Last month, we told you about the real-life dust-up that inspired the Denver Center’s world premiere play “Dusty and the Big Bad World.”
Wick Rowland, president of Colorado Public TV’s Channel 12, was in the dustbowl as the real controversy played out on a local level.
The children’s series “Postcards From Buster” eventually had its public funding withdrawn by the U.S. Department of Education for a 2005 episode that featured a girl from Vermont who happened to have two mommies.
PBS fed its affiliates two versions of the episode. “KBDI, without hesitation, not only aired the uncensored version, but also followed the program with an hour-long call-in program that allowed viewers to voice their opinions,” Rowland wrote in to us.
“We even flew in Gillian Pieper, one of the gay mothers featured in the episode, as a panelist for the follow-up program. This was an extraordinary expense for Channel 12, but reflected our commitment to resist the censoring pressure of the federal government at the time.”
Over the years, Rowland said, KBDI has always aired unedited, uncensored versions of controversial PBS programs, reflective of the station’s call letters: Bold, Diverse and Independent.
“The Channel 12 response in the ‘Postcards’ episode was a shining moment in an otherwise dark time for public broadcasting,” he wrote.
The play continues at the Denver Center through Feb. 28. Call 303-893-4100.
Curious milestones
Curious Theatre’s 12th-season announcement includes several firsts. Though the season includes Colorado native Steven Dietz‘s “Yankee Tavern,” Terry Dodd‘s “Home by Dark” will be the first full Curious staging by a Colorado resident playwright.
To add to the spoils, the father-son tale will be Curious’ first co-presentation with Denver Center Attractions. That’s because Denver Center for the Performing Arts president Randy Weeks is a big believer in the tale. So, too, is director Jamie Horton, the former Denver Center Theatre Company actor who’s coming home from Dartmouth (where he teaches) to direct.
“I expect Randy and Jamie to both play central roles in the future development of the piece, even beyond Curious,” said artistic director Chip Walton.
Our full story on Curious’ season announcement can be found
Hosier remembered
The theater community is still processing the shock from the unexpected death last week of actor CJ Hosier at age 34. While many were remembering his string of memorable performances for companies like Theatre Group and the Bug, GerRee Hinshaw was recalling the way Hosier took care of people.
“When I was still new to this community and having to miss the holidays with my own family, CJ made sure we ‘orphans’ had a place to go on Thanksgiving,” Hinshaw said. “It was a table full of food and a house full of misfits.”
Friends will host a public wake at 5:30 p.m. today (Feb. 8), at the Vintage Theatre, 2119 E. 17th Ave.
Our tribute, published Thursday and including audio excerpts, photos and reader testimonials, can be found
More bleak news
Boulder’s excellent Theatre 13, which has presented 15 plays since 2005, has folded, done in by what member Rebecca Brown Adelman calls an unmanageable debt.
“If we were to continue through the fourth season, that could put us in a bind from which it might take years to recover,” she said.
Among the company’s noteworthy productions were “Defiled,” “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” and the Leonard Peltier rallying cry, “Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sundance.”
With “Match,” Theatre 13 joined with Curious and Paragon in their ongoing challenge of the state’s ban on stage smoking.
Theatre 13 had been slated to next stage David Harrower‘s child-abuse drama, “Blackbird.” . . .
And because of rising costs, the Gaslight Theatre is moving out of the home it built up last year at 7287 Lowell Blvd. and into the Willow Tree Inn’s events center in Bennett. A spring title is yet to be announced.
And finally …
A new weekly interactive murder-mystery dinner theater opens Saturday at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder. The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show is a whodunit and a four- course meal. The franchise originated in Los Angeles in 2004 (888-575- 3884 or .).
