Colorado theatrical productions closing in the next week:
Through Aug. 13: Crossroads’ “Leadville or Bust”
A new comic burlesque opera written by and starring Reyna Von Vett, who starred in the Denver Center’s “The Taffetas.” Music arranged by Wendell Vaughn, now working on the “Mamma Mia” tour. Von Vett plays the madam in a turn-of-the-century dance hall. She calls it “clean, dirty fun,” with lots of singing and dancing. Also starring Elizabeth Welch, Melinda Smart and Michelle Sergeeff. Performances on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only.
2590 Washington St., 303-832-0929 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 14: Rocky Mountain Rep’s “Urinetown”
This clever black musical comedy puts us in a drought-ravaged land where water is so scarce, basic bodily functions require a fee. The government is conspiring with big business to create a desperate class of poor on the brink of revolution. If that sounds dour, it’s not. Along the way, it pays silly choreographic homage to musicals like “Les Miserables, “Fiddler on the Roof” and “West Side Story.” It’s freakin’ hysterical – unless you’ve seen “Sicko,” which also argues that our current way of life is unsustainable.
1025 Grand Ave., Grand Lake, 970-627-3421 or
*Through Aug. 14: Lake Dillon Theatre Company’s “Little Shop of Horrors”
Popular musical about Audrey, Seymour … and a plant that threatens to eat the world. Thursdays only.
Park Lane Pavilion in Keystone, 970-513-9386 or
Through Aug. 14: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “The Three Musketeers” **
Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 story of inseparable friends who live by the motto, “One for all, and all for one,” could easily be staged as a family-friendly adventure, sanitizing the tale in favor of its famously fun swordfights. Or director Carolyn Howarth might have resolved to uncompromisingly present what is, at its heart, an examination of evil every bit as unsettling as “Macbeth.” But it can’t be both without having a seriously split personality. The CSF’s staging draws deserved gasps and cheers from the audience, but because of a groan-inducing ’70s classic-rock soundtrack, in which everything from the Rolling Stones to AC/DC is set to strings, the play devolves into an overly long and maddening anachronism that’s constantly at odds with itself. One minute it’s a fun, Saturday-morning action cartoon. The next it’s a downright dour Shakespearean-type drama. And three hours isn’t exactly kid-friendly.
University Mainstage, CU-Boulder campus, 303-492-0554 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 14: Southern Colorado Rep’s “The Spitfire Grill”
In this adaptation of Lee David Zoltoff’s film, a feisty parolee follows her dreams, based on a page from an old travel book, to a small town in Colorado and finds a place for herself working in Hannah’s Spitfire Grill. It is for sale but there are no takers for the only eatery in town, so newcomer Percy suggests to Hannah that she raffle it off. The entry fee is $100, and the best essay on why you want the grill wins. Soon, mail is arriving by the wheelbarrow-full.
Massari Performing Arts Center at Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad, 719-846-4765 or
*Through Aug. 15: Rocky Mountain Rep’s “Oklahoma”
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s celebration of the American frontier makes for a heartwarming romance, a jubilant comedy and a 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.
1025 Grand Ave., Grand Lake, 970-627-3421 or
*Through Aug. 15: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” **1/2
Four idle-rich young men have sworn an oath to give up girls for academics and contemplation for three years. Enter four beautiful temptresses. Director Gavin Cameron-Webb sets the story in 1917 in Newport R.I., with the specter of World War I coinciding with the play’s melancholy ending.
Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, CU-Boulder campus, 303-492-0554 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 15: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “Henry VIII” ***
“Henry VIII” concludes Shakespeare’s sweeping history of the English monarchy. Abundant in court pageantry and poetry, this rarely produced work promises to surprise audiences with its bold characterizations and sinister intrigue. The play presents the cruel dismantling of Henry’s marriage to the loving, courageous Katherine of Aragon in favor of the young Anne “Bullen” (Boleyn). This infamous act, motivated by politics as well as desire, is engineered by one of Shakespeare’s most relentless villains – the Machiavellian Cardinal Wolsey. A rare opportunity to take a danger-laden voyage through the treacherous shoals of Tudor England to the glittering shore of the Elizabethan age. This version adapted by the CSF’s Ray Kemble and James M. Symons.
University Mainstage, CU-Boulder campus, 303-492-0554 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 16: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “Macbeth” ***1/2
It wasn’t hard for producing artistic director Philip Sneed to land his first choice for the plum role of his 2008 season: He’s playing Macbeth himself. He’ll be playing opposite Karen Slack in Shakespeare’s masterpiece on ambition and meddlesome witches.
Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre, CU-Boulder campus, 303-492-0554 or and here’s and here’s
Through Aug. 16: Paragon’s “This is How it Goes” ***
Paragon Theatre, winner of The Denver Post’s Ovation Award for best season by a theater company, opens the regional premiere of Neil LaBute’s incendiary, interracial new comedy. “This is How it Goes” tackles racism, adultery and deception with his trademark brutal hilarity, proving no story is black and white.
Crossroads at Five Points Theatre, 2590 Washington St., 303-300-2210 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 16: Bas Bleu’s “Duet for One”
The award-winning British play by Tom Kempinski about a world-famous concert violinist named Stephanie Anderson who is suddenly struck with multiple sclerosis. The story is loosely based on the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who was diagnosed with MS, and her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim. Starring Wendy Ishii and Jonathan Farwell.
