It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World returns to the historic Plaza Theatre November 1 for an afternoon of film, laughter, Hollywood history, costumes and a celebration of Stanley Kramer’s enduring legacy
PALM SPRINGS, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/9/26 – More than six decades after It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World brought its enormous cast, outrageous chase scenes and gloriously chaotic comedy to audiences, Stanley Kramer’s beloved epic is coming home to Palm Springs.
On Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., the restored Plaza Theatre will welcome the 1963 comedy back to the venue where it played during its original theatrical run. Much of the movie was filmed in Palm Springs and Palm Desert, making the return far more than another revival screening, it is a genuine homecoming. The event benefits the Palm Springs Theatre Foundation, with proceeds supporting the historic theater and its community and education programs.
Karen recalled that the family had a home in the desert for many years and regularly spent time in Palm Springs when Kat and her sister Jennifer were young. The family also supported the theater’s restoration, and a seat at the Plaza bears the Kramer family name.
For Kat and Karen, then, bringing It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World back to the Plaza is not simply about presenting one of Stanley Kramer’s most popular films. It is also about supporting a theater, and a community, that has been part of their family’s own history.
For Kat Kramer and her mother, actress and producer Karen Sharpe-Kramer, widow of legendary filmmaker Stanley Kramer, the afternoon represents history, family and the continuation of a remarkable Hollywood legacy.
The Hollywood Times and sister publication Aspiring Magazine are proud media partners for the event, and I am especially delighted to have been invited to serve as one of the judges for the afternoon’s first-ever “Mad World” Costume Contest.
During a recent Zoom conversation with Karen and Kat, their enthusiasm was impossible to miss.
“We’re both excited that you’re the media partner,” Kat told The Hollywood Times. “We’re looking forward to working with you on this. It’s going to be a major event.”
For Kat, bringing her father’s film to the newly restored Plaza Theatre has been a dream since she first toured the renovation.
She remembers going to movies at the Plaza as a child and was thrilled that its restoration would preserve the atmosphere of the historic 1936 theater while once again making it a home for live entertainment and special events.
“I thought, God, this is like a whole village,” Kat recalled during our interview, explaining that she immediately imagined presenting her own programs there. And, naturally, she knew which film had to come first.
“It really is coming back to not only where most of it was made, but where it played so successfully,” she said.
The Plaza Theatre confirms that Stanley Kramer’s comedy was largely shot on location in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. The legendary filmmaker himself had deep ties to the Coachella Valley and is honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
The movie remains a staggering gathering of comedy talent: Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jonathan Winters, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Phil Silvers, Dick Shawn, Buster Keaton, Jerry Lewis, The Three Stooges and Jimmy Durante, among many others. The film received six Academy Award nominations and won for Best Sound Effects.
Karen Sharpe-Kramer has helped keep the movie before audiences for decades, producing anniversary celebrations and special screenings following Stanley Kramer’s death.
What continues to surprise her is just how passionately audiences respond.
“We sell out so quickly,” Karen said, noting that generations of families have embraced the film.
One reason, she believes, is that families can still watch it together. “There is no sexual innuendo, no cuss words,” she said. “A five-year-old can see this film and be safe.”
And perhaps the timing could not be better.
“The world is just so, it really is a mad, mad, mad, mad world right now,” the Kramers observed during our conversation. What people could use, they said, is an afternoon to simply laugh and enjoy themselves.
This will not be an afternoon where audiences simply sit down, watch a movie and head home.
Kat dreamed up a Mad World Costume Contest, inviting guests to take inspiration either directly from the film’s unforgettable characters or from the early 1960s era in which it was made.
Think Ethel Merman’s Mrs. Marcus, Jonathan Winters’ Lennie Pike, or your own wildly inventive interpretation of 1963 Palm Springs.
Contestants will parade before the judges, with prizes on the line.
So, what exactly will we judges be looking for?
“Authenticity to the movie? Creativity? Comedy?” I asked Kat.
“All of the above,” she replied.
And then the perfect additional category emerged:
“Complete madness.”
Exactly.
