Finding the ideal artist to reopen the historic Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs might have seemed like a tall order, at least if the 89-year-old venue’s new operators wanted to touch every possible important base for a refurbishment-celebrating gala. Someone whose concert repertoire touches on vast decades of musical and show-biz history, but who also happens to be utterly and unmistakably of the moment? An acclaimed classicist of sorts, and, by the way, a current superstar? There is really only one needle in that haystack, and they got her: Cynthia Erivo .

The Plaza officially reopened Monday night after a two-year, $34 million renovation with a concert that was as spectacular as it needed to be, given the sense of occasion, and also was as intimate as it needed to be, given that the the

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