Becoming Ava—from Desert Ensemble Theatre
This original tribute to the comedies of the 1940s and 1950s was penned by local Tony Padilla. 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and March 1; 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2. $22; $18 students, seniors and military. At the Palm Springs Womans Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, Palm Springs. 760-565-2476; www.detctheatre.org.
Buried Child—from College of the Desert Performing Arts
Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the “disintegration of the American Dream” takes place at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, March 14, through Sunday, March 23. $15 general; $13 students. At the College of the Desert’s Pollock Theatre, 43500 Monterey Ave., Palm Desert. 760-773-2565; www.codperformingarts.com.
Burying Aunt Beulah—from Script2Stage2Screen
Joni Hilton’s quirky play about mother-daughter relationships takes place at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8. $10. At the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert, 72425 Via Vail, Rancho Mirage. 760-345-7938; www.script2stage2screen.com.
Coyote StageWorks at the Annenberg Theater
The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit comedy dubbed “Hitchcock Meets Hilarious,” is performed at various times Wednesday through Sunday, from Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 9. Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss and What I Wore is performed at various times Wednesday through Sunday, from Friday, March 28, through Sunday, April 6. $39 to $55. At the Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs. 760-325-4490;www.psmuseum.org/annenberg-theater.
Desert Rose Playhouse
Diva Dish! With Luke Yankee features the son of Academy Award-winning actress Eileen Heckart telling tales about some of the 20th century’s biggest stars, at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 1; and 2 p.m., Sunday, March 2. $25 to $28. Lesbian humorist Dorothy Kirk performs two one-woman shows in March: I Came Out in a Darkroom, her brand-new show, at 8 p.m., Friday March 7; and HOLD STILL! I Can’t See Myself, at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 8; and 2 p.m., Sunday, March 9. Tickets are $25 to each show. The world premiere of Dan Clancy’s Poster Boys, a drama about two plaintiffs recruited to serve as the public faces for a lawsuit against California’s gay-marriage-banning Prop 8, takes place at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, March 21, through Sunday, April 20. $28 to $30. At 69260 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage. 760-202-3000; www.desertroseplayhouse.org.
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune—from Coachella Valley Repertory
CV Rep concludes their season of Terrence McNally plays with this classic story of two middle-aged people who open up to each other on their first date. 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Wednesday, March 19, through Sunday, April 6. $35 previews on Wednesday and Thursday, March 19 and 20; $50 opening night on Friday, March 21; $40 otherwise. At the Atrium, 69930 Highway 111, No. 116, Rancho Mirage. 760-296-2966; www.cvrep.org.
The Great American Trailer Park Musical—from Desert Theatreworks
The antics of the residents of an exclusive Florida trailer park get the musical treatment, at 7 p.m., Friday; 2 and 7 p.m., Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, March 14, through Sunday, Feb. 23. $25; $23 students; special kids’ prices and group rates available. At the Arthur Newman Theatre in the Joslyn Center, 73750 Catalina Way, Palm Desert. 760-980-1455; www.dtworks.org.
Indian Wells Theater/CSUSB Palm Desert Events
The theater’s Tribute Series continues with music by The Rat Pack—Frank, Dean and Sammy—at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 22. $40 first three rows; $35 remainder of the house. This season’s Indian Wells Pops! series concludes with a tribute to great big-band singers, featuring Frank DiSalvo, at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 30. $50. At the Indian Wells Theater at CSUSB Palm Desert, 37500 Cook St. 760-341-6909; pdc.csusb.edu/eventstheater.html.
Indio Performing Arts Center
Bethany Owen stars in Country Queens, her all-country show, at 2 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, through Friday, March 28, with additional shows at 7 p.m., Friday, March 14 and 15; and 2 p.m., Sunday, March 16. Kirk Geiger stars in Marvin’s Room, “a hilarious and wondrous account of one woman’s commitment to loving others first, and her belief that giving such love has made her life unbelievably rich, even as she faces her own death,” at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, March 21, through Sunday, April 6. All shows $19 to $26. At the Indio Performing Arts Center, 45175 Fargo St., Indio. 760-775-5200; www.indioperformingartscenter.org.
McCallum Theatre
Sally Struthers stars in the classic Hello, Dolly! at 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 1; and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 2; $35 to $105. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra presents A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald at 8 p.m., Monday, March 3; $25 to $65. One Night of Queen is performed—you guessed it—one night only, by Gary Mullen and The Works, at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 6. $25 to $45. Michael Feinstein performs The Gershwins and Me at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8; $65 to $105. The musical-comedy The Addams Family takes place at 8 p.m., Friday, March 14; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 15, and 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, March 16; $35 to $95. The Pink Floyd Experience rocks the McCallum at 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 18. $25 to $45. An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin is performed by the legend herself at 8 p.m., Friday, March 21. $55 to $95. Walnut Street Theatre presents the play Driving Miss Daisy at 8 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, March 25 and 26; $25 to $75. The hit musical play based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher, is performed at 8 p.m., Friday, March 28; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, March 29; and 2 and 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 30. $25 to $95.At the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert. 760-340-2787; www.mccallumtheatre.com.
On the Air! An Evening of Live Radio Show Classics—from Dezart Performs
This benefit gala features stars including Gavin MacLeod, Joyce Bulifant and many others performing classic shows from radio’s heyday, at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 13. $35 to $75. At the Camelot Theatres, 2300 E. Baristo Road, Palm Springs. 760-322-0179; www.dezartperforms.com.
Palm Canyon Theatre
9 to 5 takes the adventures of Violet, Doralee and Judy from the movie to the stage, at 7 p.m., Thursday; 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, from Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 9. $32; $10 students/children (call the box office). The Madwoman of Chaillot, a French play about an eccentric woman who fights the authority figures in her life, takes place at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15; and 2 p.m., Sunday, March 16. $25. At 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. 760-323-5123; www.palmcanyontheatre.org.
The Prince and the Show Boy
Performers Faith Prince and Jason Graae re-create their hit show on the Annenberg Theater stage, at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 22. $60 to $75. At the Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs. 760-325-4490; www.psmuseum.org/annenberg-theater.
Theatre 29
The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Town’s Women’s Dramatic Society Murder Mystery, a story about a theater’s opening night gone terribly wrong, takes place at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, from Friday, Feb. 28, through Saturday, March 29, with additional matinees at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, March 9 and 23. $12; $10 seniors and military; $8 students. At 73637 Sullivan Road, Twentynine Palms. 760-361-4151; theatre29.org.