The shuttered Country Dinner Playhouse will be demolished in a matter of weeks. The landmark theater at Interstate 25 and Arapahoe Road, which closed after 37 years in May 2007, will become a Restaurant Depot. That’s a national food-service wholesaler – a place where restaurants shop.
Restaurant Depot, based in Anaheim, Calif., has bought the property from Uhlmann Offices Inc., of Sherman Oaks, Calif., for $4.7 million.
A three-week asbestos abatement is underway. Demolition will ensue “as soon as possible” afterward, said Restaurant Depot construction manager Stephanie Mallory.
The Country Dinner Playhouse was the second-largest theater in the state by attendance, drawing more than 5 million patrons to the 470-seat theater. Construction on the Restaurant Depot will not begin until early 2012.
Turn to Page
Zach Page is evidence, says actor Beth Flynn, “that evolution is more than just a theory.”
Page is an 18-year-old Metro State freshman. After the recent rash of suicides by at least six bullied teenagers, Page gathered more than 40 members of the Colorado theater community last week to film a public-service announcement as part of the “It Gets Better” YouTube campaign, a national effort to bring hope to suicidal teens.
He did it for his dad, local actor Paul Page, who says that as a teen, he was hounded, chased, beaten, bullied and scared into silence over his sexuality. Zach got a taste of that treatment himself in middle school, simply for being into theater and dance.
“Oh yeah, in every way this is a tribute to my dad,” Zach Page said. “I like who I am, and it’s all because of what this guy taught me.”
On Oct. 24, Zach Page conducted on-camera interviews with a who’s who of the theater community, culling enough footage not only for an initial “It Gets Better” video he hopes to launch Monday (Nov. 1), but also for an eventual full-length documentary.
Zach said he was particularly moved by the message delivered by actress and director Billie McBride. “The look in her eyes when she gave her story, you could tell how absolutely passionate she was about the whole thing,” he said. “It was inspiring.”
Her simple message: “It all begins at home.”
“A bully’s got a bully for a father or a mother or an older brother or some family member,” McBride said Thursday. “We all know that every single thing we do started somewhere when we were looking into the eyes of those parents.”
And it breaks her heart, said McBride, a new grandmother, “that here we are in 2010, and homosexuality is still a problem for some. I’m baffled and I’m saddened by it, because kids are so bloody important.”
As for parents who aren’t offering the proper love and support at home, she said, “They ought to be slapped around.”
Paul Page emphasizes that while the “It Gets Better” campaign grew out of gay suicides, it’s no longer a matter of sexuality. “It’s about how one human being treats another human being.”
After the recent spate of suicides by six bullied teenagers, 18-year-old Metro State freshman Zachary Page and his father, actor Paul Page, rallied more than 40 members of the local theater community to take part Oct. 24, 2010, in the making of a video aimed at encouraging isolated and endangered youth. Their video is part of the national “It Gets Better” campaign. The video above shows “the making of” Zach Page’s video, featuring interviews with several local actors who participated in the project. Denver Post theater critic John Moore talks with Steven Burge, William Hahn, Sue Leiser, C. Kelly Leo and daughter Marina, KUSA entertainment anchor Kirk Montgomery, David Nehls, Paul Page, Zach Page, Deborah Persoff and Jake Walker. Running time: 10 minutes.
Well, hello, Carol
Broadway legend Carol Channing charmed the socks off the Colorado State University community on Oct 23, when she took questions for a 90-minute Q&A. The secret to her career success, she said, was that she always represented “entertainment without malice.”
“My job is to lift people’s lives,” she said.
Channing offered anecdotes and tidbits of wisdom. She took questions from students, emphasizing their need for proper diction and elocution.
Spry at 89, Channing said she’s cursed to live to be at least 100. Everyone in her family has — “I can’t do anything about it.”
She had a sweet backstage reunion with Boulder’s Dinner Theatre artistic director Michael J. Duran, with whom she performed in “Hello Dolly!” for nearly two years. He also served as her physical therapist during that time, when she called him “Doctor Michael.”
“Dolly” happens to be the next offering at BDT, opening Nov. 19. Channing recorded an announcement that will greet theatergoers before every performance.
Channing’s greatest passion is advocating for arts education in schools. She and her husband are initiating an annual national telethon to debut next year. “We’re dead without it,” she said. “It’s the fall of the Holy Roman Empire.”
Watch John Moore’s exclusive interview with Broadway legend Carol Channing during her visit to Colorado State University in Fort Collins on Oct. 23, 2010, including her breaking into a song about arts education that was written for her by a truck driver. Our package includes a gallery of photos. Running time: 8 minutes.
