Springs Convention Center. Exhibitors from the Coachella Valley include the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the Palm Springs Riviera Resort & Spa, Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority, Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa, and Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa.

"In addition to our sponsors and exhibitors, there are also dozens of tourism businesses and associations participating via the city tours and post-convention familiarization tours. The support by our tourism community has been overwhelming," says Purdy. "And the contributions by Morongo Resort and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians cannot be overstated.

"Our steering committee, comprised of some of the most dedicated tourism professionals in our region, has been planning this event for nearly two years. And we have all had the same two goals: for these journalists to discover something new about our wonderful destination and for them to experience the most extraordinary hospitality of their careers. I'm confident we'll succeed at both before they leave."

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related links:
www.travelmediashowcase.com

COMEDY LEGEND RETURNS TO PLAZA THEATRE!

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:00:00 -0700

Kaye Ballard Opens Fabulous Palm Springs Follies' 17th Year

Palm Springs, California (October 22, 2007) "They don't make ‘em like they used to!" says Fabulous Palm Springs Follies impresario Riff Markowitz, adding, "The Follies is living proof that classic musical-comedy talent still thrills audiences. So who better to be the first guest star of our 17th season than legendary comedienne Kaye Ballard?" Ballard performs live onstage at the historic Plaza Theatre from October 30 through December 31. Appearing beside her are "Father of Impressions," Babe Pier, the canine cut-ups of Joanne Wilson's Wonder Dogs and the cutting-edge satire of Markowitz himself as "The Follies Man." As always, the Follies also features its legendary line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Follies Gentlemen, who this season range in age from 56 to 84 years young! The Follies' "all new, all old" 17th season, entitled Tin Pan Alley!, continues through May 17, 2008.

To anyone who watched TV in the mid-20th century, Kaye Ballard is a musical-comedy treasure thanks to her hilarious appearances on The Tonight Show, The Carol Burnett Show and other variety hours, and her own, now-classic sitcom, The Mothers-in-Law, co-starring Eve Arden. She also created the role of one of the stepsisters in the original broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. But television is only one medium in which Ballard has triumphed during her 70 years in show business!

Making her stage debut at age 12 in her native Cleveland, Ballard played vaudeville and burlesque during the closing years of those circuits. In 1943, she was "discovered" by bandleader Spike Jones and toured with his band, singing and playing flute and tuba.

After debuting on Broadway with Three to Make Ready in 1946, Ballard returned for 1954's The Golden Apple, reinventing Helen of Troy as a small-town girl who is "always willing," and introducing the ballad standard, "Lazy Afternoon." She later starred in the hit Broadway musical Carnival! (next to past and future Follies' guest star, Anna Maria Alberghetti), and the 1980s' revival of The Pirates of Penzance. Hollywood beckoned in 1957 and Ballard made her film debut with Jane Powell in The Girl Most Likely. Numerous movies followed, including Which Way to the Front?, the original Freaky Friday, A House Is Not A Home and, her personal favorite, The Ritz.

In recent years, Ballard returned to the stage for celebrated revivals of Funny Girl and Stephen Sondheim's Follies, and the 20th anniversary tour of Nunsense. She continues to make recordings and nightclub appearances, and has published the riotous autobiography: How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years. October 30 is also the release date for a new DVD compilation of her favorite TV appearances, entitled Bits and Pieces from my Checkered Career.

Ballard's appearance with the Follies is a "homecoming" in every sense of the word: a return to her vaudeville roots; a revisiting of her smash Follies debut in Season 14; and a rare, local engagement near her adopted hometown of Rancho Mirage, which even named a street in her honor.

Tickets may be purchased at the Follies Box Office at 760-327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

All-New Follies Salutes Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley!

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 09:00:00 -0700

Box Office Opens September 24 for Fabulous 17th Season!

Palm Springs, California (September 10, 2007) From ragtime to doo-wop, from Broadway to bebop, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies' all-new 17th season will celebrate the Golden Age of American popular music. Entitled Tin Pan Alley!—after the famed New York music-publishing center—the show will feature Porter, Berlin and Gershwin tunes (of course!), but that's only the beginning. This year's Follies will highlight the songs Americans treasured at work and at play, in and out of love, in good times and bad. All performed by the Follies' world-famous line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Follies Gentlemen, who unbelievably range from 59 to 84-years-young. The box office for Tin Pan Alley! opens on Monday, Sept. 24, in preparation for the season's gala opening on Oct. 30.

