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Like some of the history of Borrego Springs, the history of the Borrego Springs Performing Art Center can be a bit surprising.
Borrego Springs has a long history of first class performing arts venues dating back to the 1950’s. Perhaps because of its isolated beauty and/or perhaps because of its proximity to Palm Springs, Borrego Springs was a favorite destination for many of the entertainment industry’s elite. Lon Chaney, Jr., Burgess Meredith, Charles Laughton, Montgomery Clift, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Bing Crosby, John Wayne and others found Borrego to be a perfect hideaway.
It follows, then, that there would be an interest in the performing arts and, in 1950, Lon Chaney, Jr. started Borrego’s first community theatre group called the Little Theatre Group. The De Anza Players evolved from the Little Theatre Group and the Sunrise Players from The De Anza Players. The Sunrise Players were extremely active, mounting a significant number of productions from 1978 until the mid 1980’s when the Sunrise Players were replaced by the Little Fox Dinner Theatre at the La Casa del Zorro resort.
The current iteration of Borrego’s performing arts efforts occurred in 1991 when Varina French, Jimmy Corsaro and Sharon Andrews created the Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center. Located in what was the Borrego Springs movie theatre, the Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center offers a diverse sampling of entertainment throughout the season, from theatre to ballet, from lectures to wine tastings.
For information about the Center’s season schedule, go to their website at www.bspac.net or contact the Center at 760-767-4275. The Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center is a 501 (C) (3) non profit organization and welcomes your contributions and involvement!