Fantastic things were happening last weekend at two different area productions of “The Fantasticks.”
The June 26 opening-night performance at Breckenridge’s Backstage Theatre went on with music director Mary Gottlieb on piano, and her son, Matt, in the starring role of Matt.
Phil Gottlieb, Mary’s husband and Matt’s father, was to have played Mortimer. He died just four days before of heart complications.
Matt and Mary went on, not despite the patriarch’s death, but rather to honor his life.
Before the sold-out performance, “the craziest thing happened,” Matt said. “There were flowers addressed to my mom, and so I opened the card — and it was from the New York cast of ‘The Fantasticks.’ You can imagine my surprise opening that card.
“We have no clue how they found out, but the card simply said, ‘With sympathy for your loss, and with congratulations on your production.’ ”
“Now that’s class,” added director Christopher Willard.
A multidenominational memorial for Phil Gottlieb was held Tuesday in a packed Bethany Lutheran Church, one marked by songs and, appropriate for a performer’s funeral, lots of applause. Matt sang a powerful rendition of “If I Sing,” from “Closer Than Ever.”
Meanwhile, the June 28 closing performance of “The Fantasticks” at the Victorian Playhouse was a benefit for veteran actor Doug Rosen, who had to leave the show two weeks earlier because of liver cancer.
Rosen does not have health insurance. Director Sarah Roshan says cards or checks made out to Rosen can be sent to the Vic, 4201 Hooker St., Denver, 80211.
More sadness
It was also a horrible week for Boulder Dinner Theatre’s Mary McGroary, whose Denver apartment was submerged in 5 feet of mud and water within minutes of a flash flood on June 25. McGroary wasn’t home at the time. All her possessions were ruined, and her miniature schnauzer drowned in the apartment.
Help can be sent c/o Bella Colore Salon, 3042 E. Sixth Ave., Denver, 80206 . . .
And just to top off a week of hard-times news: On the day Broadway veteran Randal Keith won a Henry Award for his performance as Valjean in the Arvada Center’s “Les Miserables,” it was ruled he does not meet “the physical requirements of a theatrical performer” to qualify for workers’ comp. Nine months ago, he slipped on water pooling underneath a fog machine on the Arvada Center stage, breaking seven bones in his ankle.
“Ironic?” he asked.
Back to the Barth
Terry Dodd, who brought environmental theater back to Denver with last summer’s “Hot’l Baltimore” in the lobby of the Barth Hotel, is returning there to direct Terri Draeger‘s “A Hint of Winter” to run Thursday through Aug. 1. The play, about a chance encounter between two people, one young and one old, is again a benefit for Senior Housing Options, which provides housing for 500 residents in 15 locations around Colorado. Call 303-595-4464, ext. 10.
Little Theatre rocked by arrest
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Little Theatre of the Rockies celebrated its 75th anniversary season on Friday with the announcement of the Tom McNally Scholarship, a special performance of “The Sunshine Boys” and a barroom remembrance for late actor David Richards. But the festivities were significantly dampened by the explosive news that longtime University of Northern Colorado professor of theater Vance Fulkerson had been arrested on the felony charge of sexual exploitation of children; as well as misdemeanor charges of unlawful sexual contact, and suspicion of marijuana possession. (Photo of Fulkerson, right, courtesy 9News video).
To read John Moore’s blog on the day in Greeley, complete with his slideshow of pictures, . To read Monte Whaley’s news story on Fulkerson’s arrest,
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
This week’s video podcast:
Running Lines at . . . The 2009 Henry Awards
In this week’s video podcast, John Moore offers interviews and excerpts from the 2009 Henry Awards. The video includes performance highlights from all five nominated musicals. And, just for fun: Random spectators are asked to describe the Henry Awards … in one word.
