Season and Individual Tickets Now Available for Dezart Performs' Expanded 2015/2016 Season

Dezart Performs' eighth season of innovative theatrical works in the Coachella Valley opens on November 13, 2015. It will be the dynamic performing arts group's biggest and best ever, promises Artistic Director Michael Shaw, and tickets are now available.

What makes the 2015/2016 season so special is that not just two, but three provocative plays will be produced on Dezart Performs' home stage at the Pearl McManus Theater (in the historic Palm Springs Woman's Club)-one of them a World Premiere. In addition, the immensely popular, celebrity-studded benefit gala, "On The Air! An Evening of Radio Show Classics," will return to The Camelot Theatres for one night only on March 17, 2016.

January 22,, 2016 is the date that the drama-comedy "Suicide Dogs" will receive its World Premiere. The play was the winner of the Seventh Annual Play Reading Festival, thus earning a full production in the current season. According to Shaw, there is a strong possibility that New York City-based playwright Jess Honovich will be able to come for the premiere.

The season opener, "The Receptionist," is an off-Broadway comedy by Obie Award-winning playwright Adam Bock, and closing out the season is Bruce Graham's off-Broadway drama "The Outgoing Tide," winner of Chicago's Jefferson Award.

Both season packages and individual tickets are now available. The 2-show "Applause" package is $43-$50, and the 3-show "Ovation" package is $62-72. Individual tickets are $28 for evening performances, $24 for matinees. "On The Air!" tickets range from $35 to $75. Ticket purchases can be made online at www.dezartperforms.org or by calling (760) 322-0179.

"While last season's offerings took audiences back to the innocence of the 1950s and its loss in the 1960s, this season takes a close look at our own times. The plays thoughtfully and often humorously explore the dramatic changes-both political and personal-that we are experiencing now. It will be a rewarding exploration," Shaw said.

Information on all four productions is as follows:

THE RECEPTIONIST

A dark comedy written by Adam Bock

This Outer Critics Circle-nominated play takes a hilarious, and often provocative, look at a typical mundane office setting through the eyes of Beverly, a gossipy, matronly receptionist. At the start of a "normal" day, she deals effortlessly with ringing phones, bagel runs and a colleague's romantic troubles. But as the true nature of the company's business becomes apparent, The Receptionist raises unsettling questions about the consequences of complicity with evil

Runs November 13-22, 2015 (Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 PM)

SUICIDE DOGS

The world premiere of a drama-comedy written by Jess Honovich

This unpredictably funny family drama makes its World Premiere. When Amelia and her family arrive in Florida to prepare for her brother's funeral, she struggles with the intentions of a prying neighbor, a daughter who's increasingly out of control, and an inflexible sister that she doesn't know that well. Adding to the chaos is the discovery that she must now also take care of her brother's very famous and very sick dog, Driver.

Runs January 22-31, 2016 (Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 PM)

ON THE AIR! An Evening of Radio Show Classics

This annual gala event benefiting Dezart Performs returns for a third year at Palm Springs' Camelot Theatres. The cast of celebrity performers will once again recreate on stage some of radio's funniest and most memorable shows from the 1940s and '50s. Complete with vintage microphones, "on the air" and "applause" signs, the actors, musicians and sound effects crew will provide a delightful new evening of non-stop entertainment. Directed for a third straight year by Gregg Oppenheimer.

One-Night Only Event - Thursday, March 17, 2016 at 7:00 PM

THE OUTGOING TIDE

A drama written by Bruce Graham

Tormented by the menacing grip of an aging, failing mind, Gunner hatches an unorthodox plan to secure his family's future but meets with resistance from his wife and son, who have plans of their own. As winter approaches, the three must quickly find common ground and come to an understanding before the tide goes out. This award-winning play is a touching story sprinkled with surprising humor that asks what it means to truly love someone.

Runs April 22-May 8, 2016 (Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 PM)

For more information about Dezart Performs and the upcoming 2015/2016 season, go to www.dezartperforms.org or call (760) 322-0179.

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