"We're seeing 66% of guests from out of town and 33% from the Palm Springs Metro Area." J.R. Roberts, president of the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation, gave those numbers in the Foundation's first-90-days report, published in March 2026. The Foundation's original model expected an even split between locals and visitors. In the theatre's first three months on South Palm Canyon Drive, visitors bought about two seats for every one bought by a local.
The schedule tells a different story. Look at the 2026–27 lineup, which runs through the Plaza's 90th anniversary in December and into May, and the dates that repeat belong to Palm Springs organizations. These include the Gay Men's Chorus, the Pops Orchestra, Modern Men, the jazz festival, the grand opera, and the city's own State of the City address. Visitors may buy most of the seats, but local groups fill most of the calendar. For a resident, that means getting good seats comes down to knowing which shows those are and buying early.
Who paid for the room
That out-of-town share matters because locals paid for much of the restoration. The Desert Sun reported in February 2024 that the City of Palm Springs had agreed in December 2023 to put $13 million toward the restoration, and that the Foundation had raised $16 million by then, with more still needed. By the reveal in November 2025, KESQ put the project at roughly $30 million, paid for with public money and private donations from about 1,300 contributors. A month earlier, Palm Springs Life had cited a $34 million estimate.
The money went into a smaller, more comfortable house. KESQ reported that the auditorium went from 800 seats to 700 so each seat could be wider. The crew restored the village scenes and the starfield ceiling, found the original proscenium paintwork behind drywall, added seismic reinforcement, and installed under-seat air conditioning. A lobby bar and a museum corridor were also added. The corridor's displays include memorabilia from the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, which ran in the building from 1991 to 2014, according to Palm Springs Life. The theatre's own history page notes that national radio broadcasts by Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby went out from this stage.
Seven hundred seats sell out quickly when two-thirds of buyers are planning a trip around a show.
Two anniversaries, eleven days apart
December brings two separate dates. On December 1, 2025, the Plaza reopened with a gala concert featuring Cynthia Erivo. Exactly one year later, on Tuesday, December 1, 2026, at 7 p.m., Darren Criss performs an anniversary concert. According to the theatre's event page, that concert also opens the 90th-anniversary celebration, which formally begins December 12, 2026. The date is exact. The Plaza opened on December 12, 1936, with the world premiere of Camille. In its first season back, the theatre screened Camille again.
"A year ago, we brought the lights back on at The Plaza for the first time in more than a decade," said John Bolton, the Plaza's general manager and a senior vice president at Oak View Group, in the event announcement. BroadwayWorld reported that Criss tickets start at $49.
The theatre's 90th birthday falls on a Saturday, and the Palm Springs Gay Men's Chorus has the stage that weekend. Jingle Jangle Jazz Hands runs December 11 through 13, including a 7 p.m. show on December 12. The Foundation named the chorus the Plaza's inaugural resident artists.
The local side of the season
The Foundation says the Plaza is home base for eight to 10 resident performance groups. The Palm Springs Symphony is the symphony in residence, Modern Men is the ensemble in residence, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Modernism Week are recurring nonprofit partners. Here is what those groups and civic partners have scheduled from Thursday through May.
| Date | Program | Local connection |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 13–14 | rePLAY: Fashion | Script-in-hand series created by David Zippel and the Plaza |
| Nov. 17 | State of the City | City of Palm Springs |
| Nov. 18 | Rachael & Vilray | Presented by the Palm Springs International Jazz Festival |
| Dec. 11–13 | Jingle Jangle Jazz Hands | Palm Springs Gay Men's Chorus |
| Dec. 22 | The Most Wonderful Time of the Year | POPS at the Plaza, Palm Springs Pops Orchestra |
| Feb. 3 | Simply The Best: The Music of Tina Turner | POPS at the Plaza |
| Mar. 5–6 | rePLAY: Fanboy Diva | rePLAY series |
| Mar. 10 | A Wicked Evening with The Wizard: Stephen Schwartz & Friends | POPS at the Plaza |
| Apr. 2–3 | rePLAY: Private Lives | rePLAY series |
| Apr. 6 | The Magic Flute | Palm Springs Grand Opera |
| Apr. 10–11 | Rhythms of Resilience | Modern Men Coachella Valley Men's Chorus |
| Apr. 16–18 | Boogie Shoes: The Disco Show | Palm Springs Gay Men's Chorus |
POPS began its second season on November 4 with Dancing Queens, featuring the Palm Springs Pops Orchestra and a guest appearance by the Gay Men's Chorus. According to the theatre's POPS announcement, single tickets for all four concerts start at $49.50.
