Denver icon “Papa Jack” Weil, who died Wednesday at 107, was honored May 21 at Curious Theatre’s annual fundraiser, “Denver Stories.” The company assigns a playwright to a local celebrity, and the resulting 10-minute plays are then performed by some of Denver’s best actors.
Steven Cole Hughes, whose latest play, “Billy Hell,” premieres Aug. 29 at the Creede Repertory Theatre, was assigned to Weil, founder of Rockmount Ranch Wear and believed to be the oldest working CEO in America before his death.
Hughes’ “107 Short Plays About Papa Jack Weil” had fun with the difficulty in finding an actor to play a 107-year-old (that job went to Michael Morgan, 70-something years too young for the role), and telling such a sweeping life story in 10 minutes. The cast also included Erik Sandvold and Rhonda Brown.
“He was a genuine American original, and he will be missed by his friends, which has to be about a million people,” said Hughes.
That’s because Weil talked to every person who came into his store “for as long as he possibly could,” Hughes said, “and by the time they left, they were best friends.”
Curious founder Chip Walton said Hughes’ script was “the best play ever written for this event.” When the performance was over, Weil rose from the house and addressed the audience.
“Once Jack starts to tell a story, it’s hard to get him to stop,” Walton said. “You’re kind of a captive audience.” Until his grandson got up and said, “Papa Jack: Your 15 minutes of fame are up,” which drew a standing ovation — for both.
“The purpose of ‘Denver Stories’ is to honor those individuals who have done the most for Denver, and I can’t imagine anyone more interesting or exciting than Jack,” Walton said. “He was one of a kind, a fellow Hoosier, and lived a life full and amazing.”
To read Steven Cole Hughes’ entire 10-minute play about Jack Weil,
Four-star teens
Denver School of the Arts received a four-star review from The Scotsman newspaper for the school’s performance of “The Inconvenient Truths” at a high school fest that runs concurrent with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Drawing from Al Gore‘s documentary (“An Inconvenient Truth”), director Shawn Hann‘s teenagers wrote sketches that explore personal, as well as planetary unease.
Here is the complete text of Joyce McMillan‘s brief review:
“There’s plenty of theater made by young people at the Fringe; most of it receives less attention than it deserves, and some of it obviously aims to educate the performers as much as delight the audience.
“Here’s a school show, though – from the Denver School of the Arts in Colorado – that pulls off the rare achievement of bringing 40 young people aged 14-17 on stage, showing off some impressive performing skills, and offering the audience a truly substantial and moving glimpse into the mind of the generation now trembling on the cusp of adulthood.
“Over a brisk 70 minutes, director Shawn Hann’s young cast move through sketches based on “inconvenient truths”, drawing their title from Al Gore’s documentary, but using the concept to explore personal as well as planetary unease. They are, they remind us, the generation in third grade when the planes slammed into the World Trade Center; since mid-childhood, they have lived in a world which they describe as being shaped by a new and all-encompassing fear, first of nameless terrorism, then of catastrophic climate change.
“On top of that, they have to deal with all the normal pains of adolescence, from broken friendships to unrequited love; their three-minute “Puberty – The Musical” is a joy. And the girls have to live with a culture in which body-image and physical perfection have become a lethal obsession; they handle it brilliantly, by ripping off the cling-film in which they’ve wrapped themselves, and screaming their heads off in a shriek of anger and liberation.
“The content is terrific, the staging excellent, and the quality of performance truly moving; and if these magnificent, funny, angry, humble, self-aware kids speak for the whole of their generation, then there’s some hope for the future, after all.”
Country Dinner Playhouse reunion is Sept. 1
More than 140 alumni of the Country Dinner Playhouse, including Terry Rhoads, Tamra Hayden and Lise Simms, will attend a Labor Day reunion and catered dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 1 at The Hilton Garden Inn, Denver Tech Center (7675 E. Union Ave.). Cost is $30 ($20 for kids). For reservations, call Judi Hofmeister at 303-332-3365; deadline to register is Friday, Aug. 22.
Briefly . . .
Regis High School alum John Carroll Lynch, whose latest film is Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” (Oct. 2 release), is returning next month to the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, where he was a company member for eight years before “Fargo” launched him to Hollywood in 1996. He’ll star as Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller‘s “A View from the Bridge” Sept. 19-Nov. 8 . . .
CU-Denver graduate Steve Pardun, who starred in the Victorian Playhouse’s “Dead Man Walking” last year, is performing his own play, “Panopticon,” at this week’s New York Fringe Festival, co-starring his “Dead Man” director, Angela Astle. It’s about a prisoner who must confront the demons of his past . . .
Theatre Aspen celebrates its 25th anniversary at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24 in Rio Grande Park, with a retrospective of past performances by actors such as Darlynn Fellman (“Sylvia”), David Ledingham (“Lend Me a Tenor”), Peggy Mundinger (“Love, Perfect, Change”), Natalie Dulaney (“Baby”), Jeannie Walla (“Side by Side by Sondheim”) and Hadley Fraser and Paige Price (“The Last Five Years”). $40 (970-920-5770).