But this year's Follies is more than a trip down memory lane, insists Follies co-founder and impresario Riff Markowitz. "The songs of that era are timeless," he explains, "because they deal with feelings we all share. Everyone has experienced the feeling of being far from home or knowing the thrill of a new romance. Rod Stewart and Michael Bublé—even Queen Latifah—are still making hit records from Tin Pan Alley tunes. They really are the best songs ever written! I think this promises to be our best show ever!"

The Follies' new season will also feature a series of acclaimed guest stars (http://www.psfollies.com/our-all-new-show/ ), beginning with the truly clever comedy and song of Kaye Ballard, from Oct. 30 through Dec. 31, 2007. Ballard is revered by TV fans for her many appearances on the Tonight Show and as one of the title characters in the now-classic sitcom, The Mothers-in-Law. The Four Aces guest-star from Jan. 9 through Feb. 9, 2008, reprising some of their many Top 40 hits. Among their best-loved recordings are "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" and "Three Coins in the Fountain." Melba Moore, appearing from Feb. 12 through Mar. 22, 2008, has proved to be one of the most electric and eclectic singers in the business in Broadway shows from Hair to Les Miz (with a Tony Award along the way), on Grammy-nominated records and her own TV show. Anna Maria Alberghetti played Carnegie Hall at age 13 and has been a star of stage and screen ever since! She closes the season, from Mar. 26 through May 17, 2008.

In addition, two variety acts will be included on this season's bill. Mr. Babe Pier is called the "Father of Impressions" for his wicked send-ups of the rich and famous. The canine cut-ups of Joanne Wilson's Wonder Dogs have tickled and charmed animal lovers in theaters and circuses across the country. Both attractions will play the Follies throughout the performance schedule.

In his role as emcee, "Follies Man" Riff Markowitz hasn't missed a performance in 16 years and he isn't apt to start now! Because it wouldn't be a Follies without his unique mix of cutting-edge satire and Old World savoir faire. With the Follies Man serving as trusty guide through a whirlwind of song, dance, comedy and lavish spectacle, there will indeed be "something for everyone" this year on the stage of the historic Plaza Theatre!

The Follies presents up to nine shows each week over the course of its seven-month season. More Tuesday matinee and evening performances have been added this year—by popular demand. "Many of our patrons have told us that mid-week shows better suit their personal schedules," notes Follies co-founder and Director of Marketing Mary Jardin. "We're happy to meet that need with the new Tuesday performances."

Tickets are available through the Box Office at 760-327-0225 or online at www.psfollies.com.

Follies' 16th Season Nears Final Quick-Step - "Gotta Dance!" to Close as Work Begins on Next Edition

Thu, 10 May 2007 09:00:00 -0700

Palm Springs, California (May 10, 2007) After nearly 200 performances for more than 150,000 delighted fans, the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will hang up its tap shoes for the summer when it closes its 16th edition, Gotta Dance!, on Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Audiences have just a few remaining performances to catch this season of the Follies and its exuberant recreations of some of the most popular crazes in dance history—the mambo, the jitterbug, the Charleston, the shimmy and more. As always, the Follies choreography is performed with gusto by the legendary line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Follies Gentlemen, aged this year from 58 to 83 years young!

May 20 is also the last chance for local audiences to catch the incomparable voice and comedy of Follies guest star Mimi Hines. To marvel at the athletic skill and pyrotechnics of from Argentina. To thrill to the astonishing quick-change antics of The Dancing GauchosTatiana and Victor Manjos, formerly of the Moscow Circus. In the meantime, some seats remain available for most performances.

Lavish production values and challenging routines require the Follies to shut down each summer for several months while the next edition is created. "During the height of the season, we give more performances than a Broadway show," Follies impresario Riff Markowitz points out. "There simply aren't enough hours in the day to do that and rehearse another season. But the arrival of summer hiatus doesn't mean the crew and I sit by the pool. There are sets to gild and costumes to cover with sequins and feathers!"

"I do give the cast a few weeks off to spend with their families," Markowitz allows. "They aren't yearlings, you know. And even thoroughbreds need time to rejuvenate. But they'll be back in August to learn new lyrics and harmonies, and to master new choreography.

Tickets for the Follies' all-new, "all-old" 17th Season will be available on-line beginning in July and the Follies Box Office reopens September 24.

The Follies plays Wednesdays through Sundays, late October through May, at the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225, or online at www.psfollies.com.

