Theatre Group has sold its Phoenix Theatre home and will become the new resident company in the New Denver Civic Theatre’s cabaret studio. The state’s only gay company will bow on July 11 with a reprise of Howard Crabtree’s “When Pigs Fly.”
The move caps two years of tumult and recovery for the 36-year-old Theatre Group. The sale of the Phoenix to Peterson Equities of Loveland resolves a year-old lawsuit brought by Peterson against the company, but it also signals the certain demise of the dilapidated theater at 1121 Santa Fe Drive that is currently home to “The History Boys.”
That drama, and an era of Denver theater history, comes to an end June 28.
“This makes our future even more stable,” said executive director Steve Tangedal.
For years, Theatre Group performed out of two theaters — it held the mortgage on the Phoenix while also renting its primary space known as Theatre on Broadway. Its landlord there was Peterson, which evicted the company in May 2007 and sued it for nearly $19,000 in back rent.
The sale of the Phoenix to Peterson resolves all remaining issues, said Tangedal, who was paying $3,000 a month in rent for the Phoenix. He’ll be paying about $2,500 a month at the Civic but said his overall operating costs will go down more than 50 percent.
Theatre Group’s slate at the Civic will include “The Eyes of Babylon,” starring the writer and ex-Marine Jeff Key; Terrance McNally’s “Some Men”; and Steven Dietz’s “Dracula.”
Key is an Iraq vet honorably discharged in 2003 after disclosing his homosexuality to his commanding officer. But his acclaimed play far transcends “don’t ask, don’t tell” to tell the story of a dedicated soldier who comes to believe the war he is fighting to be illegal. Using the military’s “archaic and stupid” ban on gays, he said, was a way for him to avoid “having to take innocent lives in exchange for corporate gain.”
He decided to bring his play to Denver Aug. 21-30, coinciding with the Democratic National Convention, “as a straight-on challenge to all of those Democrats coming to Denver — and daring them to listen to me,” he said.
The L.A. Times described the play as “a poetic depiction worthy of Allen Ginsberg.”
Civic president Richard Bernstein said the addition of Theatre Group also stabilizes cash flow at his theater, which has had only sporadic bookings in the past several months. “This is one less headache to try to keep both rooms booked,” he said.
Bernstein is aware of Theatre Group’s financial woes, but is unconcerned. “I’m going on blind faith and a reputation for cutting-edge theater that goes back more than 30 years,” he said. “We’ll give them a fair chance, compared to what they’re used to.”
Civic’s mainstage slate
Next up on the Civic’s mainstage theater, at 721 Santa Fe Drive: “Late Night Catechism,” a co-production with Comedy Works opening Sept. 9; the developing new musical “Mary Magdelene”; Rick Seeber’s “8-Track: Sounds of the ’70s”; and return engagements of “Defending the Caveman” and the Civic-born midlife musical, “Hats.”
Henrys favor DCTC
The Denver Center Theatre Company has received 20 of the 102 nominations for the third Colorado Theatre Guild Henry Awards, which honor the best in metro-area theater among CTG member companies. Boulder’s Dinner Theatre and the Arvada Center got 11 noms each.
PHAMALy’s “Urinetown” led musicals with nine nods, and Paragon’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” led all plays with six.
Boulder’s Dinner Theatre’s Scott Beyette, whose wife, Joanie Brosseau-Beyette, was nominated for three Henrys last year, is a triple nominee himself this year — for directing “The Sound of Music” and “The Will Rogers Follies”; as well as for his “Rogers” choreography. Sam Gregory pulled the unusual feat of garnering two “best actor in a play” nominations, for the DCTC’s “Doubt” and Paragon’s “Virginia Woolf”). Megan Van De Hey and A.K. Klimpke both won lead and supporting nominations.
Winners will be announced July 7 at the Littleton Town Hall Arts Center. Tickets $20-$25 (303-778-7724). To read our complete story on the Henry’s nominations,
Briefly…
The Colorado Community Theatre Coalition’s 20 Colorado Theatre Festival runs Wednesday through Saturday in Idaho Springs and Clear Creek. Call 970-887-2872 . . .
And finally: Former DCTC actor Aaron Serotsky is understudying four roles in tonight’s presumptive Tony Award-winning best play, “August: Osage County,” and Karen Olivo, part of the cast that created the musical “Brooklyn” in Denver, plays the leading man’s love interest in the presumptive best musical, “In the Heights.”
