Gilmore Rizzo

Enlightened, witty, smart and joyful; Cabaret at its finest

What did our critic think of BROADWAY BARBARA at CVRep?

Funny, dated, and a bit lackluster; fans went wild.

Another highly anticipated evening of Cabaret with a sold-out crowd at Coachella Valley Repertory to see the handsome and talented husband duo Brent Barrett and Bernie Blanks.  When the three-piece combo begins to play the men grace the stage wearing stylish white and silver tailor-fitted suits singing the 1965 Sonny & Cher, Gold record hit “I Got You Babe”.

A genuinely wonderful production spoiled by some overacting hyper-sincerity.

For the final Summer Cabaret series show at Coachella Valley Repertory, no finer showman could have been picked for their closure than the extraordinary David Burnham in his MOSTLY BROADWAY traditional cabaret show.

Living in Palm Springs sitting down with Broadway gypsy Joe Giamalva who has played in many arenas from stage to screen as a sought-after actor/dancer/producer. He also entertained several generations of television viewers on Saturday morning children’s classics H.R. PufnStuf, Land Of The Lost, and Disney Channel favorites. Joe is working on a brand new one-man show about his life and career.

What did our critic think of NEXT TO NORMAL at CVRep?

As one audience member who fell asleep remarked, “Farce is hard”.  That gave the opening to this review. Farce IS hard if you don’t understand how it is to be directed so that it works effectively. This review was extremely difficult to write because Desert Ensemble Theatre is high on the list of professional quality community theatres in the desert.

As the end of the theatre season approaches, the best theatres in the desert are finishing with its finest productions. One such case is the exceptional musical produced by Michael Shaw and Clark Dugger at Dezart Performs, as they present FALSETTOS, directed by Dennis Courtney.