POP MUSIC
New nostalgia
Saturday.’90s rock. While you’ll read more about Pixies and Pavement reunions in blogs and magazines, there are more folks out there who care about this summer’s Creed reunion. Yep, that ’90s powerhouse group fronted by Scott Stapp is back, and this summer it’s been bringing its music — both old and new and including the fresh hit single, “Overcome” — to arenas and amphitheaters. The grunge-fueled Florida mainstream rock band plays Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre and like-minded group Staind opens the show. Tickets, $10-$119, are available via ticket or 303-830-8497. Ricardo Baca
Beachy keen
Saturday.Breezy folk-rock. There’s a large fan crossover between Jack Johnson and Colbie Caillat. Both Southern California artists live in a similar space musically — that sunny, inoffensive folk-rock that makes for an easy afternoon at the beach or a long drive through the mountains. And Caillat, who plays the Fillmore Auditorium, is banking on her homespun popularity. Her generically titled new record, “Breakthrough,” is a natural follow to her debut, “Coco.” Tickets, $25-$30, are available at or 877-598-8497. Ricardo Baca
Strings and things
Saturday.Indie pop.The Film Dailies know how to throw a party. The Denver-based indie-pop group will perform with a string quartet at the Walnut Room. The group, celebrating its recent “Staring Up at Giants Again” release, will be joined by the Telling Stories String Quartet for the special show, and it should be a memorable set — and a great night with Eleanor, b.sous, Iuengliss and DJ Japatapta in support. Also in on the action: Fashion Denver will peddle some goods, Dilate will spin some video and Anna Loring will exhibit some visual works.Ricardo Baca
DANCE
Indian classical
Saturday.Indian dance. Internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Alarmel Valli enjoys the sort of awards normally conferred upon war heroes and heads of state, but her renown doesn’t necessarily mean she’s as known in America as elsewhere. She’s aiming to change that with a rare, one-off performance of “The Forgotten Seed.” The thematic Indian classical dance includes a live musical ensemble and Valli’s uniquely subtle, poetic movement. 7 p.m. DL Parsons Theatre, 11801 Community Center Drive in Northglenn. $25. 303-786-7030 or . John Wenzel
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Star conductor
Today-Sunday.Symphonic music. Miguel Harth-Bedoya, a rising star in the conducting world, joins the Colorado Symphony for a program that includes Beethoven’s timeless Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” Also featured is violinist Augustin Hadelich, a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, a frequent predictor of future success. He will serve as soloist for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Boettcher Concert Hall. $15-$75. 303-623-7876 or colorado . Kyle MacMillan
Fit for the prez
Sunday. Chamber music. Gracing January’s presidential inauguration was a work written for the occasion by John Williams — “Air and Simple Gifts.” The SOLI Chamber Ensemble, from San Antonio, will present what is likely the Colorado premiere during a concert at 7 p.m. at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St. The program will incorporate two other works for the same instrumental combination (violin, clarinet, cello and piano), including Messiaen’s 1941 masterpiece, “Quartet for the End of Time.” $15. 719-634-5583 or . Kyle MacMillan.
Music USA
Saturday-Sunday.Choral music. The Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra and Colorado Chorale team for “Music of American Composers.” Among the three featured works will be John Corigliano’s “Fern Hill,” a 1960 setting of a poem by Dylan Thomas. The program, presented by Augustana Arts, will be performed at at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave., and 3 p.m. Sunday at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda Ave. $18. 303-388-4962 or augustanaarts . Kyle MacMillan
VISUAL ART
Different views
Today. Painting. The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., has brought together four artists from across the Americas with very different takes on the landscape — Theodore Waddell, Kay WalkingStick, Eric Perez and Julia Fernandez-Pol. They are featured in “Personal Paradise: Contemporary Perspectives on Landscape Painting.” The artists will attend an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Through Dec. 6. Reception admission is $15 for the general public, $5 for members. 719-634-5583 or . Kyle MacMillan
FAMILY FUN
Core group
Saturday-Sunday. Fruity festival. It’s an apple extravaganza at Lakewood’s 34th annual Cider Days celebration. One of fall’s favorite fruits, the apple can be found in all its forms at the festival. Apple cider is the main attraction — bring your own apples and borrow a press to make fresh cider. (Apples will be available for sale, too.) There’s a bushel of other activities: entertainment, hay rides, a petting zoo and more. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Lakewood’s Heritage Center, 801 S. Yarrow St.; 303-987-7850 Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for kids ages 3 to 12. Kathleen St. John
Pumped for pumpkins
Saturday-Sunday. Gourds galore. Seek out the perfect pumpkin at Four Mile Historic Park’s Pumpkin Harvest Festival. A future jack-o-lantern awaits, along with music, carriage rides, snacks and more. Explore the park’s grounds, too — 12 acres of country in the middle of the city. The park’s Four Mile House was once a stage stop, then became a thriving farm. There are still animals to visit; exhibits teach guests about the pioneer days. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Four Mile Historic Park, 715 S. Forest St.; 720-865-0800. Admission is free. Visit . for more information. Kathleen St. John
FILM
French classic
Through the week. Revival. A fresh 35mm print of the seldom-screened French political thriller, “Le Combat Dan L’ile,”arrives at the Starz FilmCenter today for a limited and welcome engagement. Directed by Alain Cavalier and produced by Louis Malle, the telling work from 1962 captures a strained marriage and a roiling nation. Romy Schneider plays Anne, wife of industrialist scion and right-ring militant Clement (Jean-Louis Trintignant). Through Thursday. Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, 900 Auraria Parkway. $6-$9.50. . or 303-820-FILM. Lisa Kennedy
Buzz is back
Starting today.3-D double-feature. It was just a matter of time before Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) met the appropriate technology. Now the space ranger, his rival, Woody (Tom Hanks) and their toy-box pals are ready for their 3D close-up as Pixar’s classic “Toy Story” and its sequel return to theaters as a double-feature celebration. The release is in anticipation of the 2010 arrival of “Toy Story 3.” Let’s hope that when Buzz says “infinity and beyond,” he isn’t talking about the number of future sequels. At area theaters.Lisa Kennedy
Dark history
Tonight-Saturday. Film and talk. Lisa Gilford, daughter of blacklisted actors Jack Gilford and Madeline Lee Gilford, will speak about her parents and their times before a screening of the documentary “Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg” by Aviva Kempner. The film chronicles the Molly Goldberg show, a radio hit that made the transition to become TV’s first sitcom (1949-56). The film includes interviews with actor Ed Asner and producer Norman Lear (“All in the Family”). Gilford will speak at 6:35 p.m. both days at the Chez Artiste. Joanne Ostrow
Q & A with Kronos Quartet founder
No other ensemble is ever likely to equal, let alone outdo, the record of the Kronos Quartet when it comes to premiering and promulgating new classical works.