Film programming at the Plaza also tends to have a local hook. On November 1, the theatre screened It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the 1963 Stanley Kramer comedy shot largely in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. According to the event page, it played on the same stage during its original release. In April, the theatre will show Stepping Into The Unknown: Films from the Bob Dylan Center on the 4th.
Pride weekend at the Plaza
The 40th Greater Palm Springs Pride festival and parade takes over downtown November 6 through 8, KESQ reported, and Kataluna Enriquez is this year's Marsha P. Johnson Grand Marshal. The Plaza has a show every night of the weekend. Sam Morrison performs Friday, Margaret Cho brings Choligarchy for two shows Saturday, and Fortune Feimster returns Sunday with an encore of Takin' Care of Biscuits. These are the kind of shows visitors book trips around. If you are going to any of them, expect downtown to be busy that weekend and plan extra time to get there.
How locals get seats ahead of visitors
The Plaza's seats go on sale in rounds. For the Mad, Mad World screening, members got presale access on July 14, and the public sale opened July 17, more than three months before the November show. When a show draws visitors planning trips, that early window is when the best seats go.
According to the Foundation's membership page, how early you can buy depends on your giving tier:
- Balcony, $100 to $249 a year: website recognition, a window decal and 10% off merchandise, with no early ticket access
- Orchestra, $250 to $499: ticket access 24 hours early when possible
- Proscenium, $500 to $1,499: access 48 hours early when possible, plus a branded item and a chance to tour the theatre with a Foundation board member
- Leading Players Circle, $1,500 to $4,999: access 72 hours early when possible
- Director's Circle, $5,000 to $9,999: adds a VIP reception 60 minutes before shows, when available
The membership page doesn't list fee waivers or guaranteed seats. Every early-access benefit is promised "when possible."
Membership isn't the only way in. The Foundation says a percentage of tickets for each event is sold at lower prices, and that it provides more than 4,000 youth tickets a year. The first-90-days report also announced a pilot program that gives tickets to selected events to partner charities for distribution.
Getting there, especially on a Thursday
Most Plaza shows start on a weeknight, and Thursday is the hardest night for parking. Here is what the theatre's policy page and A–Z guide cover:
- The underground garage nearby has more than 1,000 free spaces.
- The theatre's policy page recommends arriving early on Thursdays because of VillageFest traffic.
- Valet runs out of Hotel Zoso, must be bought in advance through Ticketmaster, and closes 48 hours before the show. The A–Z guide lists the valet address as 150 S. Palm Canyon Drive, but some event pages say 150 S. Indian Canyon Drive. Check the page for your show before you drive.
- Bags can be no larger than 12 by 12 by 6 inches, except for medical or diaper bags. All bags are searched, and bags with metal chains or straps are not allowed.
- The box office is just inside the southwest-corner entrance. It opens only on show days, from 11 a.m. until 30 minutes after curtain, and the phone number is 760-593-5768.
The Foundation's report said the theatre's restaurant partners are seeing strong pre-show dinner business, and that Hotel Zoso and the Thompson Hotel have reported more bookings, with some weekends selling out. On a big show night, you'll likely need a dinner reservation downtown as well as a ticket.
Shows don't stop when season ends. City Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein, the city's liaison to the Foundation, said in the March report that the theatre would keep programming year-round, "even through the summer." In June, NBC Palm Springs reported a summer lineup of classic films, musicals, concerts and comedy that ran through August 30. When most visitors have gone home, locals have the easiest shot at seats.
Downtown Palm Springs gets busier every time the Plaza has a show, and our team keeps up with what that activity means for the blocks around South Palm Canyon. If you own nearby and want to know how a year of full theatre nights has affected your home's value, Team Michael Keller Williams Luxury can walk you through it. Request Your Free Home Valuation.