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THE DOCTOR AND THE SHOWGIRL: A STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING

Tue, 08 May 2007 09:00:00 -0700

UCLA, Follies Symposium on Aging Delights Crowd of 500

Palm Springs, California (May 8, 2007) "So, two old people go into a bar…," deadpanned Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz as he opened Living Better Longer, a symposium presented through a first-time partnership between the UCLA Center on Aging and the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies at Palm Springs' Historic Plaza Theatre on May 4. "I know that sounds like the beginning of an old joke, but it isn't a joke: Old people actually DO go into bars. And they live and love and make a difference in peoples' lives. The list goes on and on of what old people are capable of doing and this is what we'll be exploring tonight."

For the next two hours, an audience of over 500 listened as Markowitz, UCLA Center on Aging Director Dr. Gary Small and the Follies' four oldest cast members discussed Dr. Small's eight tips for successful aging and delivered a message of hope for what's possible in one's 60s, 70s and 80s.

"Interviewing the Follies cast is really a dream come true for someone in my field," said Dr. Small as he began his keynote address. "I'm always looking at the science and trying to explain it to people, but to really see it here, with people who know how to do it, they are truly ‘science in action.'" Panelist Dick France, who is the Follies' oldest male cast member at age 77, responded later with this personal history: "I had a heart attack in 2003 and had to have quadruple-bypass surgery. I was afraid my career was over, but six months later, I was back on stage. So now I do everything I can possibly do to live."

But the event wasn't just for seniors. Rancho Mirage resident and Baby Boomer Mary Moody-Lewis said afterwards, "It was a great evening. I was pleased to learn that I'm already doing five of Dr. Small's eight tips for living better longer. Now I need to work on the remaining three. And the panel discussion with the Follies cast was an inspiration. You couldn't help but feel more alive by listening to their example."

The evening concluded with a presentation by Markowitz and Small to 83-year-old Follies cast member Dorothy Kloss. Miss Kloss received a Guinness World Records certificate declaring her the "World's Oldest ‘Still Performing' Showgirl."

In his concluding remarks, Follies Man Markowitz summed up the evening: "Folks like Dr. Small and his colleagues are changing concepts of what it is we ‘old people' do. I think we've proven here tonight that we can function well in our later decades, but we need to find another way of addressing ourselves other than as ‘old.' And the world must start seeing us in a different way. The Follies cast members you've met tonight aren't ‘super people.' They are You and You are Us. Each of us can excel and continue to excel right through to the end."

The Follies plays Wednesdays through Sundays, through May 20, at the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (760) 327-0225, or online at www.psfollies.com.

FOLLIES' DANCER TO RECEIVE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 09:00:00 -0700

"World's Oldest ‘Still Performing' Showgirl" Presentation on May 4

Palm Springs, California (April 25, 2007) Twelve-season Follies veteran Dorothy Kloss, age 83, was recently named "World's Oldest ‘Still Performing' Showgirl" by Guinness World Records. Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz and UCLA Center on Aging Director Dr. Gary Small will formally present her with the award during a symposium entitled "Living Better Longer" at Palm Springs' Plaza Theatre on May 4 beginning at 7:00 p.m.

That evening, Kloss will also participate in a panel discussion with Markowitz, Small and three other members of the Follies cast, Glenda Guilfoyle, Hank Brunjes and Dick France. The symposium, the first event of its kind presented by the Follies, will be co-presented by the UCLA Center on Aging, one of the nation's leading research and educational institutions studying the mental and physical health of seniors.

"When you think it's over, it will be," says Kloss. "Never let it go, because—when you do—you're finished. When I was diagnosed with colon cancer, I had the surgery and that was that. When the doctor started to tell me how many years I'd have, I said ‘STOP! We're not even going there,' and I've never looked back. That was 17 years ago!"

"Dr. Small and his colleagues at UCLA demonstrate scientifically what we at the Follies have long understood intuitively," notes Follies impresario Riff Markowitz. "The constant and continuing use of our bodies and minds—in the learning of complicated dance routines and the exertion of hundreds of hours of rehearsals and up to nine performances per week over 16 years—have enabled us to continue to function more or less as we did decades ago."

Markowitz adds, "Our cast continues to take risks and perhaps that is the secret, or maybe it's that they always have something to look forward to: the next show. Miss Kloss best exemplifies this truth. How fitting that she receive this recognition during an evening devoted to exploring how to age well. She and the other members of our cast are experts on that subject!"

