Last week, when I recommended 10 upcoming metro art events that I circled on my fall calendar, I’d like to focus more on the live theater season, given that Colorado has over 100 local businesses. Several readers have responded with requests to see it. So here we go.
Over the past few weeks, my focus has been on Denver Center’s “Theater of the Mind,” Curious Theater’s “Heroes of the Fourth Turning,” and Miners Alley Playhouse’s “Hair.” To round that list to ten, here are seven titles that piqued my interest (in chronological order).
“Promises on the Hill: Memories of West Colfax”
Phil Luna plays Max Appel in Sue Teatro’s “The Promise on the Hill.”
This weekend, Su Teatro will be launching an exclusive pre-release of her latest original work. It will be unveiled to the world for the first time in July next year. Producing It’s worth noting that Anthony J. Garcia, his artistic director and resident playwright, has devoted the past 50 years to telling the story of his Chicano community. Here, Garcia teams up with Denver’s Max his Appel to explore the Jewish community that once lived on Denver’s West Side. September 22-24 he is 721 Santa Fe Drive only.
“dry land”
The Benchmark Theater is presenting the regional premiere of the play Gut Punch (literally) by Ruby Rae Spiegel. It depicts a high school swimmer coping with pregnancy news in a community with few options. Until October 8th at 1560 Teller St., Lakewood.
“Children”
We were really looking forward to seeing the DCPA Theater Company present the regional premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s “Eco Thriller,” but it got wiped out for the rest of the 2020-21 season. This marks the beginning of the new stage at the Butterfly Effect Theater of Colorado in Boulder. In addition to the plot, it also reunites Sam Gregory and Martha Harmon Purdy. Martha Harmon Purdy starred in 2007’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Paragon Theater. New century. (No pressure.) Here we are in a post-nuclear disaster story where a nuclear physicist in his sixties grapples with the chaos he left for future generations. Through October 8, Dairy Arts Center, 2580 Walnut St.
“Chinese Lady”
The year is 1834, and 14-year-old Afon Moi is the first Chinese woman seen on the American mainland. It all sorts of (I would say irresponsible) history of her journalism newspaper, Yellow of Colorado, in writing “The Great Wall” for her DCPA Her Theater Company in 2012. ) Written by Lloyd Her Sue Who Took Liberty. Facts from fiction. Through October 16th at the Singleton Theater at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
“River Bride”
Albada Center presents a Brazilian folktale about two sisters torn between love and family when a mysterious man drags them out of the Amazon River. Directed by Jamie Ann Romero from Colorado. September 30-November 6 6901 Wadsworth Blvd.
“Growing up in Ronstadt”
Jerry Hinshaw’s one-man theatrical memoir exploring her Texas childhood through the influential sound of Linda Ronstadt. From October 20th to November 20th he will be performed by a local theater company. Boulders e-Town Hall 6, 1535 Spruce Street
“Scarlet Pimpernel”
After covering my local theater for 20 years, when I can honestly say, ‘Nobody’s ever done it before,’ it’s usually for good reason. But there is no doubt that the buzz is heating up for a new production in his theater of Candlelight Dinner, based on Baroness Oaksey’s novel about the French Revolution. With show tunes such as “Into the Fire” and “When I Look At You,” it has been described as a colorful window into 18th-century French and English history. He’s in Johnstown at 4747 Marketplace Drive until November 6th.
This list is just the tip of the iceberg. (Example: The Platte Valley Players of Brighton are running one of my five favorite musicals, ‘Urinetown’, through September 24. The newest title for the fall Broadway season is ‘Ain’ ‘t Too Proud: The Life.’ Broadway star Beth Malone will direct ‘Hurricane Diane’ from September 30 to October 16 at the Thunder River Theater Company in Carbondale, Theater Guild site.
Skye Smith and Nalea Kang in “The Chinese Lady” at DCPA Theater Company.