MOVIES
Looking for a rich, lingering meal to usher in the New Year? There’s plenty to feed your need: “Blood Diamond,” “Pursuit of Happyness,” “The Good Shepherd.” But if you’re hankering for the festive, the sparkly and the bubbly, then Bill Condon’s “Dreamgirls” (headlined by Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy) will fill your fluted glass. Sure, there’s upheaval – personal and cultural – in this big-screen version of the Broadway hit about the fortunes and misfortunes of a 1960s R&B girl group, but the shimmying, shimmering soul of the show is carried aloft by newcomer Jennifer Hudson and Murphy. | Lisa Kennedy
STAGE
Country Dinner Playhouse is not staging Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera.” But its “Phantom,” a 1992 version of Gaston Leroux’s classic story with music by Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston, more than holds its own, offering more intimacy and richness of character than Webber’s better-known Broadway spectacle. This thoughtful and elegant presentation emphasizes the real human connection between the Phantom and his student soprano, Christine. Tonight’s special New Year’s Eve performance ($89.95) includes post-show dancing, champagne and a breakfast buffet. Otherwise: 7:45 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays; 1:45 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays (dinner 90 minutes before) through Jan. 14 at 6875 S. Clinton St., Greenwood Village ($38-$44, 303-799-1410). | John Moore
TELEVISION
No longer touted as America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark is on the job for the 35th consecutive “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” with Ryan Seacrest as co-host. Starting at 10:30 tonight, ABC offers 3 1/2 hours of ball-dropping, if not jaw-dropping, festivities. Country group Rascal Flatts, Broadway’s “Jersey Boys,” pop stars Rihanna and KT Tunstall, rapper Ludacris, Meat Loaf, Christina Aguilera and Fergie are slated to perform, with coverage of New Year’s celebrations around the world. | Joanne Ostrow
POPULAR MUSIC
More than any other night of the year, New Year’s Eve is the night when a local music scene flexes its muscle. All the big players come out with their brightest sets, and it’s a precise thermometer for a scene’s temperature. And regardless of the snow on the ground outside, it’s hot in Denver right now. Judging from the New Year’s Eve slate of locals playing tonight – even with biggies String Cheese Incident and The Fray not playing in Denver – the Mile High City is shining brighter than ever. Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Tarmints. Yonder Mountain String Band. Planes Mistaken For Stars. DeVotchKa. Cowboy Curse. Slim Cessna’s Auto Club. Lion Sized. American Relay. Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots. Born in the Flood. Reverend Deadeye. Machine Gun Blues. Rose Hill Drive. Transistor Radio Sound. Front Side Five. It’s quite insane. Google any of the above local bands, and the websites and MySpace pages will lead you to a good time tonight. | Ricardo Baca
NIGHT LIFE
Anyone with a credit card and a liver easily can rack up a few hundred bucks on New Year’s Eve, but you don’t have to. Buntport Theater, one of our city’s finest independent drama venues, holds an annual and surprisingly affordable New Year’s Eve celebration. This year the theme is Robot Dance Party, and its Myspace page describes it as “an assembly of automatons, glamdroids, metal men and robotica enthusiasts who like to disconnect from their realities (virtual or otherwise) and party till the cows download.” What human could pass that up? 717 Lipan St. 10 p.m. $8 with robot costume. | John Wenzel