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
This week’s theater openings
Opening Tuesday, through June 29: National touring production of “Sweeney Todd” at the Buell Theatre
Thursday-July 5: Thunder River’s “The Belle of Amherst” Carbondale
Thursday-Saturday: Little Theatre of the Rockies’ “Hairspray” (Langworthy Theatre) Greeley
Friday-Aug. 16: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “Macbeth” (repertory) Boulder
Friday-Aug. 14: Rocky Mountain Rep’s “Urinetown” (repertory) Grand Lake
Friday-June 29: Performance Now’s “Jekyll & Hyde” Lakewood
Friday-Sept. 27: Creede Repertory Theatre’s “Fools” (repertory)
Friday-Aug. 17: National Park Players’ “Forever Plaid” Estes Park
Friday-Aug. 23: Grand Theatre Company’s “How I Became a Pirate” (repertory) Winter Park
This week’s theater closings
Saturday, June 21: Curious Theatre’s “The Denver Project”
Saturday, June 21: OpenStage’s “The Man of La Mancha” Fort Collins
Saturday: Gaslight Theatre’s “God’s Favorite” Westminster
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. .
Most recent openings
“Quilters” This musical about a pioneer woman and her six daughters captures the beauty, terror, joy, challenges and rewards of frontier life. This musical, which blends a series of interrelated scenes into a rich mosaic, was born at the Denver Center Theatre Company (and where it will return to next season). The story covers girlhood, marriage, childbirth, spinsterhood, twisters, fire, illness and death. But there is also love, warmth, humor and the spectacle of simple human dignity and steadfastness in the face of adversity. Through July 25. Little Theatre of the Rockies at the University of Northern Colorado, 10th Avenue and 18th Street, Greeley, 970-351-2200 or
“Honus and Me” Colorado native Steven Dietz’s adaptation of Dan Gutman’s novel about a Little League baseball player who finds the most valuable baseball card in the world (former Pittsburgh Pirates great Honus Wagner) while cleaning out his neighbor’s attic. Through July 20. Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 303-739-1970 or
“Lend Me a Tenor”
Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre opens its summer season with Ken Ludwig’s popular farce about the silly antics surrounding the biggest night in Cleveland Grand Opera history. The world-renowned star is incapacitated because of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. What to do? Eventually an imposter goes on stage, but is soon followed by the real thing. Soon two singers are running around in costume, and two women are running around chasing them — each thinking they are with the star of the show.Through Aug. 9. Massari Performing Arts Center at Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad, 719-846-4765 or
“Matt & Ben” This irreverent comedy depicts Hollywood golden-boy buddies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck before J-Lo, before Gwyneth, before they won an Oscar for writing “Good Will Hunting.” When that script drops to them mysteriously from the heavens, the boys realize they’re being tested by a higher power. And oh, yeah, Matt Damon and Ben are played by women (Laura Norman and Missy Moore). This play is written by Brenda Withers, also an actress who recently appeared in the Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Through July 20. Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington St., Golden, 303-935-3044 or
“Wonder of the World” In this quirky David Lindsay-Abaire comedy, a wife discovers her husband’s dirty little secret and flees in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. She winds up at the honeymoon capital of the world, going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. It’s a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with a blithely suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water’s edge. Through June 29. E-Project, 9797 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or
“Letters to Home” Back for a second year, this popular reader’s-theater presentation is made up of the historic war letters written by soldiers to their families. Their stories transcend politics and reveal in their own words the hearts and minds of those who have served our country. Presented with the Colorado Historical Society. Through July 5. Hunger Artists at the Byers-Evans House, 1310 Bannock St., 303-893-5438 or
“Murder at the Howard Johnson’s” In this farcical romp, a love triangle goes awry, leading to mischief. The script, written by Ron Clark and Sam Bobick, playfully skewers marriage, infidelity and mid-life crises.Through Aug. 24. Grand Theatre, 78415 Park Place, Winter Park, 970-726-5048 or
“Sweeney Todd” National touring production of Stephen Sondheim’s operatic slasher. Opens Tuesday, through June 29. Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 303-893-4100, King Soopers or
“Oklahoma!” Grand Lake’s venerable summer repertory company returns with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic celebration of the American frontier — a heartwarming romance, jubilant comedy and showcase for some of the most beautiful songs written for the stage, including “People Will Say We’re in Love,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ ” and the title song. Through Aug. 15. Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, 1025 Grand Ave., 970-627-3421 or
Compiled by John Moore
This week’s podcast
Running Lines with . . . John Carroll Lynch. Denver Post theater critic John Moore catches up with the Denver native and high-school chum whose 60-plus films include “Fargo” and “Zodiac”). Run time: 15 minutes. Listen by