Briefly …
The celebration of Denver Center resident composer Lee Stametz’s life will be held at 1 p.m. Monday (Nov. 1) in the Seawell Ballroom in the Denver Performing Arts Complex …
Vintage Theatre will present a special benefit performance of “Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 3). It’s a benefit for Rainbow Alley, a resource for gay youth, as part of the “It Gets Better” campaign. $20. 303-839-1361 or …
Nonesuch Theatre’s “My First Time, a comedy communion about first sexual experiences, has been extended in Fort Collins through Nov. 20 with a cast of Julie K. Wolf, Gina DiFelice, Eric Corneliuson and Sean Macready. 970-224-044 or
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This week’s theater openings
Opening Tuesday, Nov. 5, Through Nov. 7: National touring production of “Mamma Mia!” at the Buell Theatre
Opening Thursday, Nov. 4, through Nov. 20: Band of Toughs’ “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers,” at the Denver Civic Theatre
Opening Thursday, Nov. 4, through Dec. 12: Shadow Theatre’s “An Evening With Nina”
Opening Friday, Nov. 5, through Dec 22: Miners Alley Playhouse’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” Golden
Opening Friday, Nov. 5, through Dec. 12: Germinal Stage-Denver’s “Getting Married”
Opening Friday, Nov. 5, through Nov. 21: Gravity Defied’s “[Title Of Show]” at the Aurora Fox
Opening Friday, Nov. 5, through Nov. 14: Red Rocks Community College Theatre’s “Feydeau & Buffalo Bill’s Imaginarium or Hypnotism and Hilarity” Lakewood
Opening Friday, Nov. 5, through Dec. 12: Jesters Dinner Theatre’s “A Grand Night for Singing” Longmont
Opening Friday, Nov. 5, through Nov. 14: Platte Valley Players’ “Swingtime Canteen” Brighton
Opening Saturday, Nov. 6, through Dec. 4: Curious Theatre’s “Astronomical Sunset”
Opening Saturday, Nov. 6, through Nov. 14: PHAMALY’s “Vox Phamalia: Triage,” at the Avenue Theater
This week’s theater closings
Today, Oct. 31: Denver Center Theatre Company’s “Dracula,” at The Stage Theatre
Today, Oct. 31: The Bug Theatre’s “Night of the Living Dead”
Today, Oct. 31: Aurora Fox’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes”
Today, Oct. 31: Creede Repertory Theatre’s “The Ladies Man,” at the Arvada Center
Today, Oct. 31: Lake Dillon’s “Doubt”
Today, Oct. 31: TheatreWorks’ “Capsule 33” Colorado Springs
Today, Oct. 31: 73rd Avenue Theatre’s “The Rocky Horror Musical” Westminster
Today, Oct. 31: Thin Air Players’ “Werewolves of Poverty Gulch” Cripple Creek
Today, Oct. 31: Mercury Cafe Allied Witches’ “Apparition Palestine”
Today, Oct. 31: Miners Alley Playhouse’s “Murder at the Briarwood Inn” Golden
Saturday, Nov. 6: Vintage Theatre’s “Angels in America: Part 1”
Saturday, Nov. 6: Firehouse’s “Beyond Therapy”
Saturday, Nov. 6: Square Product’s “Songs of Meat & Cake,” at the Bindery Space
Saturday, Nov. 6: Devil’s Thumb’s “Talk Radio” Boulder
Sunday, Nov. 7: Vintage Theatre’s “Angels in America: Part 2: Perestroika”
Sunday, Nov. 7: 73rd Avenue Theatre’s “Bang Bang, You Are Dead” Westminster
Sunday, Nov. 7: 73rd Avenue Theatre’s “The Container” Westminster
Sunday, Nov. 7: ARCH’s “Medal of Honor Rag,” at the Denver Civic Theatre
Sunday, Nov. 7: Union Colony Dinner Theatre’s “Always . . . Patsy Cline” Greeley
Most recent theater openings
“I Hate Hamlet” Paul Rudnick’s comedy about a vapid TV actor who’s reluctant to play Hamlet until he’s visited by the ghost of John Barrymore, who presses him to accept the role and fulfill his destiny. Through Nov. 13. Coal Creek Community Theatre at the Louisville Center for the Arts, 801 Grant St., Louisville, 303-665-0955 or
“Medal of Honor Rag” Tom Cole’s fact-based confrontation between a troubled black Vietnam War hero and the white psychiatrist who tries to help him in a 1971 Army hospital. Through Nov. 7. Presented by ARCH at the Denver Civic Theatre, 721 Santa Fe Drive, 303-296-0219 or e-mail medalof honortickets@gmail.com
“Murder at the Briarwood Inn” Elvira, mistress of the night, and her friends hunt down a murderer. Through Sunday. Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington St., Golden, 303-935-3044 or
“Rabbit Hole” David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner follows a married couple after a life-shattering car accident turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously apart. Through Nov. 13. Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St., 303-772-5200 or
“Seal. Stamp. Send. Bang.” Buntport Theatre remounts its 2009 original musical, which uses the post office as a central metaphor for mankind’s interconnectedness. It follows four different protagonists through an ordinary day. Through Nov. 20. 717 Lipan St., 720-946-1388 or
“Sherlock Holmes and the Spinsters of Blackmeade” Another mystery written by C.P. Stancich, author of 2008’s “Sherlock Holmes and the Doom of Devilsmoor.” Through Nov. 20. Theatre Company of Lafayette, 300 E. Simpson St., 720-209-2154 or
“Songs of Meat & Cake” This original work is described as a theatrical song cycle exploring the subjects of “meat” and “cake,” both literally and metaphorically. The semi-improvisational experimental mash-up is described as “part cabaret, part traveling medicine show, part boxing match.” Through Nov. 6. Presented by Square Product Theatre at 2180 Stout St. (also at the Wesley Chapel in Boulder Nov. 11-19); 303-442-0234 or
“Talk Radio” Eric Bogosian’s gritty play about a brash Jewish radio personality in Dallas, inspired by the real-life murder of Denver’s Alan Berg by neo-Nazis. Barry Champlain is played by Benaiah Anderson. Through Nov. 6. Presented by Devils Thumb at the Wesley Chapel, 1290 Folsom St., Boulder,
“Will Rogers Follies” Folksy musical focusing on the life and career of famed humorist and performer Will “I never met a man I didn’t like” Rogers, using as a backdrop the Ziegfeld Follies, which he often headlined, and describes every episode in his life in the form of a big production number. Through Jan. 16. Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, 4747 Market Place Drive, Johnstown, 970-744-3747, 1-877-240-4242 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
Catch up on John Moore’s roundup of theater news and dialogue.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
