'Les Misérable' and Barry Manilow holiday show returning to McCallum in 2023-24 season

When McCallum Theatre President and Artistic Director Mitch Gershenfeld explained how he puts together an annual season, he described it as a “jigsaw puzzle.”

The Palm Desert theater’s narrow five-month window each year features Broadway musicals, tributes to performers such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, family and educational programming and performers of several different genres of music, from country to classical.

Gershenfeld noted that certain organizations, like the the Friends of the Philharmonic — as is the case with most classical artists — need to book the venue two years in advance, because a symphony orchestra is booked up to four years out. Shows coming out of the Great White Way are also early pieces to the puzzle.

"I’m really dependent on (touring Broadway shows) when they’re on the West Coast. I get calls all the time and they’re like, 'We’ve got this great show in July' and I say 'No, I can’t because we don’t do anything in July,'" Gershenfeld said. "I try to set up the Broadway shows first, because they take up the greatest number of days, and once I get those in, I can start filling in the other stuff. It’s an interesting process."

Gershenfeld retired from his position in 2020, but returned to his old post at the Palm Desert theater following the departure of Jamie Grant in 2021. He has since signed on for three more seasons, and will book two further seasons beyond 2026. He quipped, "Then they're finally going to let me retire."

"I love this place and what I do. My wife tells me she thinks I'm happiest when I'm working as long as I'm healthy. I love it here, and I'm happy to be here," Gershenfeld said.

Tickets for the 2023-24 season go on sale at 8 a.m. on April 14. A full schedule is available at mccallumtheatre.org.

New season will bring big returns, big debuts

Gershenfeld has put together an extraordinary season with many highlights, including its Broadway offerings.

“Les Misérables” is returning for the first time since 1993 for eight performances from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3. Other Broadway shows are “The Cher Show” on Nov. 24-26, “Pretty Woman” on Jan. 19-21, “Chicago” on March 1-3 and “Mean Girls” on March 29-31.

“I think (‘The Cher Show’) is going to be exciting, especially in Palm Springs. You have three different actresses playing Cher at different stages of her life — Sonny & Cher, the Gregg Allman years and the more recent years.”

Since the 2014-15 season, Gershenfeld has included “Mitch’s Picks” into the annual programming, booking acts audiences may not be familiar with. This year’s picks are “America’s Got Talent” contestant Jimmie Herrod on Jan. 15 and the theatrical show “Selected Shorts” on Feb. 4 featuring guest actors reading stories aimed towards a Palm Springs audience. On Feb. 22, Palm Desert singer, Broadway actress and winner of the theater’s 2004 Open Call competition Carrie St. Louis will perform.

An additional selection is “Industrial Strength Broadway” on Feb. 8, which celebrates musicals written for corporate events and will be co-produced by the McCallum with comedy writer Steve Young. Young was assigned to find rare comedy vinyl records for the “Late Show with David Letterman.” He discovered “industrial musicals” in the process and has been obsessed ever since — an obsession that became the subject of the 2018 documentary “Bathtubs Over Broadway.”

“I had a meeting with (Young) in New York and I asked him, ‘Do we have to worry about copyrights?’ and he said most of the music was never copyrighted because it was only performed once and thrown away,” Gershenfeld said.

Other Broadway luminaries are scheduled to perform, such as Kristin Chenoweth on Jan. 26-27, Palm Springs resident Lucie Arnaz on Feb. 28, Linda Eder on March 28 and Patti Lupone on April 18. On April 6, a quartet of Broadway actors that donned the Phantom mask on Broadway in "Phantom of the Opera" will perform "The Four Phantoms." The show will feature actors Brent Barrett, John Cudia, Franc D'Ambrosio and Ciaran Sheehan.

Barry Manilow, a new speaker series and more

For those looking to take in some holiday shows, some regular performers are coming back, including famed singer-songwriter and Palm Springs resident Barry Manilow, who will perform five "A Gift of Love VI" concerts benefitting Coachella Valley nonprofit organizations Dec. 12-13 and 15-17. Merri-Achi Christmas will perform on Dec. 8, jazz saxophonist Dave Koz & Friends will perform on Dec. 18 and Canadian Brass will bring their holiday classics and brass standards on Dec. 19.