Dorothy Dale Kloss began dancing when she was three years old. While working with a young Bob Fosse in a Chicago class, she won a tap contest and catapulted to stardom doing her own act at the Empire Room in Chicago. She toured the country from New York to California, and played Mexico City with the legendary Cantinflas.

She worked with Eddy Duchin until his orchestra was drafted during World War II, and then performed for the USO. In 1946, she became the hostess and dance instructor of television shows, broadcasting out of Chicago on WBKB.

For more information, please visit http://www.psfollies.com/living-better-longer-ucla/ . Tickets to the symposium are $15 Main Floor and $10 Balcony and may be reserved by calling the Follies Reservations Office at 760-327-0225 or by visiting the Follies Box office at 128 S. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs.

FUNNY-GIRL MIMI HINES ENCORES AT FOLLIES

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Musical Comedy Star Returns to Follies After New York City Triumph

Palm Springs, California (March 6, 2007) Though Mimi Hines has been a music and comedy star for six decades, her appeal remains undiminished to fans both old and new. As recently as January of this year, she triumphed in the New York City Center revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, inspiring Variety to call her a "showstopper," and The New York Times' Ben Brantley to proclaim her performance "terrific" and "touching." Not bad for a 73-year-old! Palm Springs Follies audiences will have a rare opportunity to see this celebrated songstress when she guest stars upon the Plaza Theatre stage, March 21 through May 20, 2007.

As a teenager, Hines met her eventual comedy partner, Phil Ford, in 1952 at a club in Anchorage. They worked regularly in night clubs until their now-legendary, 1958 appearance on The Tonight Show: Hines sang "Till There Was You" so memorably that host Jack Paar was moved to tears on camera, and "Ford & Hines" became "overnight" sensations. The duo performed together full time until 1972, and reunited periodically—including a delightful turn as Follies guest stars throughout Season Two—until shortly before Mr. Ford passed away in 2005.

Hines followed her Tonight Show triumph with countless TV appearances, including Toast of the Town (the early version of what would become The Ed Sullivan Show), Hollywood Palace, and The Merv Griffin Show. She costarred with Follies cast member Randy Doney on Frasier, and was a guest during the final week of The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

On the legit stage, Hines took on the seemingly impossible task of replacing Barbra Streisand in the original Broadway production of Funny Girl, and then headlined the show for another 18 months of packed houses! She starred in numerous tours of musical comedies, including Anything Goes, I Do! I Do! and Hello Dolly! In the 1990s, she returned to the Great White Way in a revival of Grease. More recently, she stopped the show nightly in Los Angeles productions of On the Twentieth Century and Pippin, and on the road with the 20th anniversary production of Nunsense.

"To my mind, Miss Hines is the ideal Follies guest star," marvels impresario Riff Markowitz. "Whether tackling the complex rhythms and key changes of a Jule Styne song or the utter simplicity of a Meredith Willson ballad, she sings like an angel! She can have you doubled over with laughter one moment and moved to tears the next. It has been 14 years since she appeared on our stage: too long, but well worth the wait."

Tickets to the Follies may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 760-327-0225, or online at www.psfollies.com.

PALM SPRINGS' PLAZA THEATRE PRESENTS "LIVING BETTER LONGER" SYMPOSIUM

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Palm Springs Follies and UCLA Center on Aging Partner for First-Ever Event

Palm Springs, California (January 23, 2007) The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies in partnership with the UCLA Center on Aging will present a symposium entitled "Living Better Longer" at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 4, 2007. Participants may also attend a Follies performance on either Friday, May 4, or Saturday, May 5, to see first-hand a demonstration of the symposium's theme.

For 16 years the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies—a theatrical phenomenon in Palm Springs California—has vividly demonstrated that growing older needn't mean growing old. Its beautiful, energetic dancers (in their 60s 70s and 80s!) delight and amaze audiences through nine 3-hour shows per week, seven months per year. The UCLA Center on Aging is a leading center in the world for research and education to help people live better longer.

Hosted by Follies Impresario and star, Riff Markowitz, the May 4 panel will be led by the UCLA Center on Aging's Director, Gary Small, M.D., a best-selling author and one of the world's leading physician-scientists in the fields of memory and longevity. Also featured on the panel will be several members of the Follies cast, including Dorothy Kloss who, at age 83, was just named by Guinness World Records as "World's Oldest ‘Still Performing' Showgirl."