Presentation, personality and sheer comic imagination will all be fair game when contestants take the stage.
The official Plaza Theatre program also includes trivia games, an online treasure hunt, prizes, a Q&A and a book signing with author James Curtis.
VIP guests will have access to the BIG W afterparty – a knowing tribute to the movie’s famous hidden treasure beneath the “Big W.”
During our interview, Kat and Karen also revealed that Barrie Chase, one of the surviving performers associated with the film, is expected to join them as a special guest.
Another centerpiece of the afternoon will be author James Curtis, whose new book, Comedy Is a Grim Business: The Making of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, chronicles the extraordinary creation and history of Kramer’s enormous comedy.
The Plaza describes the book as a 300-page account spanning the film’s inspiration, casting and production through its international release and restoration.
Karen believes the book offers something beyond behind-the-scenes Hollywood history.
For filmmakers and other creatives, she said, it is also a story about “sticking to your vision” and fighting for something in which you believe.
That determination was at the center of Stanley Kramer’s career.
Our conversation inevitably moved from Stanley Kramer the comedy filmmaker to Stanley Kramer the filmmaker willing to confront some of the most difficult social issues of his time.
Karen offered a remarkable firsthand account of the battle to make 1967’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
At the time, interracial marriage was still illegal in numerous states. Karen recalled that the studio became alarmed after learning the true subject of the film and canceled the production, publicly citing concerns about insuring an ailing Spencer Tracy.
Stanley proposed forfeiting his own salary to cover the insurance expense. Katharine Hepburn agreed to do the same. Karen supported her husband’s decision despite their being newly married.
“I believe in it that much that we won’t take a salary,” she recalled telling Hepburn.
The film went forward.
For Karen, it became her first real education in producing beside Stanley — and a lesson in what filmmaking could accomplish when artists were willing to stand behind their convictions.
“I learned a lot from him,” she said. “Just by living with him and working alongside him was an education for me.”
Kat has taken that philosophy into her own career.
An actress, producer, performer and activist, she founded Kat Kramer’s Films That Change the World, an international cinema series built around movies capable of creating awareness and conversation.
She told The Hollywood Times that she has often felt as though her father was “looking over my shoulder and guiding me” as the series developed.
Her next evolution of that work is Sheroes for Change, inspired by women including Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Shirley MacLaine and Gloria Steinem, women Kat credits with helping move culture forward. She expects the project to reach its full fruition in 2027.
Perhaps the most touching moment of our conversation came when Karen shared the improbable story of how she and Stanley found each other.
Long before they became husband and wife, Karen had already appeared in one of his movies.
At just 16, she landed a tiny role in Stanley Kramer’s 1952 film The Sniper. She had only a few lines and never even met the producer.
Years later their paths crossed again while Stanley was making Ship of Fools. He pursued a date with Karen for nearly a year.
When she finally agreed, the dinner was, in Karen’s description, a disaster.
She was convinced there would never be a second date.
Then fate intervened.
Karen suffered a ruptured appendix and landed in the hospital. Stanley saw the news, sent flowers and asked whether he could bring her dinner when she returned home.
“And that’s how it started,” Karen remembered.
After only a few more dates, she said, “I fell madly in love with him.”
When Stanley proposed, she said yes.
“And I never looked back.”
That combination of love, legacy, Hollywood history and laughter is ultimately what November 1 will celebrate.
“It’s really for the community to come together,” Kat said, “and have a great opportunity of having fun.”
And fun seems guaranteed.
A legendary comedy.
A restored historic theater.
Hollywood stories.
A costume parade.
Trivia.
Prizes.
A book signing.
A Q&A.
The BIG W.
And, knowing Palm Springs, undoubtedly a few contestants determined to achieve complete madness.
CLICK BELOW FOR OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World screens Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at the Plaza Theatre, 128 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. Tickets start at $25. A $75 VIP package includes access to the BIG W afterparty. Proceeds support the Palm Springs Theatre Foundation.
The Hollywood Times and Aspiring Magazine are proud media partners for this special celebration.
By Valerie Milano
The Hollywood Times
