PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Nov. 9, 2026. The Plaza Theatre on Palm Canyon Drive turns 90 this season. The theater first opened on Dec. 12, 1936, and its anniversary celebrations begin in December, a year after the restored building reopened. Among the bookings that follow is comedian Kathy Griffin, who has three dates on the winter calendar: Sunday, January 31, Friday, February 26, and Friday, March 26, 2027. All three start at 7:00 PM.
The run spreads across the heart of the desert's high season, one show per month. Dates, seating details and listings for Kathy Griffin at the Plaza Theatre are collected on the independent ticket guide for the venue.
Four decades of saying the quiet part
Griffin came out of the Groundlings improv troupe in Los Angeles and worked steadily in television through the 1990s, with a regular role on the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan and a memorable guest turn on Seinfeld. Her stand-up made her name, though: long, gossipy stories about celebrities she had met, told with the timing of someone who knows exactly how far a room will go.
Her Bravo series My Life on the D-List turned that persona into a reality show and won her two Emmy Awards. She has also written best-selling memoirs and recorded a long list of stand-up specials. Over the past decade much of the attention around her has been political, and she has kept talking about it on stage and in interviews, as a recent Salon profile noted. Audiences should expect current events, Hollywood stories and a show that runs long. Griffin is known for going well past the time on the ticket.
Three dates in one theater also means three different shows in practice. Griffin's material shifts with the news, and an act in late January will not be the same one in late March.
Griffin has a long following among LGBTQ audiences, which makes Palm Springs, one of the country's best-known LGBTQ resort towns, a natural stop. She rarely works from a tight script, and her sets wander through tangents that circle back much later, so even fans who saw her recently can expect new stories.
Inside the 1936 house
The Plaza Theatre sits at 128 S Palm Canyon Drive, in the middle of downtown Palm Springs. Its Spanish Colonial Revival interior is the first thing first-time visitors talk about. A recent reviewer described a small "town" built into the walls of the auditorium and stars painted across the ceiling, a design common in the atmospheric movie palaces of the 1930s. Others point to how close every seat feels to the stage, which suits a talker like Griffin far better than an arena would.
The building opened as a movie house and later spent many years as the home of a long-running stage revue. After a major restoration it reopened at the end of 2025, and its calendar now mixes comedy, concerts, cabaret, chamber music and film nights. The modest size changes how comedy lands, too: when the back row is not far from the stage, small asides and facial reactions carry.
One reviewer noted that music can bounce off the hard interior surfaces. For a stand-up night, where the show is one voice and a microphone, that is less of a concern.
Parking, dinner and timing
Nearby public garages handle most theater parking, and valet service is available. Rideshare drop-off points are marked near the entrance. Garage hours vary, so check the closing time before parking for a show that may run late. The ticket guide recommends arriving at least 30 minutes before 7:00 PM, and it notes that late arrivals may not be seated until a break in the program.
Palm Canyon Drive is lined with restaurants within a few blocks of the theater, and a pre-show dinner within walking distance is easy to plan. Winter weekends are the busiest time of year downtown, so reservations help on the two Friday dates.
Evenings downtown are usually mild in winter, which makes a walk along Palm Canyon Drive after the show part of the night. The street closes to traffic on Thursday evenings for the VillageFest street fair, though none of the three Griffin dates falls on a Thursday.
The rest of the season is full of names. Mavis Staples plays February 12, 2027, Judy Collins follows on February 16, Micky Dolenz arrives March 7, and David Sedaris closes out the listed calendar on May 9, 2027. The complete list of Plaza Theatre tickets and events covers the full season.
About the Plaza Theatre
The Historic Plaza Theatre is a 1936 performance venue at 128 S Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California. Restored and reopened in late 2025, it presents comedy, concerts, cabaret, classical chamber music, film events and family shows, and it begins its 90th anniversary celebrations this December. The ticket guide referenced above is independent and is not the theater's box office.
About Kathy Griffin
Kathy Griffin is an American comedian, actor and author. A Groundlings alumna, she starred in the Emmy-winning Bravo series My Life on the D-List, appeared on Suddenly Susan, and has released many stand-up specials and several books.