401 Pine St., Fort Collins, 970-498-8949 or
*Through Aug. 16: Rocky Mountain Rep’s “Big: The Musical”
Based on the 1987 hit movie featuring Tom Hanks, “Big” tells the tale of 12-year-old Josh Baskin, a frustrated boy who finds a mysterious arcade machine, makes a wish, and suddenly finds himself in an adult’s body – but still that same kid inside.
1025 Grand Ave., Grand Lake, 970-627-3421 or
*Through Aug. 16: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “Woody Guthrie’s American Song” ****
The CSF’s first-ever musical is a bio adapted by Peter Glazer that follows Woody Guthrie from California to the New York islands, punctuated by 12 classic songs. “But it’s really the story of America in the early to mid-20th century, not just one person,” artistic directror Phil Sneed said. All text is Woody Guthrie’s, but as Peter Glazer did in his “Almost Heaven” tribute to John Denver, the mantle passes from one actor to another. Four live musicians.
CU-Boulder indoor theater, 303-492-0554 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 16: Theatre Group’s “Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly” ***1/2
Theatre Group takes up residency in the New Denver Civic Theatre’s studio theater by revisiting an outrageous old favorite. It’s an old-fashioned musical revue extravaganza with a glittery, gay twist. By the creators of “Whoop Dee Doo!” Stars David Ballew, Preston Lee Britton, Adam Brodner, Shannon McCarthy and Todd Black.
Note new location: At the New Denver Civic Theatre, 303-777-3292 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 16: Theatre Aspen’s “Seussical”
A musical based on the books of Dr. Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play’s story is a rather complex amalgamation of many of Seuss’s most famous books. After an unsuccessful Broadway run, the production spawned two national tours and has become a favorite for community and regional theaters.
400 Rio Grande Place, 970-925-9313 or
*Through Aug. 16: Southern Colorado Rep’s “Lucky Stiff”
This screwball musical by the team that also wrote “Ragtime” is adapted from “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo
by Michael Butterworth. It’s a funny murder-mystery farce about an unassuming English shoe salesman forced to take the corpse of his recently-murdered Atlantic City croupier uncle on a week-long vacation to Monte Carlo. Should he succeed, Harry Witherspoon stands to inherit $6,000,000. If not, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn.
Massari Performing Arts Center at Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad, 719-846-4765 or
*Through Aug. 16: Theatre Aspen’s “Little Shop of Horrors”
Theatre Aspen opens its summer repertory season with the popular musical about Audrey, Seymour … and a plant that threatens to eat the world.
400 Rio Grande Place, 970-925-9313 or and here’s
*Through Aug. 16: Lake Dillon Theatre Company’s “Into the Woods”
Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical that imagines what might have happened after all those fairy tales ended. Alternating nights in repertory with “Cabaret.”
176 Lake Dillon Drive, Dillon, 970-513-9386 or
*Through Aug. 16: Lake Dillon Theatre Company’s “Cabaret”
Kander & Ebb’s classic musical set in a 1920s Berlin nightclub starring Miss Sally Bowles, where an American writer is coming of age and an era of indulgence and ambiguity are coming to an end with the rise of the Nazi Party. Musical numbers include “Willkommen” and “Don’t Tell Mama.” Alternating nights in repertory with Into the Woods.”
176 Lake Dillon Drive, Dillon, 970-513-9386 or
*Through Aug. 17: Nonesuch’s “Greater Tuna”
Welcome Texas’ third-smallest town, where the Lions club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies. Two actors play 24 residents of Tuna, offering a humorous look at small-town life.
216 Pine St., Fort Collins, 970-224-0444 or
*Through Aug. 17: Augustana Arts’ “Titanic”
With music as beautiful as the voyage was tragic, “Titanic: attempts to capture the pathos of the night the famous ship went down. A full orchestra and more than 40 actors bring the passengers and crew to life as elation turns to disbelief, then despair, then … hope. Broadway staging won five Tonys, including best musical.
At the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, 303-987-7845 or
*Through Aug. 17: Shadow Youth Theatre’s “Twilight’s Last Gleaming”
Shadow, Colorado’s only company that presents theater through a black lens, introduces theater to kids as a way to explore their roots and empower their future. Students are paid a stipend to undergo a five-week crash course, culminating in a professionally produced show of their conception. “Gleaming” is inspired by Anna Deavere Smith’s “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,” her dramatization of the civil unrest that followed the Rodney King trial in Los Angeles. The teens interviewed, wrote, workshopped and will perform their material, which has been honed into a three-act play with the help of Shadow playwright Hugo Jon Sayles and Brian Freeland, artistic director of Denver’s politically charged Countdown to Zero theater company.
1468 Dayton St., Aurora, 720-857-8000 or and read more about the show by
Through Aug. 17: Spotlight’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”
Neil Simon’s comedy is a homage to the author’s early days in show biz, when he worked as a junior comedy writer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.” He was stuck in a room with a bunch of the looniest writers ever — Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart and others. As the writers try to top each other with gags while competing for the attention of head madman Max Prince (the Sid Caesar character), Max contends with the NBC brass who fear his humor is too sophisticated for middle America.
At West Colfax Event Center, 9797 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or
*Through Aug. 17: National Park Players’ “Forever Plaid”
Nostalgic, family friendly musical about four dead teens whose dreams of musical glory come true when they miraculously return to Earth. Snuffed out during a collision with a school bus on their way to the big break, these nerdy crooners get a chance to perform the show they never got to do in life. The music from the 1950s and ’60s includes “Three Coins in the Fountain”, “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” and “Sixteen Tons.”
Park Village Playhouse, 900 Moraine Ave., Estes Park, 970-577-7469 or
