Unless you’ve been hip to Buntport Theater since Day 1, you’ve missed something. I discovered them with show No. 5, a comic documentary look at the reindeer Donner. Next up was “Titus, the Musical” — and when Lavinia broke into a bloody Britney Spears song right after having her tongue cut out, I knew I was in the bosom of Denver’s most original and intelligently funny theater company.
Since then, this collective of six Colorado College pals have taken us to Turkmenistan, through an upside-down house and on a walking tour of “The Odyssey.” For starters. Nearly 30 original plays and 100 sit-com episodes in all.
Still, there are those few I missed, and have always regretted. And unlike TV and movies, live theater rarely goes into repeat mode.
But part out of nostalgia, and part out of necessity, Buntport will give all of us a do-over next year. Its entire 10th season will be remounts of seminal productions from the first decade.
The 2010-11 season will bring back (in order) “Moby Dick Unread”; the quirky musical “Seal. Stamp. Send. Bang.”; “Quixote” (the first-ever production); “Kafka On Ice” (it is hoped that guest star Gary Culig will return from New York); “The 30th of Baydak” (performed entirely on a suspended stage); and the one- acts “Cinderella” and “. . . and this is my significant bother.”
Four others will be given staged readings. The titles were selected to span the company’s entire history, and because each requires completely different uses of the company’s warehouse space.
“For the very few people who have been with us from the start, we hope this will be a fun walk down memory lane,” said Erin Rollman. “And for those who have found us somewhere along the way, or are brand new to us, we think it’s going to be a pretty awesome introduction to what we do.”
In its first nine years, the Buntport collective has rarely taken time to take a breath. But this scheduling gimmick isn’t about finally slacking off.
The Denver Center Theatre Company has commissioned Buntport to create a multidisciplinary look at the last days of Nikola Tesla. The first draft is due June 11 and, if all goes well, the ensemble will continue to develop the piece all the way through the Denver Center’s Colorado New Play Summit in February 2011.
“It’s very fantastical, and it involves pigeons,” hinted Rollman. “And it’s pretty playful with the technologies that Tesla has directly influenced.”
In the meantime, Buntport is about to premiere the final new show of its ninth season, a musical called “Jugged Rabbit Stew,” opening May 21.
“It’s unbelievably hard to describe it without sounding like I’m either high, or kidding, or both,” said Rollman. It follows a magician who abandons his traveling show, but we soon discover our runaway protagonist is in fact the magician’s rabbit. It runs through June 19. Call 720-946-1388.
Buntport’s 2010-11 season
Sept. 3-25, 2010: “Moby Dick Unread”
Oct. 29-Nov. 20, 2010: “Seal. Stamp. Send. Bang.”
Dec. 3-4, 2010: “Quixote”
Jan. 28-Feb. 19, 2010: “Kafka On Ice”
April 1-23, 2010: “The 30th of Baydak”
May 27-June 18, 2010: Two one-acts: “Cinderella,” paired with “and this is my significant bother”
Ivers hired to run Utah Shakespearean Festival
Versatile actor David Ivers, who directed “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and has performed in 28 productions for the Denver Center Theatre Company in the past 10 seasons, has been named co-artistic director of the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, Utah, along with Brian Vaughn. He calls it a dream come true.
“What terrific news for David; what sad news for us,” said DCTC artistic director Kent Thompson. “We lose a wonderful company member . . . but this is a superb choice by the Utah Shakespearean Festival.
To read more about Ivers’ selection,
Tony Awards: Local connections
The Tony steamroller “Fela,” which received 11 nominations last week, was co-written by Jim Lewis, who was raised in Colorado Springs. . . . The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center has already been named this year’s Tony winner for outstanding regional theater company. The artistic director of the O’Neill’s annual National Playwrights Conference is Wendy E. Goldberg, who directed “The Clean House” and three other plays for the DCTC.
Shaking up a new generation
The third time is still charming for the Denver Center Theatre Company.
