How would you like to spend Christmas in Palm Springs with staunchly Reaganite Republican parents, two liberal adult children and an even more liberal, recently sober aunt? Sound ideal? It is. “It really is so timely with the political environment,” said Suzanne Avalon, Idyllwild Actors Theatre founder, who plays the superbly coiffed Republican mother Polly…

On April 7, National Public Radio’s Christopher O’Riley brings his popular showcase of up-and-coming young performing artists to the William M. Lowman Concert Hall on the Idyllwild Arts campus. O’Riley, a classical pianist and gifted interviewer, has hosted “From the Top” since 2000. Begun as an experiment 15 years ago, the one-hour program in which…

At 7 o’clock Wednesday evening, Jan. 7, those attending Idyllwild 2015, will be able to watch the premiere of “Solitary.” “It’s a deeply personal script,” said the film’s writer and star Katharine McEwan, and producing the film “was an all-consuming experience.” The movie is about an adult woman returning home to an aging father. The…