HELPING OUT
National, local
Haiti benefits are successful
Artists and musicians have been talking a good game about helping survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, but are those efforts actually paying off?
As it turns out, they are. The “Hope for Haiti Now” charity album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart last week, with 171,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
It was the first digital-exclusive release to top the chart in its nearly 54-year history. The album includes the No. 1-rated iTunes track “Hallelujah,” featuring Justin Timberlake and Denver’s Matt Morris, and songs from other pop music luminaries including Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder and Beyonce.
Locally, Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge announced it raised $10,228 at two events Jan. 19 and Jan. 24 for Doctors Without Borders, the Lambi Fund for Haiti and the American Red Cross.
Artists performing included vocalist Rene Marie, Jonny 5 of Denver hip-hop group Flobots, and Venus Cruz.
Centennial-based Project C.U.R.E. raised $3,000 at its Jan. 24 art-and-music benefit at The Other Side Gallery, and the organization expects more money to roll in between now and Feb. 24 as various participating restaurants hold proceed nights.
“The exciting part about that is that we received a high number of donations, which shows that different people are engaged in relief efforts and want to contribute, even if the amount is small,” said Lana Jefferson Taussig, Project C.U.R.E.’s director of communications.
A Jan. 16 concert at the Meadowlark Bar, organized by local experimental music label Bocumast Records, also raised over $500 from door proceeds and nearly $200 from text donations, according to Bocumast president David Kurtz. John Wenzel
THEATER
Buntport, DCTC are teaming up for Tesla project
The Denver Center Theatre Company has entered into an unprecedented collaboration with the innovative Buntport Theater to develop an original multimedia production that will explore the life and inventions of Nikola Tesla, inventor of the radio.
The DCTC has up to 20 new plays in its new-play development pipeline at any given time, but this is the first time the company has commissioned new work from another Denver theater company.
The Buntport ensemble will collaborate with DCTC multimedia specialist Charlie Miller. The commission is for $6,000.
“The Denver Center’s new-play development program and technological resources will provide Buntport with the support and space to succeed in this ambitious project,” said artistic director Kent Thompson.
Buntport, a unique ensemble of six, has created and produced 27 original productions, often experimenting with form and content. “We’ve been hammering away at this original-work idea for a long time, and this feels like the payoff,” said Buntport’s Brian Colonna.
Buntport will workshop its script this summer, culminating in a public reading at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. John Moore