The Henry Awards in pictures
2009 Colorado Theatre Guild Henry Awards: The ceremony. Photos by Brian Landis Folkins and John Moore.
Moore from the Henry Awards: Video, photos and winners list
To see more video (including a complete performance of Amy Board singing “On My Own” from “Les Miserables”), pictures of the “faces in the crowd” and John Moore’s analysis of the Colorado Theatre Guild’s fourth annual gala,
This week’s openings
Thursday, July 9, through Aug. 1: Senior Housing Options’ “A Hint of Winter” (at the Barth Hotel)
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 26: Evergreen Players’ “Escanaba in da Moonlight”
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 9: Vintage Theatre’s “The Violet Hour” (with Hunger Artists)
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 22: Theatre Aspen’s “A Year With Frog and Toad”
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 15: Southern Colorado Rep’s “Forever Plaid” Trinidad
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 2: Colorado Light Opera’s “Oklahoma!” Boulder
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 8: Equinox’s “Frozen” (Margery Reed Hall, University of Denver)
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 23: 73rd Avenue Theatre Company’s “The Pirates of Penzance” Westminster
Friday, July 10, through July 25: Arvada Festival Playhouse’s “Hit the Road, Jack”
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 29: Victorian Playhouse’s “London Suite”
Friday, July 10, through Aug. 9: Jesters Dinner Theatre’s “The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)”
Saturday, July 11, through Aug. 7: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s Much Ado About Nothing” (indoors) Boulder
Saturday, July 11, through Aug. 1: Colorado Light Opera’s “Anything Goes” Boulder
This week’s closings
Saturday: E-Project’s “Moliere’s Learned Ladies” Lakewood
July 12: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Quilters” (Stage Theatre)
July 12: Bas Bleu’s “I’m Not Rappaport” Fort Collins
July 12: Germinal Stage-Denver’s “Home”
July 12: Maya Productions’ “Conviction” (at Curious Theatre)
Best bet: “Hamlet”
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The Bard is back: The Colorado Shakespeare Festival opened its 52nd season this weekend with perhaps the most psychologically complex and intensely debated play in literature. It’s the story of the deliberations of the doomed prince who’s compelled to avenge his father’s murder. Stephen Weitz, pictured at right, stars. “Hamlet” will soon be joined in repertory by “Much Ado About Nothing,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Two Gentlemen of Verona” and “The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged).”Hamlet” is performed outdoors in the Mary Rippon Amphitheatre on the CU-Boulder campus. 8:30 p.m. today; times and dates then vary through Aug. 9. $14-$54, 303-492-0554 or . (Photo by Kira Horvath)
Most recent theater openings
“All Shook Up” More than 20 Elvis hits are used to tell the “Grease”-like story of a small-town girl with big dreams, and the guitar- playing stranger in leather who steals her heart. Through Aug. 22. Rocky Mountain Rep1025 Grand Ave., Grand Lake, 970-627-3421 or
“Bad Dates” A divorced mom who’s determined to fall in love again, is perpetually preparing for her next (bad) encounter with a man. Through Aug. 15. Nonesuch Theatre, 216 Pine St., Fort Collins, 970-224-0444 or
“The Glorious Ones” Based on the novel by Francine Prose, this backstage musical, by the team that wrote “Ragtime,” is about the lives, loves and ambitions of a 16th-century commedia dell arte troupe in Italy during the late Renaissance. Through Aug. 22. Lake Dillon Theatre, 176 Lake Dillon Drive, Dillon, 970-513-9386 or
“A Grand Night for Singing” Tony Award-nominated musical revue is an evening of songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, from shows including “Oklahoma,” “The King and I,” “The Sound of Music” and more. Through Aug. 13. Thursdays only. Presented by Lake Dillon Theatre at The Pavilion in Keystone, 970-513-9386 or
“The Sunshine Boys” Classic comedy about an aging vaudeville duo who agree to reunite for a TV special, but it turns out they can’t stand each other. Stars real-life brothers Dan and Tom McNally, and directed by Anthony Powell. Through Sunday, July 5. Little Theatre of the Rockies at the Langworthy Theatre, 10th Avenue and 18th Street, Greeley, 970-351-2200 or
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
Coming up this week: Forever — and ever — “Plaid”
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Thursday, July 9: Since 1990, the retro musical “Forever Plaid” has had more than 400 stagings in Colorado alone. At 6 p.m. Thursday, July, 9, the “Forever Plaid 20th Anniversary Special” will debut as a national simulcast on movie screens across the U.S., including 10 in Denver. The debut screening includes members of the original cast live via simulcast, introducing the film and a singing a few live numbers never before staged in the play. The local host theaters are: Denver Pavilions, the Belmar 16 and Colorado Mills in Lakewood, Kerasotes Southlands in Aurora, the AMC Highlands Ranch, Greenwood Plaza in Englewood, the Kerasotes Castle Rock Stadium, Cinemark Century in Boulder, Cinemark Greeley Mall and Cinemark Fort Collins. Tickets $18. Go to for info. John Moore