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
This week’s theater openings
Ongoing through Aug. 25: Boulder International Fringe Festival (for full rundown of theater offerings and recommended performances, )
Opening Wednesday, Aug. 20, though Aug. 31: TheatreWorks’ “Venus and Adonis” (repertory) Colorado Springs
Thursday, Aug. 21-Sept. 14: Theatre Group’s “The Eyes of Babylon” (at the New Denver Civic Theatre)
Thursday, Aug. 21-Sept. 7: Lake Dillon’s “Honky Tonk Laundry”
Thursday, Aug. 21, and Sunday, Aug. 23 only: PHAMALy’s “Show Up for Democracy”
Friday, Aug. 22-Sept. 21: Vintage Theatre’s “A Streetcar Named Desire”
Friday, Aug. 22-Sept. 7: Crossroads Theatre’s “Manhattan’s Last Fight”
Friday, Aug. 22-Sept. 27: Brooks Center Arts’ “Home Away From”
Friday, Aug. 22-Sept. 20: Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre’s “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” Grand Lake
Friday, Aug. 22-Jan. 4: Nonesuch’s “Forever Plaid” Fort Collins
Friday, Aug. 22-Oct 12: Union Colony Dinner Theatre’s “Jekyll & Hyde” Greeley
Friday, Aug. 22-Aug. 29: Mercury Motley Players’ “Allied Witches’ Presidential Election Convention 2008”
This week’s theater closings
Today: Augustana Arts’ “Titanic” (at the Lakewood Cultural Center)
Today, Aug. 17: Spotlight’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” Lakewood
Today, Aug. 17: Lake Dillon’s “Cabaret”
Today, Aug. 17: National Park Players’ “Forever Plaid” Estes Park
Today, Aug. 17: Nonesuch’s “Greater Tuna” Fort Collins
Today, Aug. 17: Shadow Youth Theatre’s “Twilight’s Last Gleaming” Aurora
Friday, Aug. 22: Theatre Aspen’s “Rounding Third”
Friday, Aug. 22: Grand Theatre Company’s “Lucky Stiff” Winter Park
Saturday, Aug. 23: Barth Hotel’s “Hot L Baltimore”
Saturday, Aug. 23: Creede Repertory Theatre’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” and “Life Is a Dream”
Saturday, Aug. 23: Grand Theatre’s “How I Became a Pirate” Winter Park
Saturday, Aug. 23: Backstage’s “Guys on Ice” Breckenridge
Saturday, Aug. 23: Theatre Aspen’s “Crimes of the Heart”
Saturday, Aug. 23: Victorian Playhouse’s “Politix”
Saturday, Aug. 23: Next Stage’s “18 Holes” Aurora
Aug. 24: Grand Theatre’s “Murder at the Howard Johnson’s” Winter Park
Most recent openings
“As You Like It”
TheatreWorks’ annual double-shot of Shakespeare begins with the tale of desperate refugees who fly from an oppressive court and find, in the great outdoors, that all the world’s a stage. In this comedy, love blooms on every branch. And in Colorado Springs, a former Miss Nebraska (Jane Noseworthy) stars as Rosalind, the girl who dresses like a boy to teach the boy how to get the girl. Through Sept. 7, in repertory with “Venus and Adonis.” At Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Cragwood Drive, Colorado Springs, 719-262-3232 or
“The Complete History of America (Abridged)”
America’s sacred cows run for cover as three actors cheerfully run riot over 500 years of our country’s history in this 90-minute politically incorrect romp, written by the self-proclaimed “bad boys of abridgement” (The Reduced Shakespeare Company). It’s history — complete with giant props, goofy wigs, bad musical numbers and lots of water. Through Aug. 30. Theatre Company of Lafayette at the Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson, 720-209-2154 or
“Venus and Adonis”
The sexiest of goddesses loves the handsomest of young men. But in this narrative poem, that’s no match made in heaven. Featuring a lusty stallion, a terrified bunny and a savage boar. Starring Tracy Hostmyer and Richard Crawford. Opens Wednesday and runs through Aug. 31, in repertory with “As You Like It.” At Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Cragwood Drive, Austin Bluffs Parkway west of Union Boulevard, 719-262-3232 or
Compiled by John Moore
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.
This week’s podcast
Running Lines . . . at This week, Denver Post theater critic John Moore reports from the July 31 performance, in which the former Denver Center Theatre Company actor revisited some of his favorite roles as a fundraiser for Modern Muse. We offer performance excerpts interspersed with comments from Horton and friends including John Hutton, Randy Moore, Elizabeth Rainer, Anthony Powell and Dan O’Neill. Excerpts include “Bernice/Butterfly,” “Harvey,” “Julius Caesar,” “The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde,” “Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted,” “Inna Beginning” and more. Recorded July 31, 2008. Run time: 13 minutes.
To access the podcast, click on the underlined link above and you will taken to a miniplayer. There, click on the play button, and the podcast will begin, with no downloading necessary. Or, right-click on the “download,” option, to save a copy to your own desktop, and you’ll have more control over playback.
Boulder International Fringe Festival: Photos
