Approximately 90 years ago, on Dec. 12, 1936, the newly-built Plaza Theatre opened its doors to moviegoers with a showing of “Camille.” The film was directed by George Cukor and starred Greta Garbo. In the ensuing years, the Spanish Revival theater not only screened first run-movies but also hosted entertainers like Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and Bing Crosby, who broadcast their acts over the radio.
Not bad for an 850-seat theater designed by Harry Williams (father of famed Palm Springs architect E. Stewart Williams). At the time, the theater served a community of just over 5,000 year-round residents. For nearly 80 years, the theater was never inactive. Though it was threatened by the advent of multiplex theaters in the 1960s, Riff Markowitz made the Plaza Theatre an international destination. He introduced The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies in 1990. The show, which featured only performers age 55 and older, closed in 2014.
Plans were made for the demolition of the Desert Fashion Plaza shopping mall and the erection of the Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel. Was it only a matter of time before the curtains fell permanently on the charming but badly worn Plaza Theatre?
A small group of Palm Springs residents, led by former City Council member J.R. Roberts, thought not. Starting in 2019, the Plaza Theatre Foundation began earnestly raising money to restore the theater to its former glory. The COVID pandemic almost fatally derailed the project. (Roberts recalls the fear of those days: “People were wondering if people would ever come back to the theaters again.”) But, the fundraising pot received some big infusions of cash post-pandemic, and hope turned to certainty that the historic theater would reopen one day.
Enter John Bolton, senior vice president of the Oak View Group, which owns Acrisure Arena. At that time, the arena was slated to open in December 2022. “I originally got involved with the project right before Acrisure opened because JR … had asked Oak View Group to consider making a donation,” Bolton says. “We considered it and then, after we opened the arena, we sat down with the board and agreed to give a million dollars to the campaign. At that point, they were only $2 million away from being funded. Then, the bids came back, and it turned out that the foundation needed a lot more money to do the renovation. I became a board member to help with the fundraising side. And then, my involvement expanded.”
The city of Palm Springs, which owns the Plaza Theatre, approached foundation members and asked if they would run the theater after it opened. Roberts knew the members did not have the bandwidth or experience to take on the challenge. So, he turned to Bolton, who had booked events at Acrisure Arena since it opened. These events included not only Coachella Valley Firebirds games but also concerts by acts like Maroon 5, LA Lakers games, and other high-profile entertainment offerings. The city and Oak View Group came to an understanding; now, Bolton is in charge of one of the most high-profile venues in the Valley.
When this story was written in late October, Bolton was overseeing the last few projects for the theater’s renovation, which began behind closed doors last spring. “We just put the seats in today, so all of a sudden, it’s feeling like a real theater,” he says. Bolton notes that he experienced some real challenges during the last six months. This included mitigating asbestos and lead paint issues, enlarging the lobby so guests can access the mezzanine level from inside the theater, and making ingress and egress conform to modern safety requirements. “I found it fascinating – the process to maintain the historic nature of the building and reconciling with what was necessary and what was desirable in a modern theater,” Bolton says. “It was mind-blowing.”
In addition to ensuring that every detail of the restoration project is perfect, Bolton says his days are packed with “advanced work and booking all the shows and doing all the contracts, and then advancing all of those shows and marketing those shows. And then, the closer you get, it becomes the execution of the show and making sure all the staffing is there, the stagehands are there, all the sound and light folks are there, and the ticket takers and ushers and security, and everyone is trained and ready to handle a ton of shows.”
Bolton says his original goal was to book 120 shows at the Plaza Theatre in the first year after it reopens. “At this moment, our first seven months, from December to June, we have 130 confirmed events,” he says. “I think in December we have 25 events. The theater is empty on Christmas Day, and then we’re back on the 26th.”
One of the most anticipated upcoming events is a screening of the movie “Camille” on Dec. 12 – nearly 90 years after its desert debut. A Desert Icons tribute. which honors local heroes like Michael Childers, Lucie Arnaz, Michael Holmes, David Zippel, Brian Ray, Trixie Mattel, and Frank Sinatra, is also on the schedule. Entertainers Lily Tomlin, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, and the Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus will appear at the theater, plus shows like “Modern Men Presents Cool Yule” and “A John Waters Christmas.”
The renovated Plaza Theatre will host an opening night gala on Dec. 1 with “Wicked” actress/singer Cynthia Erivo. “She’s a huge act – obviously,” Bolton says. “She has a new book coming out Nov. 18 and literally leaves here to go to her opening in London’s West End for ‘Dracula.’ She was just finishing a movie, and this little period just happened to work with her schedule. We were very, very lucky.” And with the Plaza Theatre ready to rock again, so is the entire Valley.
