I'm playing multiple roles in The Desert Rose Playhouse's double feature of plays written by Mae West.  THE DRAG (which was banned from Broadway because of it's controversial subject of homosexuality) and SEX (which put Mae West in jail for indecency for tackling the subject of prostitution).  Can't give away too much just yet--but these are unusual and juicy roles for me!  Our opening has been reset for Wednesday, June 1st and extended until Sunday, June 12th.

​This is a hard post to write. I lost a dear friend this week who was also my champion and partner in all things ELECTRICITY. I met Michael Darner 7 years ago when I was a guest on a cruise to Alaska to show a TV series I had written and acted in. I chatted with Michael. He asked what else I was working on and I told him I had just written a play but I didn't know how to get it produced. He asked what it takes to produce a play and I said "Money." A few months later my show was in a festival in Palm Springs where Michael lived. He asked about the play. To be honest, I'd forgotten we'd talked about it. He wanted to know if he could read the script. He was an architect, not at all in the theater world, but he was curious so I sent it to him. He called and said--"This play is my life story. I've never produced anything before, but let's make this happen." And he did. And he changed my life. We cast the play with Kevin Scott Allen who has become a dear friend and my bestie Steve Rosenbaum directed with Amy Rowell as our stage manage (who has become a dear friend). We opened in Los Angeles and played for 6 weeks then extended for 5 more. Celebrity friends like Dawn Wells, Loni Anderson, Frances Fisher and many more came and moderated Q&A's after performances. We put the play in the Hollywood Fringe Festival. We had a great run and normally, that would be the end of a play. But Michael and I knew we were just getting started. We thought about experimenting with doing the play (which all takes place in a single hotel room over 4 decades) in a real hotel room. Michael was friends with Jon and Sandy who own INNdulge in Palm Springs. Kevin couldn't do the play in Palm Springs so I auditioned Mel England (who has become a great friend). He took over the role as we played it immersively in the hotel. We created a class reunion in the hotel lobby before the show-- and Michael played the coach. He was great! We took the play to St. Paul / Minneapolis and it went amazingly well. The Evolution Theater in Columbus staged a production with me and Ralph Scott (who has become a dear friend) and Michael came to Ohio to see the production. We started doing ELECTRICITY at Oscar's in Palm Springs as well as the hotel (2 venues at the same time--who does that?) and made plans to take the play off-Broadway. Covid hit--the play survived. We brought it back to Oscar's and then had a terrific run at the Desert Rose Playhouse and at nearly 4 years, ELECTRICITY became the longest running play in Palm Springs. I moved to Palm Springs, Mel and his husband Tony, director Steve--we all moved with Michael as our anchor. He's the reason we all settled in our new homes. Michael has been a vital part of my life for 7 years. He was an incredible person; smart, multi-talented, a champion and a warrior. He fought hard to stay with us and continue our journey to Off-Broadway but his physical heart gave out. However his loving heart is all over my play and my life and he will continue to be with us for every performance. I love you Michael and you are already so missed.

Do you recognize this handsome face from a classic TV show?  His dad "was a man, yes a big man" and we will soon be having some TV Therapy fun.  Can't wait!