That gust of wind from the west last week was a sigh of relief. The theater community, still reeling from the demise of Country Dinner Playhouse and Theatre On Broadway, will not be losing the Miners Alley Playhouse, as well.
Foss Drug, the 94-year-old institution anchoring Golden’s main thoroughfare, is going out of business. The MAP, which sits directly above, is not.
“We have been told everything is going to stay the same; it’s just that we’ll have a big black hole beneath us for a while,” said Rick Bernstein, who built his 120-seat gem five years ago and plans to exercise his five-year option with the Mesa Meadows Land Co. in February.
Still, Bernstein can’t completely rest until a tenant is found whose designs don’t involve the entire building at 1224 Washington Ave.
“If they get a $10 million offer to sell the whole building, I can’t blame them for that,” Bernstein said. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. But I could be wrong. I could have an eviction notice on my door tomorrow. You never know.”
Party on, Henry
Monday promises to be a great party. Too bad the Denver Center is going to miss it.
The Colorado Theatre Guild’s second Henry Awards begin at 6 p.m. at the Aurora Fox, and the public is encouraged to join the celebration.
The Henrys have had their share of growing pains. Last year the CTG was taken to task (here) for enacting so many restrictions that only 74 stagings were eligible. There are still hurdles to overcome – only companies from the metro area are eligible because of voting logistics. Still, the number of eligible titles has jumped to 164. The voting panel was doubled. That’s major progress.
That number of eligible titles would be 177 had the Denver Center not pulled out at the last minute in protest of the CTG’s new residency rule, a well-intentioned but problematic attempt to ensure that winners are of the community.
Denver Center Theatre Company artistic director Kent Thompson thought that unfairly split his company. He’s right, but he was not right to withdraw. The rule will likely be toast next year – cold comfort to those who would have been nominated from the DCTC’s 11 stagings, as well as Denver Center Attractions’ homegrown “The Taffetas.”
“We thought we were pretty wicked smart,” said CTG president Charles Packard. “We thought that would keep the artists Denver really considers their own (eligible) … But I guess we weren’t as smart as we thought we were.”
Ironically, the replacement of all Denver Center nominees may result in an even bigger crowd Monday. $18-$25; call 303-778-7724.
Packard talks about the Henrys on our weekly podcast. . You can also to view our special slide show of all 108 nominees.
Briefly …
The Uhlmann Offices Inc. sued Country Dinner Playhouse owner David Lovinggood last week for more than $166,000. Read more online …
Colorado State University associate professor Laura Jones and Bas Bleu artistic director Wendy Ishii are in Capetown, South Africa, to present the featured lecture/performance at the International Federation of Theatre Research’s annual conference. They will address the challenges of performing Samuel Beckett’s female characters on stage. Ishii will perform monologues from “Happy Days,” “Not I,” and more. …
Acclaimed theater artist and Colorado native Thaddeus Phillips is home to debut “Flamingo/Winnebago” Thursday through Saturday at Colorado College. His “3-D theatrical road trip” takes audiences on a crazy tour of the desert Southwest, all set to live gypsy jazz (glasses provided); (719-389-6607) …
University of Denver chairwoman Joy Burns has been elected to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ board of trustees along with theater supporter Isabelle Clark and HealthONE chief executive Jeffrey Dorsey. The board then appointed attorney Martin Semple and philanthropist Judi Wolf to trustee spots as well …
Think the summer is theater’s slow season? Try 37 openings since June 21 … Lake Dillon Theatre opened three shows in three locations in a 24-hour span last week …
And finally, the film and theater communities are mourning the deaths of Nelson Embleton and Leo Burmester. Embleton performed at Pat Mahoney’s River Tree (now Phoenix) Theatre and appeared in the HBO film “The Laramie Project.” “He probably worked on more ‘Perry Mason’ episodes than anybody except maybe Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale,” Mahoney said.
Burmester, who got his master’s from the University of Denver, appeared in the Elitch Theatre’s 100th-anniversary production of “The Robber Bridegroom” as Clemment Musgrove with a who’s who including Patrick Cassidy, Jan and Marcus Waterman, Melissa McCarl, Maurice LaMee and Rachel deBenedet. He originated the role of Thenardier in the 1987 Broadway production of “Les Miserables.” His many film roles included Holly Hunter’s dad in “Broadcast News.”
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
This week’s theater openings
WED-OCT. 26 | Nonesuch’s “John & Jen” (Sundays and Wednesdays only | FORT COLLINS
WED-JULY 21 | No Holds Bard’s “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Hamlet” (at Skyline Park)
THU-AUG. 4 | Spotlight’s “Caught in the Net” | LAKEWOOD
THU-AUG. 4 | Crossroads at Five Points “Three Viewings”
THU-AUG. 4 | Lucidity Suitcase’s “Flamingo/Winnebago” (Armstrong Theatre, Colorado College) | COLORADO SPRINGS
FRI-SEPT. 23 | Jesters Dinner Theatre’s “The Wizard of Oz” | LONGMONT
FRI-AUG. 18 | Southern Colorado Rep’s “The Italian-American Reconciliation” | TRINIDAD
FRI-JULY 28 | Theatre Company of Lafayette’s “Tales from the Great American Roadway”
SAT-AUG. 17 | Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “All’s Well That Ends Well” (indoors) | BOULDER
SAT-AUG. 11 | Paragon’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (at Phoenix Theatre)
SAT-AUG. 11 | Longmont Theatre Company’s “Twelfth Night” (locations vary)
This week’s theater closings
TODAY | Denver Center Theatre Company’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (Stage Theatre)
TODAY | Germinal Stage Denver’s “What the Butler Saw”
JULY 14 | Bas Bleu Theatre’s “Sylvia” | FORT COLLINS
JULY 14 | Metro Playhouse’s “Something’s Afoot” | GRAND JUNCTION
JULY 14 | Crested Butte Mountain Theatre’s “Jerry Finnegan’s Sister”
JULY 15 | Festival Playhouse’s “Kitchen Witches” | ARVADA