The National Endowment for the Arts named it one of 40 nonprofit, professional theater companies that will receive grants of $25,000 each to participate in a program called Shakespeare for a New Generation in the fiscal year beginning June 1.
The goal of Shakespeare for a New Generation is to introduce middle- and high-school students to the Bard’s masterpieces and the power of live theater.
“As we did last season with ‘Richard III’ and this season with ‘Othello,’ we will train teachers to teach courses on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in metro-area high schools with significant at-risk student populations,” said DCTC spokesman Chris Wiger.
In addition, the Denver Center’s educational outreach programs, including Living History, will work with up to 750 students on the text. The students will attend the play, to be staged Feb. 3-26, including pre- and post-show educational activities.
“This is the third time our company has been selected for this competitive program, and we are delighted to have been chosen again,” Wiger said.
The grant does require matching funds – in fact, it costs the Denver Center about $80,000 to administer the full program. “We have been able to raise those funds each year, and hope to do so again, from individuals, foundations and corporations,” said vice president Dorothy Denney.
Briefly . . .
Last week’s death of Lynn Redgrave hit DCTC actor Kim Staunton particularly hard. The star of “A Raisin in the Sun” last year completed the inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, an intensive master class run by Redgrave in Wisconsin. “The news hit me like a bolt of lightning,” said Staunton, who is now at Syracuse Stage performing in “Fences.” “What an inspiration dear Lynn was to me. She was so alive in her living. I cherish every moment we shared.” . . .
The lobby that serves the DCTC’s two primary theaters (the Space and Stage) will be undergoing an extensive renovation in the coming weeks, paid for by the 10 percent seat tax the city applies to all ticket purchases there.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
This week’s theater openings
Opening Wednesday, May 12: “BurlyCute’s “A Naughty Vaudeville,” Wednesdays only at the Crossroads Theatre (open-ended)
Opening Thursday, May 13, through May 29: Star Bar Players’ “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” at the Lon Chaney Auditorium Colorado Springs
Opening Friday, May 14, through July 11: Union Colony’s “Annie” Greeley
Opening Friday, May 14, through July 25: Jesters Dinner Theatre’s “The Music Man” (Longmont)
Opening Saturday, May 15, through June 18: Curious’ “Up”
Opening Saturday, May 15, through Sept. 5: Boulder’s Dinner Theatre’s “Peter Pan”
This week’s theater closings
Today: Denver Center Attractions’ “In the Heights,” at the Buell Theatre
Today, May 9: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Mama Hated Diesels,” at the Stage Theatre
Today, May 9: Aurora Fox’s “The Rainmaker”
Today, May 9: 73rd Avenue Theatre’s “The Imaginary Invalid”
Today, May 9: Bas Bleu’s “She Stoops to Conquer” Fort Collins
Today, May 9:Jesters Dinner Theatre’s “Godspell” Longmont
Today, May 9:Performance Now’s “Oklahoma!” Lakewood
Today, May 9:Gravity Defied’s “Totally Electric,” at the Aurora Fox studio theater
Saturday, May 15: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Mariela in the Desert,” at the Ricketson Theatre
Saturday, May 15: Theatre Company of Lafayette’s “Lloyd’s Prayer”
Saturday, May 15: Arvada Center’s “Schoolhouse Rock Live” (children’s)
Saturday, May 15: The Bug’s “Galaxy Trek … The Lost Episodes”
Saturday, May 15: Curtains Up’s “The Wizard of Oz”
Sunday, May 16: Arvada Center’s “Nine”
Sunday, May 16: TheatreWorks’ “Arsenic and Old Lace” Colorado Springs
Sunday, May 16: Vintage Theatre’s “Leading Ladies”
OUR COVERAGE OF THE 2010 DPS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
OUR ADVANCE:
OUR DAY-OF REPORT:
Watch videographer Mahala Gaylord’s visit to the festival
Watch City Auditor Dennis Gallagher open the festival
Photos from the 2010 DPS Festival
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This weekend’s theater openings
“Amphitryon 38” In this perceptive comic romp about the nature of fidelity and the arbitrary whims of the gods, Jupiter falls for a mortal woman who is steadfastly faithful to her husband. By Jean Giraudoux (“The Madwoman of Chaillot”); adapted by S.H. Behrmand. Through June 13. Germinal Stage-Denver, 2450 W. 44th Ave., 303-455-7108 or
