Dezart Performs Nominated for 17 Desert Stars Awards:
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Dezart Performs Nominated for 17 Desert Stars Awards:
Honors To Be Given Out at 32nd Annual Desert Theatre League Gala Sunday, October 13
2 August 2019 – Palm Springs, CA: Coming off a record-breaking 11th season, the acclaimed Dezart Performs has secured 17 nominations for the annual “Desert Star Awards” including the categories of Outstanding Production Comedy and Drama, Director, Lead Actor and Actress, and Set, Sound and Lighting Design. The winners will be announced at the 32nd annual Desert Theatre League Gala on Sunday, October 13.
“We’re so honored to nominated among the incredible theatre community here in the Desert,” said Dezart Performs Founding Artistic Director Michael Shaw, noting that pre-sales for the upcoming season are at 74% over las year. “For 11 seasons, our audiences have looked to Dezart Performs for theatre that entertains, enlightens and often challenges. Our last season did all of that. We’re thrilled that the Desert Theatre League feels the same.”
The complete list of Desert Theatre League / “Desert Star Awards” nominations for Dezart Performs are as follows:
Outstanding Production – Comedy – Professional
Maytag Virgin
Perfect Arrangement
Outstanding Director of a Comedy – Professional
Deborah Harmon, Maytag Virgin
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy – Professional
Joel Bryant, Maytag Virgin
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy – Professional
Kay Capasso, Maytag Virgin
Olivia Saccomanno, Perfect Arrangement
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy – Professional
Deborah Harmon, Perfect Arrangement
Yo Younger, Perfect Arrangement
Outstanding Production of a Drama – Professional
White Guy on the Bus
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama – Professional
Beau Marie, Church & State
David Youse, White Guy on the Bus
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama
Desireé Clarke, White Guy on the Bus
Outstanding Set Design – Professional
Thomas L. Valach, Maytag Virgin
Outstanding Sound Design – Professional
Clark Dugger, Maytag Virgin
Clark Dugger, White Guy on the Bus
Outstanding Lighting Design – Professional
Phil Murphy, Maytag Virgin
Outstanding Props and Special Effects
Clark Dugger and Cecilia Orosco, Maytag Virgin
Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting–edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.
Season package prices: (4-Show Season Packages $124-164; 3-Show Season Packages $96-126)
All performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club) 314 S Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs. Tickets may be purchased online at www.dezartperforms.org, or by calling (760) 322-0179.
12th Dezart Performs Complete Season Listing
HAND TO GOD
Written by Robert Askins
Directed by Michael Shaw
Dark comedy
November 8-17, 2019
The Tony-nominated Broadway hit comedy, where The Exorcist Meets Sesame Street! “HAND TO GOD is so ridiculously raunchy, irreverent and funny it’s bound to leave you sore from laughing. Ah, hurts so good.” —New York Daily News
After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason’s complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and—most especially—his mother are thrown into upheaval when Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. (note: for mature audiences)
* * *
DANIEL’S HUSBAND
Written by Michael McKeever
Drama
January 10-19, 2020
Off-Broadway’s Latest Hit Drama! One of The New York Times plays to see! “A profound look at love and commitment.” —The Daily Beast
Daniel and Mitchell are the perfect couple. Perfect house, perfect friends – even a mother who wants them married. They’d have the perfect wedding, too, except that Mitchell doesn’t believe in gay marriage. A turn of events puts their perfect life in jeopardy, and Mitchell is thrust into a future where even his love may not prove to be enough. DANIEL’S HUSBAND is a bold reflection of love, commitment, and family in our perilous new world. Starring WHITE GUY ON THE BUS’ David Youse and Dezart Performs Artistic Director, Michael Shaw.
* * *
SWEAT
Written by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Michael Shaw
Drama
February 28-March 8, 2020
Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. SWEAT exposes the collapse of the American working class in the new millennium. “Sharp and threatening as a box cutter blade…ferociously engrossing…SWEAT never feels less than authentic—and crucial.” —Deadline.com
It’s the year 2000 in Reading, Pennsylvania and a group of friends go to work at the steel mill and then decompress at the bar like they’ve been doing for over 20 years. But, unbeknownst to them, their lives are about to be uprooted. Their steel mill is making some changes and the blood, sweat and tears of generations of loyal workers don’t seem to amount to much. SWEAT dissects the insidiousness of privilege and entitlement, reminding you that there’s always someone on a lower plane to blame for your troubles, and there will always be someone who stands to profit from your loss.
* * *
EVERY BRILLIANT THING
Written by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Deborah Harmon
Comedy/Drama
April 3-12, 2020
“A heart-wrenching, hilarious play…One of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop!” —The Guardian
You’re six years old. Mom’s in the hospital. Dad says she’s “done something stupid.” She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything that’s worth living for. 1. Ice cream. 2. Kung Fu movies. 3. Burning things. 4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose. 5. Construction cranes. 6. Me. You leave it on her pillow. You know she’s read it because she’s corrected your spelling. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own. A play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love.