During its 36-year history, the ever- intrepid quartet has commissioned more than 650 compositions and string-quartet arrangements, including pieces by such pivotal composers as Terry Riley and Henryk Gorecki.
The Kronos has also championed previously existing works from the 20th century, including George Crumb’s Vietnam War-inspired “Black Angels (Images I).” The experimental 1970 work requires the musicians to chant, shout and switch off on such additional instruments as gongs, maracas and crystal glasses.
“This piece has been in our repertoire since 1974, and it has gone through a lot of interpretations and a lot of changes in the theatricality of the piece, and we think we have a version that we’re very, very happy with at this point,” said David Harrington, the group’s founder and first violinist.
“Black Angels” will be the program centerpiece when the Kronos appears at 7:30 tonight in the the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Macky Auditorium under the auspices of CU Presents.
In a recent interview, Harrington talked about the concert and the quartet’s legacy:
Question. Are you doing anything else by Crumb on this program?Answer. There are no other string quartet pieces. I’ve spent about 30 of the last 36 years trying to get him to write another one. But I think he feels that ‘Black Angels’ is his statement, and I can certainly understand that.
Q. How do you think the quartet has changed over the decades it has been performing?A.There are certain things that haven’t changed at all, and one of them is the desire to discover new composers, to work closely with creative people to somehow put together experiences that might have importance and meaning to an audience.
Q. Do you think you have had an influence in changing the musical landscape?A.I know that our commissions, whether it’s the music of Steve Reich, Henryk Gorecki or Osvaldo Golijov — any number of the people we’ve worked closely with — their music is being performed regularly by other quartet groups. I think that’s one way to judge the influence we might have had.
Kronos Quartet.”
Chamber Music. University of Colorado at Boulder, Macky Auditorium. The famed quartet, which specializes in contemporary music and cross-genre collaborations, will present a program that includes a rare performance of George Crumb’s Vietnam War-inspired work, “Black Angels.” 7:30 tonight. $12-$52. 303-492-8008 or
Q & A: Why does spell of “Wicked” endure?
In its third Denver visit, “Wicked” will still be the most-watched theater production of the year here by far. We talked to Randy Danson, who plays Madame Morrible, about its enduring popularity.
Question: Why does “Wicked” speak with such impact to tween girls?Answer: I think “Wicked” owes its success to a much broader and more diverse demographic. However, there is no denying they are huge fans. I’m afraid there often just isn’t that much out there for them. It is unusual for the hero to be a young woman, let alone two young women.
Q. How do you think a 21-year-old woman looks at “Wicked” now, as opposed to when she was 15? A. You know the other night, Elphaba’s understudy went on and did a terrific job. She is almost exactly the person you describe. She loved ‘Wicked’ as a teenager in college training to be an actor, and here she finds herself onstage playing the role a few years later.
“Wicked” is one of those ideas like wheels on a suitcase. It is such a simple, elegant take on a classic that you almost can’t believe it wasn’t always there.
I can remember seeing “The Wizard of Oz” for the first time at about age 6 and being mesmerized by it. And I have continued to be, every time I’ve seen it since. I think “Wicked” has become a modern classic not unlike that, and, as such, is for everyone.
Q. What do you make of audiences’ continued loyalty?
A. There is some kind of magic that happens for a very few successful shows in which the production transcends being a hit and moves into a whole other category that reaches people in a way that can’t be explained in any ordinary fashion. I’m not sure that it is quantifiable, but I’m profoundly grateful to be part of it.
Q. You play a press secretary who trades not only in rumormongering but in destructive cyclone-making. Don’t you think we in the media already have it tough enough?
A. Are press secretaries part of the media? Or are press secretaries the ones who feed the beast? I don’t think the poor beleaguered media has to take Madame Morrible as one of their own — she is a singular phenomenon.
Q: Do you get added street cred when people introduce you at parties as “The Headmistress of Shiz?”A: Well, I have only been performing the role for a few weeks, so I have yet to be introduced at a party like that. However, I’m not sure headmistresses are the type to have much street cred.
“WICKED.”
Musical. Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. Oct. 7-Nov. 8. 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 p.m. Thursdays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. $35-$135 (plus daily lottery for 20 $25 orchestra seats). 303-893-4100 or
