When CJ Hosier died suddenly Monday at age 34, the local theater community lost part of its family.
Hosier has been a mainstay on local stages for more than a decade. He was a core member of Theatre Group, and also worked frequently at the Bug Theatre and the Mizel Center, where he served as technical director for four years.
“He was a real theater Renaissance man,” said Steve Wilson, Mizel executive artistic director. “He acted in our productions, he gave technical support, designed sets and sounds, taught, directed and did props. He dabbled in everything.”
Hosier died in his sleep Monday night. No cause has been determined.
Hosier’s final stage role was one of his most indelible: As a wheelchair-bound, crack-addicted former suburban father in Theatre Group’s tough-minded 2007 holiday offering, “Tiny Tim is Dead.”
The year before, he directed “Sandstorm, Stories From the Front,” monologues based on firsthand accounts of soldiers in Iraq.
” ‘Sandstorm’ pretty much covers everything the media and the government doesn’t want the general public to know,” Hosier told The Post at the time. “Most horror movies can’t even cover what is actually happening over there in Iraq.”
Hosier’s most notable work included “Shakespeare’s R&J” and “The Laramie Project” for Theatre Group; “The Sisters Rosensweig” for the Mizel Center; “Quills” for the Promethean Theatre; and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for the Bug.
“There are simply no words to express the sadness upon losing such a talented young member of our family,” said his friend, Emily MacIntyre. “When I saw him two weeks ago, he was happy, healthy, and he cut my hair. He loved this theater community very much.”
Hosier was born Sept. 31, 1974, and graduated from Littleton High School and the University of North Dakota.
Nick Sugar directed Hosier in many productions, including the acclaimed “R&J,” “Corpus Christi” and “Lonely Planet.” He was most taken with his sense of collaboration. “It didn’t matter what his official responsibility was, he was always willing to help in any way,” Sugar said.
Hosier is survived by his mother, Elizabeth Wolfe of Denver, two sisters and a brother. A service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 740 Hudson St.
Contributions will be presented to his mother. Send checks addressed to Emily MacIntyre and payable to Elizabeth Wolfe to 2560 Valley Highway, No. 13, Denver, CO 80222.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