Dr. Small, a Professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, has developed breakthrough brain-imaging technology that allows physicians to detect brain aging and Alzheimer's disease decades before patients show symptoms. Dr. Small has also authored over 500 scientific publications, received numerous awards, written three bestsellers (The Longevity Bible, The Memory Bible, The Memory Prescription), and was named one of the world's top 50 innovators in science and technology by Scientific American Magazine. He lectures extensively around the world and has appeared on numerous national television shows including NBC's Today Show and ABC's 20/20 and Good Morning America. Small has also starred in a PBS special.

"The mission of the UCLA Center on Aging is to enhance and extend productive and healthy life through preeminent research and education on aging, and I can think of no more dramatic example of this than the cast of the Palm Springs Follies," says Small. "They are truly age-defying."

Adds Markowitz, "We have long welcomed academic interest in the Follies, so it is quite an honor to now partner with Dr. Small and the UCLA Center on Aging – leaders in their field – for this first-ever educational event at the Plaza Theatre. Dr. Small and the Follies' cast will share their proven tips for staying mentally sharp and physically agile into your 80s and beyond, through diet, exercise and – perhaps most significant – the importance of maintaining an active purpose to one's life."

Tickets to both the symposium and either the Friday or Saturday matinee performances can be reserved by calling the Follies Box Office at 760-327-0225. Group rates to the Follies performances are available for parties of ten or more by calling (800) 967-9997.

Palm Springs Trip for "Operation Enduring Families"

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Palm Springs Follies and Kaiser Grill Restaurant Host Marine Spouses

Palm Springs, California (January 18, 2007) On Friday, January 19, 2007, more than 40 spouses from the Marine base in nearby Twenty-Nine Palms will be treated to dinner at Kaiser Grille Restaurant and an evening performance of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. The event is part of the Operation Enduring Families program under the auspices of the U.S. Marine Corps Community Services.

"While debate rages in Washington on how best to support the brave Americans stationed in Iraq, we must never forget our servicemen's and women's families here at home. They also make sacrifices for the good of us all," asserts Follies impresario Riff Markowitz. He adds, "the Follies is honored to recognize the contributions of military spouses. And our show is an apt entertainment for them, since we salute veterans of all U.S. wars, including the current one, at every performance."

Before the show, the military spouses will dine at the popular Kaiser Grille on South Palm Canyon Drive, courtesy of restaurateur Lee Morcus. From there it is a short walk to the Follies and three hours of comedy, music and patriotic spectacle.

The visitors will be led by Brenda Martin-Ellis, Commercial Sponsorship Coordinator for the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. According to Martin-Ellis, Operation Enduring Families was created in 2003 to help military families cope with long separations from their loved ones overseas. Events have included golf tournaments and socials for spouses, as well as special activities for the children of Marines. This is the fourth year in a row that the program's calendar has included a trip to the Follies and Palm Springs.

Tickets to the Follies may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 760-327-0225, or online at www.psfollies.com.

GLORIA LORING MAKES RETURN FOLLIES ENGAGEMENT

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Palm Springs, California (January 3, 2007) Described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the purest musical talents in mainstream pop today," Gloria Loring has enjoyed a career spanning three decades of recordings, concert tours, and appearances on stage, television, and radio. Audiences of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will soon have the opportunity of seeing her in person when she guest stars on the Plaza Theatre stage, January 10 through March 18, 2007.

Now 60, Loring first appeared at the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies during Season 12. "The phrase ‘Back by popular demand!' is sometimes carelessly used," notes Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz, "but in this case it's true. Rarely has the return of a Follies guest star created such anticipation among our patrons."

Loring's first big break on The Merv Griffin Show led to hundreds of appearances on variety and talk shows such as The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Carol Burnett Show, as well as the Emmy and Academy Awards. She has shared the stage with such top performers as Bill Cosby, Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau, the Pointer Sisters, and Mel Torme.

In 1980, she won the part of Liz Chandler on NBC's Days of Our Lives and played the role for nearly seven years. In 1986, fans of the series helped send her recording of "Friends and Lovers," a duet with Carl Anderson, to the top of the pop charts. Since then, Loring has enjoyed a busy career of recordings and concert engagements throughout North America and Europe, and four sold-out concert tours of Australia. She has also found success in theater productions on the West Coast and a national tour as Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes.

