Darlin's,
Just a few more days until my mother's favorite holiday: St. Patrick's Day! And if you
know anything about my dear sainted mother, you know she loves the wearin' of the
green and the tellin' of a joke with a bit of a brogue. Odd for a little Jewish lady,
but that's a story I promise to tell another day. For quite some time, you have been
sending me jokes you think she'd enjoy, so we have decided to create a place on our website's
front page where you can send them directly to her. If she likes the joke (and doesn't decide
to claim it for her own), she'll post it on that same page for everyone to enjoy.
It's been awards season of late and not just for the motion picture industry: the Follies has been the recipient of numerous recognitions for which we are most grateful. The articles below describe just a few of them.
We will soon be saying farewell to those four debonair and talented gentlemen, The Four Coins. They were instant hits here at the Plaza Theatre, but if you haven't yet seen them, there's still time as they perform through March 19.
Then on March 22, an 11th season favorite, Miss Jo Ann Castle, returns to pound another of the Follies' pianos through the stage floor. My, how that lady can hammer the ivories!
Also below, there are a few mentions of famous folk who've visited us of late and a lovely piece about Follies Company Dance Manager and my Creative Consultant, Miss Leila Burgess (Follies Favorites should check out her recipe for corned beef & cabbage on the Favorites "members only" page).
So if we haven't seen you recently, we do hope you'll catch a Follies performance soon. As my mother is fond of saying on St. Paddy's, "may the Devil follow you all the days of your life and never quite catch up."
Riff Markowitz
"The Follies Man"
What's a birthday party without the return of an old friend to help celebrate? The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies is proud to ring out its 15th birthday season with the eagerly awaited return of the inimitable Jo Ann Castle. Still a dynamo at 65, Castle has been dazzling audiences with her infectious personality and extraordinary keyboard skills since her debut on The Lawrence Welk Show almost a half-century ago.
Born in Bakersfield, California, Castle began singing and dancing at the age of three. At seven, she studied classical piano and started learning the accordion when she moved with her family to Ventura at age 11. She turned professional in her teens and worked for such bandleaders as Tex Williams, Ina Ray Hutton and her All-Girl Orchestra, "King of Western Swing" Spade Cooley and Spike Jones.
While appearing with her own group in Las Vegas, Castle recorded her first album, Accordion in Hi-Fi, for Roulette Records. Welk heard the album and immediately invited her to make the first of several guest appearances on his show. Two years later, on her 20th birthday and with millions of viewers watching, Welk surprised her with an invitation to become a permanent member of his musical family. Finding herself among a number of able accordionists on the show, Castle emphasized her piano playing and remained a regular from 1959 to 1970.
Despite her legendary status as Welk's "Ragtime Gal," Castle retired from television in 1970 to raise a family. But she was never forgotten by her millions of fans and, since 1994, she has traveled extensively with her one-woman show, combining the intensity of Jerry Lee Lewis with the flamboyance of Liberace. Among her stops was a triumphant engagement as Palm Springs Follies' guest star in Season 11.
"It's a thrill to be part of such a wonderful show with such talented entertainers," says Castle, a performer as extravagant and exuberant as the Follies itself. With this dynamic eighty-eighter, the Follies pulls out all the stops to culminate its 15th birthday.
The Follies was honored to be recognized by Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden at two recent ceremonies, one during a Palm Springs City Council Meeting and the other during the finale of a Follies performance. The proclamation below was presented to Follies Founders Riff Markowitz and Mary Jardin not only recognizing their 15th birthday season, but for having broken Ziegfeld's record of total Follies performances. On March 3, 2006, each patron at the Follies' matinee performance also received a copy of the proclamation as a memento of this historic event.
From Left: "Follies Man" Riff Markowitz, Mayor Ron Oden and Long-Legged Lovely,
Leila Burgess
Proclamation
City of Palm Springs
WHEREAS, Riff Markowitz and Mary Jardin's long-running stage revue, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, is now in its fifteenth, consecutive season at the historic Plaza Theatre on South Palm Canyon Drive; and
WHEREAS, during its fifteen seasons The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has delighted more than two-and-a-half million theatergoers, thus enriching the cultural life of the City of Palm Springs; and
WHEREAS, during its fifteen seasons The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has attracted worldwide media attention and generated countless domestic and international visitors to the City of Palm Springs; and
WHEREAS, during its fifteen seasons The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies has contributed greatly to eradicating stereotypes and myths about aging; and
WHEREAS, Riff Markowitz has personally appeared in every season of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies without missing a single performance; and
WHEREAS, as of the matinee show on March 3, 2006, The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies will have given 3,236 performances, thereby exceeding the number of performances given during the multi-year run of the original Ziegfeld Follies under the direction of Florenz Ziegfeld.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RON ODEN, Mayor of the City of Palm Springs, California, by the power vested in me, do hereby proclaim March 3, 2006 to be
THE FABULOUS PALM SPRINGS FOLLIES DAY
in our fair city and ask all citizens and visitors to recognize Riff Markowitz, Mary Jardin and The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies for their contribution to the appeal and worldwide recognition of Palm Springs which has made this wonderful day possible.
