DENVER THEATER: CENTENNIAL STATE STAGES
WORDS BY ALEX MILLER
From Greek tragedy, Broadway hits and Shakespeare to esoteric, fringe productions, Denver’s variety of stage delights makes it a true mecca for theatergoers across the globe.
Narnia at the Arvada
Step into the grand atrium at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and you’re instantly aware that you’ve entered that rarified zone where creativity counts for everything. Gone are the looming edifices of business just outside the zone, located in Denver’s downtown, and in their place are many thousands of square feet dedicated solely to theater and the performing arts.
The Denver theater scene is red hot these days, with dozens of theaters ranging in size from tiny 50-seat spaces up to the Denver Center’s 2,800-seat Buell Theatre. When visiting the Mile High City, it’s nearly impossible to find a night when there aren’t several high-quality productions being staged, and theater lovers who find themselves in this city perched at the edge of the Rockies are discovering there’s a lot more to it than the Broncos and, well, the Broncos.
While the Denver Center’s two large performance halls (the Buell and the 2,700-seat Boettcher Concert Hall) host big touring productions—such as Wicked and Phantom of the Opera later this year—across the courtyard is the home of the Denver Center Theatre Company, which works from four unique venues. DCTC, which won a Tony Award in 1998 for Outstanding Regional Theatre, is one of those rare companies that has a healthy budget, a strong audience base and a wealth of talent to create its yearly schedule of shows.
Oedipus Rex at the DCTC
Following the Tony Award, DCTC leapt into the new millennium with an extraordinary undertaking: the staging of Tantalus, a marathon, 10-play cycle that theater-goers took in over the course of two days. It was a bold move that brought the DCTC and its artistic director Donovan Marley worldwide notoriety, and it demonstrated not only the company’s artistic commitment to unusual and noncommercial works, but also brought theater-goers a truly unique experience unlikely to be duplicated anytime soon.
Colorado’s economic downturn has compelled DCTC to trim back slightly on the number and scale of the shows it presents, but this past season has demonstrated a continual focus on presenting things not often seen. The 2004-2005 season is Marley’s last (he is replaced this summer by Kent Thompson), and he made some daring choices in his final season with passionate, stirring dramas—including an exceptionally well-wrought production of the classic Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex and an intriguing but largely forgotten Tennessee Williams play (A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur).
Cats at The CuriousWhen he presents his debut season starting this September, Kent Thompson promises to continue DCTC’s tradition of offering unique and challenging works while also adding more ethnic and local playwrights to the mix. He’ll have the ability to stage productions in the delightfully intimate “thrust”-style Jones Theatre, the larger thrust Stage Theatre, the versatile in-the-round Space Theatre and the smaller, traditional proscenium Ricketson. For more information, visit www.denvercenter.org.
Angels in America
Millennium Approaches
at Bas BleuAround town
While DCTC represents the focal point of the Denver theater scene, it would be a mistake to think it begins and ends there. There’s so much theater going on in town, in fact, that some have questioned whether the available audiences can sustain it all. The upshot for theater lovers visiting Denver is that there’s plenty to choose from, with most of the theaters easily reachable in 15 minutes or less by car or cab from the downtown hotels.
In terms of size, one of the larger theaters outside downtown is the Arvada Center (www.arvadacenter.org), located just west of central Denver. Known for producing high-quality shows ranging from musicals to comedy, the Arvada Center is maintaining a lively schedule while pressing forward with a $6 million reconstruction project that includes the addition of a new, smaller theater. The big event this summer at Arvada Center is a production of the hit musical comedy The Full Monty, which runs June 28 to July 31. Across the lawn, an outdoor amphitheater host children’s performances throughout the summer.
Arvada CenterLooking for something a little more “off-Broadway?” Denver’s got funky, smaller theaters in spades. One of the most celebrated is The Curious, which won “Best Season” awards from the Denver Post the last three years running. Working out of an old church in downtown Denver, The Curious (www.curioustheater.org) boasts a strong cadre of actors and directors as well as an artistic director, Chip Walton, who’s fearless when it comes to calling the plays. Add to that Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Paula Vogel as an advisory board member who contributes new works and you’ve got a theater as lively and robust as they come.
The Bug, the Buntport, Denver Civic Theatre, Denver Repertory Theatre, Heritage Square Opera House, Rattlebrain, the Avenue Theatre—the list of Denver theaters busy putting out great shows is extensive. What theater-goers will find is a city that presents a huge variety of theater in all kinds of unique spaces, big to small. Unlike New York, tickets are both easier to obtain and not as expensive. Many of the smaller theaters are in the $15-20 range for a ticket, and even at the Denver Center you can get into a preview for as little as $16.
So, when in Denver, do what the locals do: take in a show!
A STATE OF THEATER
Denver may be a hotbed of theatrical activity, but visitors to other parts of Colorado will find a state bursting with busy stage work. The following is only a partial list, but it’ll give theater-lovers with a rental car a taste of what they’ll encounter around Colorado:
ASPEN: From traveling shows at the fabled Wheeler Opera House (www. wheeleroperahouse.com) to a full slate of professional productions at Theatre Aspen (www.theatreaspen.org), there’s no shortage of shows to see in the Roaring Fork Valley. Keep an eye out for great community theater in the area as well, from shows at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs (www.coloradomtn.edu) to performances from Aspen Community Theatre (www. aspencommunitytheater.com).
Wheeler Opera House
BOULDER: Don’t miss the Colorado Shakespeare Festival outdoors at the University of Colorado’s Mary Rippon Theatre (www.coloradoshakes.org). Running June through August, this summer features Othello, A Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night and more.
Like dinner theater? Boulder’s Dinner Theatre (www.theatreinboulder.com) is a step above most, with a great lineup of favorites such as Wizard of Oz.
FORT COLLINS: The newly renovated and expanded Bas Bleu Theatre is a brave little theater that chooses art over commercial almost every time. Check out its summer production of The Elephant Man (www.basbleu.org). Summit County is home to four ski areas but it also has two dynamic, award-winning community theaters. The venerable Backstage Theatre in Breckenridge (www.backstagetheater.org) presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Kimberly Akimbo this summer, while in Dillon the Lake Dillon Theatre Company focuses in summer on children’s theater.
TELLURIDE: Down south? Check out the Telluride Repertory Theatre Company (www.telluridetheater.org). Each summer, the company features a different classic, from Shakespeare to Sophocles, under the stars on the Town Park Stage.