Also a writer, she co-wrote the now classic theme songs for the hit series, Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. Inspired when her son was diagnosed with diabetes, Loring has written several books on living with the disease, including the recent Living with Type 2 Diabetes: Moving Past the Fear, and has been honored for her work for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

During her first engagement at the Follies, Loring stopped the show nightly with her thrilling medley of blues standards. That performance has been immortalized on the currently available Follies CD, Great Moments at the Follies, Vol. 1, and is reprised by her this season.

Along with the Follies Legendary Line of Long-Legged Lovelies, Impresario Riff Markowitz and Russian Quick-Change Act Victor and Tatiana Manjos, the Follies is proud to introduce to Follies audiences The Dancing Gauchos from Argentina, appearing January 10 through May 20, 2007.

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MARINE POPS QUESTION AT NEW YEAR'S EVE SHOW

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0800

Palm Springs Follies Stage Manager Answers "Yes" Onstage

Palm Springs, California (January 1, 2007) Near the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, Lance Corporal Adam Blum USMC asked Palm Springs Follies Assistant Stage Manager Ryan DeRoos to be his wife. The only thing unusual was the setting: onstage during the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies New Year's Eve show in front of 809 (suddenly) misty-eyed revelers.

According to Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz, "LCPL Blum is being deployed to Iraq in February and contacted us earlier in the week about wanting to propose to his girlfriend on New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, she had to work at the Plaza Theatre."

No problem. The Follies accommodated his request by bringing him onstage in full-dress blues. The unsuspecting DeRoos was told to dress formally in order to present a gift basket to a Follies patron during the performance. Markowitz brought her onstage to join Blum, telling her there was someone who wanted to give her a "midnight kiss."

There at center stage, Blum asked for DeRoos' hand in marriage.

"Fortunately, she said ‘Yes'," adds Markowitz. "Otherwise, I would have had to say ‘Yes' for her, just to save the moment!"

The couple met a year ago when Blum was on leave in Palm Springs while stationed in Japan. DeRoos, a one-year Follies staffer, is originally from Lake City, Minnesota, and Blum was born and raised in San Antonio before joining the Corps two years ago.

They are planning a wedding in a year between Blum's two upcoming tours of duty in Iraq.

The proposal occurred during the Follies third act, which contains the show's patriotic finale including a moving salute to all branches of the military.

"The few. The proud," says Markowitz referring to the U.S. Marine Corps. "And ‘Oo-rah' to this young couple. The Follies' best wishes and God speed to them both."

Please call the Box Office at 760-327-0225 or purchase tickets online at www.psfollies.com.

16th Edition Fabulous Palm Springs Follies Offers A New Slant to the Yuletide

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:00:00 -0800

Annual Holiday Show Tradition Continues Through New Year's Eve

Palm Springs, California (November 20, 2006) "I was a little Jewish kid so we didn't much celebrate Christmas," recalls Palm Springs Follies Impresario Riff Markowitz. "You always seem to yearn for what you don't have, so when I grew up and entered the show biz, I created my own celebrations in the form of fantasy Christmas spectaculars, first on television and now here in our Follies." Markowitz began work in the entertainment business as a circus clown. He later produced and wrote thousands of hours of television, including variety specials with classic comedy stars like Red Skelton, and the quirky and ominous, late-night series, "The Hitchhiker." Is it any wonder the Follies Holiday Show isn't exactly an "after-school special?"

A naughty, stripping Santa, a tipsy caroler, a negligee-clad Mrs. Claus, and burlesque chipmunks. A dancing polar bear performs the novelty tune, "Hanukkah in Santa Monica." These are just a few of the twists to be found in the Follies' newest Yuletide offering. "But fear not," Markowitz reassures, "there are traditional holiday moments, too: a ‘Silver Bells' audience sing-a-long, a dramatic rendition of ‘O Holy Night,' a gentle snowfall upon the stage to the strains of ‘White Christmas' and much, much more!"

Before the curtain even rises, visitors enter the lobby of Palm Springs' historic Plaza Theatre to find it festooned with seasonal adornment, including a Christmas tree laden with bejeweled ornaments (inspired by the Follies' own extravagant showgirl costumes!) and a gift shop stocked with unique selections for a variety of gift-giving needs.