“The Bootyguard” Ruthless comic parody of the pill-popping, booze- soaked entertainment world inspired by the ’90s romantic thriller “The Bodyguard,” starring Whitney Houston. Written by and starring Denver native Andrew Shoffner. Through May 29. The Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave., 303-321-5925 or
“Crazy for You”The popular musical about Bobby Child, a well-to-do 1930s playboy who heads west to realize his dream to dance. Starring Michael E. Gold. Gershwin score includes “I Got Rhythm” and “Someone To Watch Over Me.” Through May 30. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St., 719-634-5583 or
“Dietrich & Chevalier” This biographical musical tells the compelling, true tale of entertainment giants Marlene Dietrich and Maurice Chevalier, who met in 1932 and whose lifetime romance culminated with Dietrich’s dramatic appearance at his trial for treason. Through June 20. Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington St., Golden, 303-935-3044 or
“The Diviners”In a small farm community during the Depression, where water and faith are in short supply, a charismatic preacher drifts into town and meets a misunderstood boy with the gift of divining water. Through May 22.Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St., 303-772-5200 or
“The Little Dog Laughed” Douglas Carter Beane’s tabloid spoof follows the adventures of a movie star who could hit the big time if only his agent can keep him in the closet. Through May 30. Lake Dillon Theatre, 176 Lake Dillon Dr., 970-513-9386 or
“The Mommy Rants” This one-act play by local writers Connie Ferger and Christie Winn explores all the wacky things that happen when you become a mother. Your ticket includes food, drinks and a massage for an hour before the show. Through May 9. Presented by Ranting Mommy Productions at Theatre O, 5311 Western Ave., Boulder, 720-890-6141 or
“Ring ‘Round the Moon” Jean Anouilh’s updated romantic class comedy, set in the sparkling 1920s, about a twin who initiates a scheme of confusion and pretense to save his lovesick brother from an unhappy marriage. Translated by Christopher Fry. Through May 22. Presented by Upstart Crow at the Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-444-7328 or
“The Secret Garden” Classic family musical about young orphan Mary Lennox, who is sent to England to live with a distant relative and discovers a magical garden with the power to change many sad lives. Through June 6. Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main St., Littleton, 303-794-2787 or
“Shining City” Conor McPherson’s Irish ghost story about a man who seeks help from a counselor after having seen the appirition of his recently deceased wife. Through May 30. Presented by openstage etc. at the Center for Fine Art Photography, 400 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, 970-221-6730 or
“Simply Simone: The Music of Nina Simone” Third time’s the charm: Shadow Theatre’s twice-delayed musical bio on the life of singer and activist Nina Simone, as portrayed by four different actresses, opens tonight. Through June 5. Shadow Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora, 720-857-8000 or
“The Sound of a Voice”This haunting Japanese fable by David Henry Hwang begins with a beautiful woman living alone in the woods. She offers food and shelter to an aging samurai who happens upon her and decides to remain with his benefactress. Through June 5. Paragon Theatre, 1385 S. Santa Fe Dr., 303-300-2210 or
“tick … tick … Boom!” “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical rock musical about a young composer on the brink of turning 30 and falling into oblivion. Through May 23. Presented by Evolution Theatre at the Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-444-7328 or
“True West” Austin is a successful Hollywood screenwriter; Lee is his menacing, vagabond brother, and this is the story of their attempt to trade lives. A disturbing comedy by Sam Shepard. Through June 26. Victorian Playhouse, 4201 Hooker St., 303-433-4343 or
“The Wizard of Oz”Dorothy’s classic odyssey to the land of Oz. Through May 15. Curtains Up, 3900 W. 32nd Ave., 720-308-2920 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
The Running Lines blog
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