You kinda figured Judi Wolf would give Glinda the Good Witch a run for her money at “Wicked’s” opening gala. It’s her costumed sidekicks that provided the big surprise.
The otherwise elegant and reserved Joy Burns was a carbon copy of Elphaba, the so-called bad witch – green skin and all – while Denver Center for the Performing Arts Chairman Donald Seawell and former University of Denver Chancellor Dan Ritchie were Wonderful Wizards of Oz. Wolf’s husband, Marvin, opted for his customary suit and tie.
“Judi has certainly amortized the cost of that outfit,” Marvin Wolf said with a chuckle. She’d commissioned the gossamer confection for an appearance as the Fairy Godmother in a Colorado Ballet performance several years ago and then reprised it for the first Colorado Symphony Cinderella Ball.
The Wild Wicked Opening Night began with hors d’oeuvres and Oz-mopolitans in the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex lobby. After the performance in Buell Theatre, the 800 guests assembled in the Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom for dinner and dancing with the cast. The evening raised $110,000 for the DCPA’s students’ matinee program and elementary school tour.
Guenther Vogt and BJ Dyer of Bouquets set an Emerald City mood by setting tables with arrangements of green Banksia, bells of Ireland, roses, and Fuji and Kermit chrysanthemums set in vases filled with fogging dry ice. At the entry to the ballroom was a map of the Land of Oz, and those who looked carefully could see a photo of a young Donald Seawell peering out over his domain.
Keith and Cindi Burge, who are chairing the Denver Center Alliance’s signature fundraiser, the March 4 Saturday Night Alive, enjoyed their dinner – filet of beef and a witch’s hat-shaped dessert by Epicurean Catering – with the Alliance’s immediate past president, Kristina Davidson, and her husband, Jay; Debbie Gradishar; and Gail and George Johnson.
Nearby, Sharon Magness Blake and husband Ernie Blake were hosts to a group that included Jeff and Nancy Lamb Thompson; David Alexander; and Sue and John Simos.
Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia and his wife, attorney Loretta Martinez, were visiting with Dutchess Scheitler and her son, Frank; Katie Stapleton was there with beau Patrick Coulson.
Other first-nighters were Charlie and Diane Gallagher; Dick and Marcia Robinson; Carolynn Bond; James and Alison Shetter; Glenn Jones; Shellie and Jeff Munn; Sally and Alan Gass; Dr. Barry Berlin and Mary Reisher Berlin; Angela and Joe Alexis; Adrienne and Jack Fitzgibbons; Bradley Joseph; CBS4 honcho Walt DeHaven and public-relations whiz Wendy Aiello; and Gillian Goodman and CareerTrack co-founder Jimmy Calano, who has been enjoying retirement since selling the Boulder-based, $82 million management-training company in 1996.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com