Then, on December 31, the Follies presents two New Year's Eve performances beginning at 3:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. These special events kick off with a champagne reception where each patron receives a goody bag, hat and noisemaker. At the stroke of midnight (or "Rio de Janeiro midnight" for matinee-goers), the Follies Man and cast join audiences in welcoming the New Year with the sentimental strains of "Auld Lang Sang." "Guy Lombardo would be green with envy," Markowitz proudly adds.

And a final reminder – the Follies will again be a drop off location for the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys-for-Tots program. Thanks to the generous donations of new, unwrapped gifts by hundreds of past Follies patrons, the Plaza Theatre is always among the top donor sites for this most worthwhile, annual, toy drive.

So if you're longing for a "white Christmas" but find yourself surrounded by palm trees and sunshine, don't miss the one show that promises you a hearty laugh and a more-than-satisfying dose of holiday nostalgia, and guarantees to put you instantly into the spirit of the season.

The Follies' Annual Holiday Show plays through December 17, then re-opens December 27 for matinee and evening performances most days through New Year's Eve.

Please call the Box Office at 760-327-0225 or purchase tickets online at http://www.psfollies.com.

SINGING STAR GOGI GRANT MAKES FOLLIES DEBUT

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:00:00 -0700

"The Wayward Wind" Remains Among All-Time Chart Toppers

Palm Springs, California (October 16, 2006) "Just like the Follies, the wonderful Gogi Grant proves that talent has no expiration date," says Follies' impresario Riff Markowitz, "and our audiences will soon witness this for themselves when she opens the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies' all-new 16th edition." Appearing October 31 through December 31, this legendary songstress joins visual comedian Denis Lacombe, quick change artists Tatiana and Victor Manjos, the wit and wisdom of "Follies Man" Markowitz and, of course, that legendary line of Long-Legged Lovelies and Dapper Dandies who, this season, range in age from 58 to 83 years young.

Even during the 1950s—that golden age of American pop divas—Grant stood out from the rest because of the richness of her tone and the careful nuances of her phrasing. Still beloved and admired five decades later, Grant, 82, is making her debut as a Follies guest star.

Born Myrtle Audrey Arinsburg, Grant was given her improbable moniker by a manager and it served her well. Her first release, the inspirational "Suddenly There's a Valley" in 1955, was a respectable success. But the "B" side of that single proved a monster hit. Recorded in just 15 minutes at the end of a long studio session, "The Wayward Wind" spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart (supplanting Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel") and eventually sold more than two million copies. By some measures, it remains one of the Top 40 hits of all time.

There followed a number of hit singles for Grant, including "Who Are We?" and "You're in Love," and successful albums including Suddenly There's Gogi and Welcome to My Heart. In 1957 she supplied the singing voice for Ann Blyth in the Warner Brothers film biography, The Helen Morgan Story. The soundtrack remained on the charts for more than two years.

In 1967, Grant retired from professional singing to devote her time to raising her children. When she returned to the concert stage more than two decades later, she astonished fans and critics alike. Time had done nothing to diminish her unique voice, it had merely enriched her interpretations of classic, American songs. The Los Angeles Times hailed her as "a great singer whose velvety tones were not diminished by her extended layoff" and praised Grant's "beautiful and thrillingly executed performance." Variety called her "an American Piaf."

Grant went on to triumphant engagements in New York and London, and performances with symphony orchestras around the world. Her greatest hits CD, The Best of Gogi Grant, was released in 1993. The Fabulous Follies is indeed proud to welcome this famed songbird to the stage of the historic Plaza Theatre.

Please call the Box Office at 760-327-0225 or purchase tickets online at www.psfollies.com.

Veteran Showfolk "Gotta Dance!" at Palm Springs Follies

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0700

Box Office Opens For Fabulous Sixteenth Season

Palm Springs, California (September 19, 2006) The title of the Follies' all-new, 16th edition, Gotta Dance!, might lead you to think the Follies is just following the current public infatuation with dance. Witness the popularity of television shows like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance; London's soon-to-open Dirty Dancing stage musical (sold-out six months prior to opening for the first time in history); and record attendance at ballroom dance schools and competitions nationwide. "But no," says Follies impresario Riff Markowitz, "this is nothing new to us—on our stage, we've been mad about dancing for 16 years." The box office for Gotta Dance! opens on Monday, September 25, in preparation for the show's gala season opening on October 31.

"This year's theme reflects our experience that dance is precisely what a dancer must do—regardless of age," add Markowitz. "Our cast—even those in their 80s—performs nine shows every week! Do that and dance is more than just your job, it's your passion and your mission in life. And our audiences have told us that the more dancing we include in each new Follies, the better they like it."

