Dear Group Leaders and Tour Operators,
The Follies' 15th birthday season is now a memory, but the Follies' creative team is currently dancing as fast as it can to produce the biggest, grandest, most spectacular Follies EVER--called, appropriately enough, "Gotta Dance!" At this very moment, sets are being painted, feathers are being fluffed and tap shoes are being polished! There's no time to waste because the show opens October 31, 2006, and impresario Riff Markowitz insists that each all-new, all-old show top the one before it. And the Season 16 edition will be no exception!
If you have already booked a group for Season 16, your contract will be sent to you shortly. If you haven't, it's not too late to reserve great seats. In either case, you will soon receive in the mail our full-color, Group flyer with a performance calendar and all the information you need to book and sell your group. New this year: Follies groups can be composed of as few as 10 people (discounts, benefits and requirements vary with the size of the group).
Our new season's theme, "Gotta Dance!", is our response to numerous patron requests for more hoofing in the show. It's also the realization that for our cast, dance isn't just a job, but a way of life. You'll see so much more tap, jazz and popular dance this year, you might forget we hold the record for the world's oldest chorus line. As always, the Follies' Long-Legged Lovelies and Dapper Dans, aged 53 to 83, will be as energetic and agile as youngsters.
To complement the increased emphasis on dance, the Follies has engaged as headliners three of the most remarkable singers still performing today. Kicking off the season on October 31 and playing through December 31, 2006, will be the celebrated Gogi Grant (click here for sound clip). Grant's 1956 recording of "The Wayward Wind" knocked Elvis Presley from the top of the charts and remains one of the top 40 singles of the past half-century. In recent years, she has enjoyed sold-out nightclub runs in New York and Los Angeles featuring her own hits and the great standards of Gershwin, Porter and Irving Berlin.
From January 10, 2007 through March 18, dynamic songstress Gloria Loring (click here for sound clip) returns by popular demand from the Follies' twelfth season. (Her performance that year was such a showstopper it was selected as the climactic cut on the currently available Follies CD!) Most often remembered as Liz Chandler on NBC's Days of Our Lives, Loring also had a #1 recording with "Friends and Lovers" in 1986, and has made hundreds of appearances on TV talk and variety shows.
Closing the season, from March 21 through May 20, will be Mimi Hines (click here for sound clip), an instant sensation in 1958 when her Tonight Show rendition of "Till There Was You" reduced host Jack Paar to tears. Hines and her comedy partner, Phil Ford, quickly became favorites on The Ed Sullivan Show and later graced the Plaza Theatre stage during the Follies' second season. Time has done nothing to diminish the magnificent voice and comic timing that won Hines the coveted role as Barbra Streisand's replacement in the original Broadway production of Funny Girl.
In addition, like every Follies before it, Season 16 will feature variety acts guaranteed to dazzle young and old alike! We have searched the world over for the most thrilling acrobats, magicians, ventriloquists and canines, and we'll present the best of these in our upcoming edition.
We very much look forward to seeing your group during the next year. So if you haven't already done so, or if you have questions or need any additional information, contact us at (800) 967-9997, or email us at groupsales@psfollies.com.
Thank you and see you soon at the Follies!
Shari Lipman
Group Sales Manager
The most glittering night of Palm Springs' "high season" is New Year's Eve. And the most glamorous events each December 31 are the two performances of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies.
With special show times of 3:30 and 9 p.m., your group will be welcomed by our bus greeters, then directed to the Plaza Theatre courtyard for a champagne reception. Patrons will find the Plaza Theatre (and much of the audience) specially decked out for the celebration, and at each seat, a gift bag containing a Follies poster, streamers, hats and noisemakers. During the show, there will be a contest for the "Oldest Living Person" in the audience, and a chance to ring in the New Year with the entire Follies family.
With only two performances, seats are limited. But New Year's Eve at the Follies offers you a chance to create a truly unique, group experience.
Before visiting the Follies, why not consider attending "The Leonardo da Vinci Exhibit" at the Palm Springs Air Museum running November 3, 2006 though February 24, 2007. www.palmspringsairmuseum.org
Experience the dream of flight via 60+ working replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's vintage flying, mechanical and military machines. Visitors will step into a 15th Century Florentine street scene before entering three galleries composed of transportation, military and mechanical machines. A group of Florentine artisans spent 50 years constructing machines based upon Da Vinci's drawings and descriptions.
For more information, contact Craig Stahl at 760-778-6262 Ext. 235 or Craig@palmspringsairmuseum.org.
Desert Cities Hotel Reservations. A complete guide for local hotels and resorts, many within walking distance of the Palm Springs Follies. Call 800-615-7805, email hotelres@californiastay.com or visit www.CaliforniaStay.com.
Casino Morongo Resort and Spa, 49500 Seminole Dr., Cabazon, CA 92230. New resort casino, world-class spa; shopping at the outlet malls next door. Call Michael Potts at 951-755-5442, email michael_potts@morongo.com or visit www.morongo.com.
Comfort Inn, 390 South Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262. Within walking distance of the Follies, the Comfort Inn offers preferred group rates to patrons of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. Contact Judy Miller at 888-322-1997, email cipssales@earthlink.net or visit www.palmspringscomfortinn.com.
Fun Tours. One-call, group overnight Follies bargain package: Follies, hotel, dinner, stars homes tour and more. Contact Erich Langmann at 760-327-0658, email pstlps@aol.com or visit www.ids2.com/motels/palmspringstl.
Ingleside Inn, 200 West Ramon Road, Palm Springs, CA 92262. "One of the 10 Best" according to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous; four stars by The Desert Sun newspaper. Contact Brian Ellis at 760-325-2323, email contact@inglesideinn.com or visit www.inglesideinn.com.
Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism and Visitors Center. Complete listing of all Palm Springs hotels. For group rates call 760-778-8415, email eperkovich@palm-springs.org or visit www.palm-springs.org.
Palm Mountain Resort, 155 South Belardo Road, Palm Springs, CA 92262. 120-room, full-service hotel located in the heart of Palm Springs, footsteps from the Palm Springs Follies, retail, gaming, dining and entertainment; AAA 3-Diamond. Contact David Patterson at 800-622-9451, email sales@palmmountainresort.com or visit www.palmmountainresort.com.
Vagabond Inn, 1699 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92264. Limited service hotel with free continental breakfast, outdoor pool, and clean, comfortable rooms. Contact Vikki Larsen at 310-410-5728, email mpalmsprings@vagabondinn.com or visit www.vagabondinn.com.
We know that communication is key to filling buses and we want to assist you in any way possible.
Monthly, the Follies sends an informative and entertaining "Confidential" newsletter to our most loyal patrons with news on upcoming shows, special offers and items of general interest to our many fans. If you or any of your travelers would like to receive this monthly communique, just send me the addresses or go to the Home page of the Follies website www.psfollies.com and click the "Get Our Free E-Newsletter" icon.