Curious – the theater company that built its success by daring to be different – opened its 10th anniversary season with a celebration that was deliciously out of the ordinary.
After parking near the Acoma Street theater, guests made their way on foot or by shuttle bus to Palettes at the Denver Art Museum for cocktails, dinner and toasts that paid tribute to both the past and the future.
Board president Elizabeth Neid gave one, Bob Garner the other.
“For Curious to achieve what it has without the resources of, say, a DCPA is nothing short of amazing,” observed Garner, who for years brought Broadway shows to the Denver Performing Arts Complex and is the namesake for the Garner Galleria Theatre at the complex.
Garner, charming and chatty in his private life but notoriously shy about public speaking, was cajoled into making his toast by Curious co-founder and producing artistic director Chip Walton.
He kept his remarks short and to the point: “Keep the passion, brother. Keep the passion.”
Walton responded by noting the significance of the occasion could best be summed up by borrowing from W.H. Auden. “Clear thinking about mixed feelings pretty much describes what Curious Theatre is about,” Walton said, “and tonight represents an important cultural milestone not just for us, but for all of Denver.”
Following dinner, everyone repaired to the theater for a performance of Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “How I Learned to Drive” and a dessert reception in the Curious parking lot.
The evening was planned by Gwen Chanzit, Isabelle Clark, Britta Erickson, FELICIA, Caren Griffin, Michael Karmil, Dr. Dean Prina, Randy Weeks and Carol Wolf.
Celebrants included season sponsors Jeremy and Susan Shamos; John and Stephanie Flanigan; Jim Steinberg and Karolynn Lestrud; Don Greco; Jim and Pamela Basey; Laura Cowperthwaite; Mickey Zeppelin and Susan Wick; Elizabeth Yanish Shwayder; David Goldberg; Rose and Dave Fredrick; Jennifer Heglin; Roscoe Hill and Sheila Wright; Harry Sterling; Mike and Diana Kinsey; John and Cecile Gort; and David Zupancic.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. She also contributes .