In addition, the Follies' newest edition features three legendary, lady singers. Kicking off the season and playing through December 31 is the celebrated Gogi Grant. Grant's 1956 recording of "The Wayward Wind" knocked Elvis Presley from the top of the charts and remains one of the top 40 singles of the past half-century. In recent years, she has enjoyed sold-out nightclub runs in New York and Los Angeles featuring her own hits and the great standards of Gershwin, Porter and Irving Berlin.

January 10 through March 18, 2007, dynamic songstress Gloria Loring returns by popular demand from the Follies' 12th season, when her performance was such a showstopper it was selected as the climactic cut on the currently available CD "Great Moments At the Follies, Vol. 1." Most often remembered as Liz Chandler on NBC's Days of Our Lives, Loring also had a #1 recording with "Friends and Lovers" in 1986, and has made hundreds of appearances on TV talk and variety shows.

Closing the season, March 21 through May 20, will be Mimi Hines, an instant sensation in 1958 when her Tonight Show rendition of "Till There Was You" reduced host Jack Paar to tears. Hines and her comedy partner, Phil Ford, quickly became favorites on The Ed Sullivan Show and later graced the Plaza Theatre stage during the Follies' second season. Time has done nothing to diminish the magnificent voice and comic timing that won Hines the coveted role as Barbra Streisand's replacement in the Broadway production of Funny Girl.

This season's international variety acts include Russian quick-change artists Tatiana and Victor Manjos (all season), Canadian visual comedian Denis Lacombe (through December) and, from Argentina, the explosive Dancing Gauchos (January through May).

If you wonder how the Follies could possibly top its 15th edition, as Al Jolson used to say, "You ain't heard nothin' yet!"

Please call the Box Office at 760-327-0225 or purchase tickets online at www.psfollies.com.

PALM SPRINGS FOLLIES ANNOUNCES ALL-NEW 16TH SEASON

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0700

"Gotta Dance!" Themes Upcoming Edition

Palm Springs, California (September 1, 2006) The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will open its all-new 16th season on October 31, 2006, and play through May 20, 2007, with the theme, Gotta Dance! Guest starring in this edition of the Follies will be three legendary, lady singers: Gogi Grant, Gloria Loring and Mimi Hines.

According to impresario Riff Markowitz, "Next year's theme was derived from the simple realization that dance is precisely what a dancer must do – regardless of age. Our cast – even those in their 80s – performs nine shows every week! Do that and dance is more than just your job, it's your passion and your mission in life. And our audiences have told us that the more dancing we include in each new Follies, the better they like it."

To complement the increased emphasis on dance, the Follies has engaged three of the most remarkable singers still performing today. Kicking off the season and playing through December 31 is the celebrated Gogi Grant. Grant's 1956 recording of "The Wayward Wind" knocked Elvis Presley from the top of the charts and remains one of the top 40 singles of the past half-century. In recent years, she has enjoyed sold-out nightclub runs in New York and Los Angeles featuring her own hits and the great standards of Gershwin, Porter and Irving Berlin.

January 10 through March 18, dynamic songstress Gloria Loring returns by popular demand from the Follies' twelfth season, when her performance was such a showstopper it was selected as the climactic cut on the currently available Follies CD. Most often remembered as Liz Chandler on NBC's Days of Our Lives, Loring also had a #1 recording with "Friends and Lovers" in 1986, and has made hundreds of appearances on TV talk and variety shows.

Closing the season, March 21 through May 20, will be Mimi Hines, an instant sensation in 1958 when her Tonight Show rendition of "Till There Was You" reduced host Jack Paar to tears. Hines and her comedy partner, Phil Ford, quickly became favorites on The Ed Sullivan Show and later graced the Plaza Theatre stage during the Follies' second season. Time has done nothing to diminish the magnificent voice and comic timing that won Hines the coveted role as Barbra Streisand's replacement in the Broadway production of Funny Girl.

This season's international variety acts include Russian quick-change artists Tatiana and Victor Manjos (all season), Canadian master mime Denis Lacombe (through December) and, from Brazil, the explosive Dancing Gauchos (January through May).

If you wonder how the Follies could possibly top its fifteenth edition, (as they used to say in vaudeville) "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

Online ticket sales commence early July at www.psfollies.com and the Follies reservations office reopens September 25, 2006 at 760-327-0225.