The Denver Center Theatre Company’s Colorado New Play Summit made such strides in its third year it already is being recognized as one of the most important new-play events in America.
“I’m thinking Denver is pretty much as good as it gets,” said Jason Grote, one of 15 playwrights under commission by the DCTC. “I’ve been spoiled. The Denver Center really knows how to do it right.”
Last weekend, a heady mix of more than 175 national theater luminaries, from artistic directors to media, came to Denver to see the DCTC’s three simultaneous, fully staged world premieres — “Lydia,” “Plainsong” and “Our House” — as well as four staged readings in the development pipeline, all of which might end up on the company’s 2008-09 season.
At last year’s summit, Grote’s “1001” was the only new play fully staged. With three this year, artistic director Kent Thompson said, “We feel like we have something now that we can really build upon.”
The summit drew the attention of NPR and American Theatre magazine, “And that’s going to raise the profile even more,” Thompson said, “so next year we feel we need to take another step forward in our growth.”
Grote, who is developing a piece on Jack Kerouac and the Beats for Thompson, has been to all three summits, and calls its growth “fairly enormous. I’m kind of in disbelief by how quickly it’s been expanded in terms of scale and quality and attendance.”
Grote cited the combination of risk and resources for helping Denver to distance itself from other companies.
“There are plenty of regional theaters that have lots of money, and there are smaller theaters everywhere that take lots of risks,” said Grote, who teaches playwriting at Rutgers University. “You don’t usually see this combination together.”
The four plays read at the summit:
• “Inana,” by Michele Lowe, which looks at the near total destruction of Iraq’s cultural past during the war, explores the lengths one dealer will go to save a one-armed statue of a goddess.
• “Perilous Night,” by Lee Blessing, examines racism through two mental patients: a black woman who thinks the history of man was harmonious until the day of her birth; and a white woman who believes she’s Queen Elizabeth III, visiting Earth from the future.
• “Shooting Star,” by Kennedy High grad Steven Dietz, reunites lovers at a snowbound airport after 25 years.
• “Dusty and the Big Bad World,” by Cusi Cram (the one reading not commissioned by the DCTC), is a culture-wars comedy examining governmental interference in children’s TV.
“I have absolutely no doubt that some of those plays, if not all, will be on our stages next year,” said Thompson, who will announce his 2008-09 season in early March.
Thompson said all of his three current fully staged world premieres will have future lives, because visiting theaters have told him so. “We’ve already had theaters come out and said, ‘We’re going to do this play,’ ” he said.
The cross section of theaters large and small represented at the summit included the Guthrie Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Alliance Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Primary Stages.
Briefly . . .
Lee Blessing took a break from the Summit to see Modern Muse’s production of his “A Body of Water” at the Bug Theatre . . . The DCTC has added a free, post-Summit public reading of its commissioned work, “Sunsets and Margaritas,” by Jose Cruz Gonzalez, for 2 p.m. Monday at the Jones Theatre . . . DCTC alums January LaVoy (“All My Children”) and Gordana Rashovich returned to star in Blessing’s “Perilous Night.”
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
Weekly podcast
Running Lines . . . at the Colorado New Play Summit.
Excerpts from John Moore’s interviews with several festival guests, including Eric Schmiedl, Lee Blessing, Jason Grote, Steven Dietz, Nance Williamson, Theresa Rebeck, Craig Volk and Daniel L. Ritchie. Listen by . That will take you to a miniplayer. Click on the triangular “play” button and the podcast will begin playing without your having to download. Or, right-click on the “download MP3” option to save a copy to your own desktop.
This week’s openings
Friday, Feb. 29-March 30: Aurora Fox’s “Moby Dick! The Musical”
Friday, Feb. 29-March 29: Hunger Artists’ “The Shape of Things”
Friday, Feb. 29-March 22: Theatre Company of Lafayette’s “Say Goodnight, Gracie”
Friday, Feb. 29-April 13: Miners Alley Playhouse’s “Beau Jest” (Golden)
Friday, Feb. 29-March 15: Longmont Theatre Company’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
Friday, Feb. 29-March 22: Thin Air Players’ “The Odd Couple” (Cripple Creek)
Saturday, March 1: National touring production of “Mark Twain Tonight!” Buell Theatre (one night only)
This week’s closings
Sunday, Feb. 24: Modern Muse’s “A Body of Water”
Sunday, Feb. 24: Performance Now’s “Beauty and the Beast” (Lakewood)
Sunday, Feb. 24: The Avenue’s “Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women”
Sunday, Feb. 24: Coal Creek Community Theatre’s “The Rainmaker” (Louisville)
Friday, Feb. 29: Mercury Motley Players’ “Lovers, Split, Strangers”
Saturday, March 1: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Lydia” (Ricketson Theatre)
Saturday, March 1: Theatre Group’s “Jeffrey” (previews)
Saturday, March 1: Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s “Copenhagen”
Saturday, March 1: Adams Mystery Playhouse’s “Molly Brown and the Mysterious Murder”
Sunday, March 2: Bas Bleu’s “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” (Fort Collins)
Sunday, March 2: Germinal Stage Denver’s “Candida”
Sunday, March 2: Union Colony Dinner Theatre’s “Little Shop Of Horrors” (Greeley)
Kritikaraoke: Cast of “Dog Sees God” reads from “Jeffrey”
It’s here. It’s weird … will anyone ever get used to it? It’s local actors reading portions of our reviews in a fun attempt to poke a hot-air hole in the sanctity of theater critiques. Now up: The cast of “Dog Sees God” knows a thing or two about growing up gay. C.B. (Jack Wefso), Van (Jeremy Make), Tricia (Missy Moore), Beethoven (Steven J. Burge) and Matt/Pig Pen (Kent Randell) read from our review of Theatre Group’s “Jeffrey.” … Seriously. . That link takes you to a miniplayer. There, click the triangular “play” button, and the episode will begin playing without your having to download.
3 more plays
Su Teatro’s “Ollin,” an original work by Denver’s Daniel Valdez, is the telling of the Spanish conquest of Mexico through indigenous eyes. Su Teatro’s new production features music by Valdez and traditional Azteca dance in collaboration with local dancers, musicians and designers in addition to the Su Teatro acting company. Through March 29. $12-$15. 4725 High St. 303-296-0219 or .
“The Baseball Show” is Heritage Square Music Hall’s returning, lighthearted spoof on America’s favorite pastime. It’s about an inept small-time gangster who doesn’t want his star player to advance to the big leagues. The fan favorite is best- known for Annie Dwyer’s award-winning bubble-gum tricks (seriously). The show is followed by a comedy/musical baseball-themed revue. Through May 18. $23.50-$36.50 18301 W. Colfax Ave., Golden. 303-279-7800 or .
“Nickel and Dimed” is Barbara Ehrenreich’s best-selling first-person tale of her three-month experience attempting to survive on low-wage service jobs, which helped spark a national movement to increase the minimum wage. Playwright Joan Holden brought Ehrenreich’s message to an even wider audience in 2002 when she created a stage version that continues to open eyes and touch hearts across the country. Presented by OpenStage & Company through March 22. $15-$20. At Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins. 970-221-6730 or .