The "National Geographic Live" series will not continue at the McCallum, but the theater will still provide family and educational programming through its "Adventure Speaker Series." Gershenfeld said "National Geographic" was purchased by Disney, who decided to drop the live presentations in most of the cities the programming is featured in.

"Adventure Speaker Series" will begin on Jan. 24 with mountaineer Peter Hillary's "Climb Your Own Everest." Hillary is the son of Sir Edmund Hillary, who was one of the first of two climbers to summit Mount Everest in 1953. "Pink Boots and a Machete: The Curious Life of Dr. Mireya Mayor" will feature the scientist and TV host discussing her experiences traveling through the Congo, Madagascar and other African countries. Andrew Evans will close the series on April 7 with "Travel: A Bridge to Enlightenment" discussing how travel broadens worldview and breaks down barriers between cultures.

Classical music lovers will enjoy shows such as "A Salute to the Music of John Williams" Feb. 2-3 with many of Hollywood's prominent classical musicians that played with Hollywood's "Music Man" on film soundtracks such as "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," "Schindler's List" and more. Chinese pianist Lang Lang will also perform a solo concert on April 3.

Even though there's a local audience that enjoys opera, Gershenfeld said it's difficult for a city theater to put on because of the resources it requires such as an orchestra, exceptional singers, sets and costumes. "I've had conversations with every opera company on the west coast to see if we could do something here and the cost is just prohibitive," Gershenfeld said.

However, there are two traveling opera productions on the lineup for next season.

Teatro Lirico D'Europa will perform Puccini's opera classic "La Boheme" on Feb. 26 and New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' production of "The Pirates of Penzance" is scheduled for March 10.

A mix of new and regular performers

There are plenty more highlights in the season that will delight local audiences. Vocal jazz group Manhattan Transfer, celebrating its 50th anniversary and on a farewell tour, will perform on Dec. 9. Robert Klein and Leo Kottke will both perform at the theater for the first time on Feb. 9. Bossa nova and samba singer Sergio Mendes will perform on Feb. 17. For fans of the reality TV music competition series "American Idol," 2003 finalists Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken will perform on March 18.

"Ruben won and Clay came in second, but Clay had the bigger music career. He hasn't performed in a long time. Ruben has been here a few times with Colors of Christmas and a couple of other things, but this is the first time in 20 years they're touring together. That's going to be exciting," Gershenfeld said.

The season also features many McCallum favorites such as Jeffrey Siegel's "Keyboard Conversations" for four concerts on Nov. 20, Jan. 8, Feb. 19 and March 25. Also, Paul Anka on Jan. 9-10, The Ten Tenors on Feb. 13-17, Michael Feinstein on Feb. 24, Pink Martini for six performances March 13-17 and jazz trumpeter Chris Botti March 22-23.

"There are theaters that don't want to repeat artists year after year, and I don't believe that's a good policy because if people want to see an artist and want to come see that year after year, why wouldn't you do that? I can sell Chris Botti every year, which I have for 20 years. Why wouldn't I have Chris Botti every year? Why wouldn't I bring back some of these other artists? Because the audience wants to see that."

As more bands and entertainers enjoyed regular touring schedules as the COVID-19 pandemic waned, global tours grossed $6.28 billion, according to Pollstar. Gershenfeld said the 2022-2023 season saw the second-highest sales year in its history, but added there are still challenges for theaters. Jeffrey Norman, vice president of communications and public affairs, said there are customers who come to the theater 20 to 40 nights a year, which he said is "unheard of in any market."

"The audiences weren't coming back (to other theaters) to the extent that they were here. I feel comfortable that our audience knows what we have, what we're doing and attending the shows we have," Gershenfeld said.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Desert's McCallum Theatre announces 2023-24 season