Every successful theater company can look back at moments in its history when the axis shifted, and how it was perceived changed forever.
Curious thought of calling it quits in 2003. Then it snagged “Proof,” the longest-running Broadway play in 20 years. That started a remarkable streak in which Curious – and not the Denver Center Theatre Company – staged the first area productions of the four most recently available Tony-winning best plays.
Suddenly some of the DCTC’s best actors, including Jamie Horton, John Hutton and Erik Sandvold, were spending their free time at Curious. Grants, donors, staff and attendance skyrocketed. And no one talks about Curious as a small theater company anymore.
The 6-year-old Paragon Theatre Company had one of those moments last week, when it signed Sam Gregory, one of the DCTC’s best actors, to star in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” next July 14 opposite powerhouse Martha Harmon Pardee. Ed Cord and Barbra Andrews round out the stellar quartet.
“This is huge for us,” said director and co-founder Warren Sherrill. “We are so excited and incredibly honored that Sam would want to work with us.”
Gregory first appeared at the DCTC in 1991’s “Tartuffe,” returning intermittently before becoming a full company member in 2005. He’s now in “Season’s Greetings,” followed by “King Lear” (as the Fool) and “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball.”
Gregory saw Paragon’s “The Caretaker” in May and was impressed. Playing the Richard Burton role in “Virginia Woolf” there appealed to him – “it would be an opportunity to work with a really good, young company, and I would get to play a role I wouldn’t necessarily ever get at the Denver Center.”
Pulling it off would be complicated. Gregory is only the second Equity guest actor in Paragon’s history. “I hope I am worth all the effort Warren has put into this,” said Gregory, who bought a house in Denver with his wife this year.
“I am very much interested in becoming a member of the Colorado theater community, and not just a member of the Denver Center Theatre Company,” he said. “Denver is the perfect town for us to live in right now.”
Of course he’ll soon face the daunting task of playing George without a cigarette in his hand, a casualty of the statewide smoking ban.
“But there certainly will be a lot of drinking,” he said with a laugh. “That’s still legal!”
Works both ways …
As DCTC actors branch out into the community, artistic director Kent Thompson is making good on a promise to reach into the local talent pool. Thompson has cast the great Bill Hahn (currently in the Aurora Fox’s “Escanaba in da Moonlight”) to play Oswald in “King Lear.” What’s good for Hahn is good for
Thompson – They don’t come any better than Hahn.
Huge honor for Garcia
Su Teatro artistic director Anthony J. Garcia has been named to the inaugural class of fellows by United States Artists, a new national network dedicated to supporting America’s finest living artists. Garcia is one of 50 winners of a $50,000 fellowship to test new ideas and applications in their work. The recipients were feted Monday at a gala in New York.
Good for you
Jason Henning, star of Curious’ “tempOdyssey” (through Dec. 17), has been cast in the remake of “3:10 to Yuma,” directed by James Mangold (“Walk the Line”) and starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale …
Arvada Center and Country Dinner Playhouse favorite Beth Malone is starring as Sister Mary Robert in the pre- Broadway production of “Sister Act,” playing at the Pasadena Playhouse before runs in Atlanta and New York.
And finally …
There’s hate mail, and then there’s the “ick” mail that came last week from Sam Gallegos: “John, I’m working with Mike Jones (of Ted Haggard fame) and he wanted me to let you know that he will be at the Boulder Dinner Theatre on Sunday night as their guest. Should you need any more information …”
Let’s see, an admitted prostitute and drug liaison shilling for appearance ink? Yep, that warrants an ick! A few minutes after a call to BDT assured us Jones was on the books only as a paying guest came this lightning-fast follow-up: “Due to a change in plans, Mike Jones will not be at the Boulder Dinner Theatre (Sunday).”
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
This week’s theater openings
TODAY ONLY | Stories on Stage’s “Making Merry” (2 and 7 p.m. at the Seawell Ballroom)
MON-DEC. 20 | Dan Mundell’s “High Plains Holiday” (Mondays-Wednesdays at the Playwright Theatre)
This week’s theater closings
TODAY | Germinal Stage Denver’s “The Price”
TODAY | Fine Arts Center’s “1940s Radio Hour” | COLORADO SPRINGS
TODAY | Lake Dillon’s “Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged” | DILLON
TODAY | Castle Rock Players’ “Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
TODAY | Main Street Players’ “The Odd Couple” | ENGLEWOOD
SAT | Playwright’s “The Big Bang”
SAT | Curious’ “tempOdyssey”
SAT | Longmont Theatre Company’s “Oliver”
SAT | Festival Playhouse’s “Merry Christmas Miss Vickers” | ARVADA
SAT | The E Project’s “Little Shop of Horrors” | LAKEWOOD
SAT | California Actor’s Theatre’s “A Tuna Christmas” | LONGMONT
DEC. 17 | National touring production of “Sweet Charity” (at the Buell)
DEC. 17 | Urinetown Players’ “Urinetown” (at the Denver Wastewater Management Building)
DEC. 17 | Aurora Fox’s “Escanaba in da Moonlight”
DEC. 17 | TheatreWorks’ “Arms and the Man” | COLORADO SPRINGS
DEC. 17 | Arvada Center’s “Sister’s Christmas Catechism” (at the Black Box Theatre) | ARVADA
DEC. 17 | El Centro Su Teatro’s “The Miracle at Tepeyac” (at the King Center, Auraria campus)
DEC. 17 | Lake Dillon’s “Always … Patsy Cline” | DILLON
DEC. 17 | StageDoor’s “A Christmas Carol” | ASPEN