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
This week’s openings
Feb 8 and 15: Colorado Homegrown Tales’ “Bigfoot Abducted By Aliens!” (at Byers-Evans House)
Opening Thursday, Feb. 12, through March 14: Shadow’s “Smokey Joe’s Cafe”
Opening Thursday, Feb. 12, through Feb. 28: Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s “Stop Kiss”
Opening Thursday, Feb. 12, through Feb. 28: Su Teatro’s “Bless Me, Ultima”
Opening Thursday, Feb. 12, through March 1: Manitou Art Theatre’s “10 Minutes Max”
Opening Friday, Feb. 13, through March 15: Aurora Fox’s “Hazard County”
Opening Friday, Feb. 13, through March 7: Theatre Company of Lafayette’s “Separated at Birth: The Lincoln/Darwin Plays”
Opening Friday, Feb. 13, through Feb. 22: Performance Now’s| “Crazy for You” Lakewood
Opening Friday, Feb. 13, through March 1: openstage etc.’s “Third” Fort Collins
Opening Friday, Feb. 13, through Feb. 28: Upstart Crow’s “The Two Noble Kinsmen” Boulder
Opening Friday, Feb. 13, through Feb. 22: Arvada Festival Playhouse’s “The New Kid on the Block”
Opening Friday, Feb. 13, through April 12: Jesters Dinner Theatre’s “South Pacific” Longmont
Opening Saturday, Feb. 14, through March 14: Paragon’s “Love Song”
Opening Saturday: The Dinner Detective’s “The Millennium Murders” (Saturdays only)
This week’s closings
Today, Feb. 8: National touring production of “Chicago,” Buell Theatre
Today, Feb. 8: Town Hall Arts Center’s “My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra” Littleton
Today, Feb. 8: Hunger Artists’ “Rumors,” at Buntport Theater
Saturday, Feb. 14: Curious Theatre’s “Rabbit Hole”
Saturday, Feb. 14: E-Project’s “Black Comedy”
Saturday, Feb. 14: Parker Arts Council’s “Harvey”
Sunday, Feb. 15: TheatreWorks’ “Wit” Colorado Springs
Sunday, Feb. 15: Firehouse’s “Mother Hicks”
Sunday, Feb. 15: Miners Alley Playhouse’s “Shining City” Golden
Sunday, Feb. 15: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s “The Full Monty”
Sunday, Feb. 15: Adams Mystery Playhouse’s “Molly Brown and the Mysterious Murder”
Most recent openings
“As You Like It” Using a cast of just six playing 25 characters, Modern Muse endeavors to tell the tale of Shakespeare’s greatest heroine, Rosalind — the girl who dresses like a boy to teach the boy how to get the girl. Through Feb. 28. Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., 303-780-7836 or
“Defending the Caveman” Rob Becker’s popular one-man comic exploration of the gender gap, here starring Isaac Lamb. Through March 21. New Denver Civic Theatre, 721 Santa Fe Drive, 303-309-3773 or
“An Evening With Stephen Sondheim” Songs by the man some regard as the most intelligent and thought-provoking composer of our time. Through Feb. 28. California Actors Theatre, 1250 Hover Drive at the Twin Peaks Mall, Longmont, 303-774-1842 or
“Harvey” Elwood P. Dowd sees rabbits — 6-foot rabbits named Harvey, in Denver native Mary Chase’s classic comedy. Through Feb. 14. Parker Arts Council at the Parker Mainstreet Center, 19650 E. Main St., Parker, 303-841-4500 or
“Richard III” Shakespeare’s history follows the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Britain’s deformed, depraved king. Through Feb. 28. Denver Center Theatre Company at the Stage Theatre, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or
“The Well of the Saints” John Millington Synge (“Playboy of the Western World”) wrote this classic broad comedy with characters exploring the ironies of faith, love and blindness. Through Feb. 6. Germinal Stage-Denver, 2450 W. 44th Ave., 303-455-7108 or
“That Woman Show” After The Avenue birthed the “Girls Only” phenomenon (still going strong at the Denver Center’s Galleria Theatre), producer Robert Wells resolved to stage a women-centric audience-participation lark each winter. This sketch comedy by LuAnn Buckstein and Pamela Clifton includes bits like “I Feel Pretty — at the Gynecologist’s Office.” Through March 15. 417 E. 17th Ave., 303-321-5925 or
Compiled by John Moore
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. Or check out our listings
or
Recap: The rest of this week’s theater coverage in The Denver Post
THEATER’S BATMAN: Denver Center trustee Jim Steinberg is perhaps the nation’s most prominent ambassador for the development of new plays. He’s a major reason the Denver Center Theatre Company is launching its fourth Colorado New Play Summit this weekend.
CJ HOSIER: Our tribute to a real theater renaissance man, who died suddenly last week at age 34.
CURIOUS THEATRE: The company’s 12th season announcement includes plays by Steven Dietz, Terry Dodd and Bridget Carpenter.
REVIEW: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Richard III” **
REVIEW: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Dusty and the Big Bad World” ***
REVIEW: Colorado Springs TheatreWorks’ “Wit.” ***
REVIEW: DragonFly Arts Center’s “Handler” **1/2
AUDITIONS: Complete list, updated up to three times a week.
