Acoma Center owner Mickey Zeppelin and Curious Theatre Company founder Chip Walton are only dreaming for now – but boy are they dreaming big.
They are imagining one stretch of Acoma Street in the Golden Triangle complete with artist housing, street retail, offices, art galleries and studios, and a broad mix of incoming performing-arts groups – all anchored by a renovated new Acoma Center, present and future home of the Curious Theatre Company.
We said it was a dream.
“Acoma Street has been designated under the city’s master plan as ‘The Avenue of the Arts’ from 13th to Eighth avenues,” Zeppelin said. “What we are trying to do is make that plan a reality.”
For now, Zeppelin is in preliminary conversations to develop land he already owns on and around the Acoma Center, a converted church at 1080 Acoma St.
“My guess is it will be six months before we have anything tangible to announce, but we are looking at every alternative,” Zeppelin said. “Right now, everything is possible.”
Curious has a lease with Zeppelin through 2008, and a key piece in any development plan would be a capital campaign that would allow Curious to purchase and renovate the Acoma Center. It sits in the bosom of an area that’s set to flourish with the opening of the Denver Art Museum’s new wing; there are seven open or planned museums in the vicinity.
“In our mind, buying the Acoma Center is the most likely scenario,” Walton said. The building’s exterior would be preserved and any interior renovations to the theater would preserve the essential performing area, he said. He has conferred with specialist Chris Wineman of Semple Brown Design about new seating, a more welcoming lobby and renovated offices.
“I love the physical auditorium and the energy in there as it is now,” Walton said.
Though this is the dreaming stage, “we absolutely, positively want to make this happen,” Walton added. “So I say, if we’re going to do this, let’s think big.”
Brooks memorial
About 100 attended Tuesday’s memorial for Changing Scene founder Al Brooks, most citing his and wife Maxine Munt’s passion for art, encouragement of artistic expression in others, and love for each other.
Among the guests at the Germinal Stage Denver were Brooks’ nephew, Michael Smith, a pioneer of the off-Broadway movement, and great-nephew Alfred St. John Smith (named after Brooks). They were in town having just completed an off-Broadway run of “Trouble,” written by Michael Smith and featuring his actor son Alfred.
“I met my wife because of my Uncle Al,” Michael said. “I was coming through Denver for the first of what I called my trilogy of Denver plays (‘Peas’).”
One day Brooks took his dance class up to the mountains “to dance naked in the meadows,” said Smith, who went along. His future wife was one of Brooks’ students. They took a walk, met up again two years later, and were married.
Briefly …
Denver Center Attractions has dropped “Little Women” from its slate to make room for Molly Ringwald and the national touring production of “Sweet Charity.” The Neil Simon musical comedy comes to Denver Dec. 5-17. “All Shook Up” moves to Dec. 20-31. …
The Arvada Center canceled last Sunday’s matinee of “The Heiress” 20 minutes after its scheduled start because a city water-line project had shut off water to the center, leaving it without working toilets. … “Menopause the Musical” closes today, but producers have announced it will return to Denver within two years.
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-820-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
