Desert Ensemble Theater Releases Single Tickets For 13th Season

Desert Ensemble Theater has released individual tickets for its 13th season and its third year in residence at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Artistic Director Jerome Elliott Moskowitz stated that “under the umbrella Off Center at the Cultural Center, audiences will discover DET’s signature programming of new and recent works that stimulate the imagination and create lively discussions about contemporary life.”

Following a precedent set last season, DET will offer two world premieres, by local playwrights Bruce Bonafede and Artistic Director Emeritus Tony Padilla. The company has offered five world premieres since 2020. Earlier this month, DET received 43 Desert Theatre League Award nominations for its groundbreaking 2022–23 season; 21 of these were for its world premiere productions of Do Not Remove Label and Kafka’s Joke.

The four-play roster includes:

COLLECTIVE RAGE: A PLAY IN 5 BETTIES, by Jen Silverman. Directed by Kudra Wagner. 

November 10–12 & 17–19, 2023

The lives of five women named Betty collide. Betty is rich; Betty is lonely; Betty’s busy working on her truck; Betty wants to talk about love, but Betty needs to hit something. And Betty keeps using a small hand mirror to stare into parts of herself she’s never examined. Starring Tammy Taylor, Angela Landis, Shelby Victoria, and Katrina Dixon. Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties premiered off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2018.

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell & Gordon Farrell. Directed by David Youse.

January 26–28 & February 2–4, 2024

Young and ambitious Jim Fingal, fresh out of Harvard, is assigned to fact check renowned essayist John D’Agata’s work. Over the course of a weekend, the two come head to head in a comic battle over facts versus truth. Starring Chuck Yates, John Corr, and Christine Tringali Nunes. Based on a book by D’Agata and Fingal, The Lifespan of a Fact premiered on Broadway at Studio 54 in 2018. 

ELLIE, by Bruce Bonafede (World premiere). Directed by Howard Shangraw. 

March 8–10 & 15–17, 2024

Brothers Richard and Warren are grieving the death of one of their wives. Their mourning sparks a confrontation that lays bare their life-long love/hate relationship and changes their lives forever. Bruce Bonafede, an award-winning, Desert-based playwright, wrote this riveting drama for DET company member Richard Marlow, who will star alongside Abe Daniels.

SHERLOCK HOLMES CONFIDENTIAL by Tony Padilla. (World premiere). Directed by Jerome Elliott Moskowitz. 

April 12–14 and 19–21 

This sparkling comedy was great success at DET’s 2022 Summer reading series. In an alternative version of the Holmes origin story, a spurned romance leads to someone threatening to unmask the young detective as a fraud. Starring Thomas Elliot Fisk, Barbara Kerr, Katrina Dixon, and Justin Ledesma.

DET is located at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Rd. in Palm Springs. For information on single tickets and season subscriptions call 760-565-2476 or visit www.desertensembletheatre.org.

Performances are Fridays, 7:30pm; Saturdays 2:00pm and 7:30pm; and Sundays, 2:00pm.

DET is located at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Rd. in Palm Springs. For additional information visit www.desertensembletheatre.org or call 760-565-2476.

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