Dated this 3rd of March 2006.
Center: Follies Co-Founder, Mary Jardin, surrounded by Mayor Ron Oden and City Council at Palm Springs' City Hall
At the recent Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Authority's Annual Luncheon, the Follies' own Front Deskman, Jim Suguitan, was named "Frontline Employee of the Year" for our Coachella Valley, the event's final and perhaps most prestigious award. As the first contact visitors have with the Follies when either calling or visiting the show's executive offices, Jim has developed his own fan base, folks who have grown accustomed to his always professional and always charming demeanor. We congratulate Jim and the many other dedicated staffers in the Coachella Valley who strive to make a visit to our Desert Paradise a graciously memorable experience.
Follies Reservations Manager, Carl Hursh, driving Follies Lovely, Trina Parks.
For the third consecutive year, the Follies was represented in Palm Spring's annual Black History Parade by Follies Lovely Trina Parks, who appeared in Diamonds Are Forever as "Thumper," the first-ever black "Bond Girl."
Also riding in the parade were other Follies staffers driving the ubiquitous Folliesmobiles, and Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden once again led this annual procession in recognition of Black History Month.
Famous folk are always attending the Follies and, while we try to protect their privacy during their visits, we thought you'd like to know about some recent celebrity sightings at the historic Plaza Theatre.
Kaye Ballard, star of Broadway, motion pictures and the legendary TV series, The Mothers-In-Law, recently paid the Follies a return visit to see the show's newest edition and to visit with cast and staffers. During this legendary actress' fourteenth season star turn upon the Plaza Theatre stage, she became fast friends with everyone at the Follies, so a happy reunion was had by all.
And speaking of legends, multiple-Emmy winning and Oscar-nominated actress, Gena Rowlands, visited the Follies for the first time based upon rave reviews from a close friend.
The Follies' Suzanne Vitale
with Cynthia Shank
Star visitors aren't always from the realms of film, stage or television; Follies Fan, Cynthia Shank, who is a software customer service representative by trade, travels solo from Maryland each year, sometimes for only a day, for the express purpose of attending a Follies performance.
Once, when work demands seriously conflicted with her travel plans, she flew in just in time for the matinee curtain then returned that same evening on the "red eye" to make it back to work the next day!
"Mrs. Mac" (in white) surrounded by family and friends.
Finally, the lady who has seen the Follies MORE times than any other single person, affectionately known by everyone at the Plaza Theatre as "Mrs. Mac," paid another visit, traveling from Coronado, California with friends and family in tow. Some estimates peg her total number of Follies visits at over 300!!! Once, the Follies Man announced from the stage that with all the money she'd spent on tickets through the years, "You could have had me!" Her succinct reply from the audience was, "I'd rather see the show."
Leila Burgess, 70, Company Dance Manager and Creative Consultant, is returning for her fourteenth season at the Plaza Theatre. After attending New York's High School of Performing Arts, she danced professionally in New York's famed Latin Quarter and made special dance appearances on television's Colgate Comedy Hour and Naked City. She was the managing director of Latin Quarter Showgirls West and produced three Latin Quarter revivals from 1989-1992, all the proceeds of which went to abused and missing children's charities.
Age 19 at the Latin Quarter. And that handsome singer is none other than Ralph Young, one half of the superstar duo, "Sandler & Young," and the Follies' first season guest star.
In addition, she started the Newport Beach Parks and Recreation Department children's dance program where she taught and choreographed for twelve years.
Leila also creatively contributes to all Follies production numbers and wardrobe design, and manages the entire cast...no easy task considering this group's "seniority"!
Leila has two children and two grandchildren.
What has been your life's greatest challenge? "After my divorce, working retail by day, teaching dance classes by night, and collecting food stamps to feed my children. It was all worth it because now I get to shine in the Follies!"
We partner with over fifty restaurants, hotels, attractions, retailers and special services to assist you in making your visit to Palm Springs and the Follies even more enjoyable.
This month, we've added two new Palm Springs restaurants to our list of favorites:
For a complete listing plus additional helpful details, please visit the "Visitor Information" page of the Follies website by clicking here. Some vendors even make special offers exclusive to Follies patrons, so please check this webpage before your next visit. This page also includes parking information, street directions and weather information to make planning your Follies visit as easy as possible!
The Follies box office is open seven days a week and can be reached by calling (760) 327-0225, or you can purchase tickets online 24 hours a day at www.psfollies.com and see your exact seat location at the time of booking. The Follies box office, located at the entrance to The Historic Plaza Theatre, is also open seven days a week.