Critic’s pick
Pursuing “The Bad Man” beyond the grave
Friday—Sept. 24. Beginning in 2006, the Creede Repertory Theatre has been rolling out installments of Denver playwright and actor Steven Cole Hughes‘ darkly comic, award-winning Old West trilogy, starting with “cowboyily,” followed by “Billy Hell.” The final chapter, “The Bad Man,” debuts at 7:30 tonight and plays intermittently through Sept. 24 at the renowned summer theater 250 miles southwest of Denver. At the end of “Billy Hell,” the deadly gunfighter named Silly Billy was shot dead. But his lady love, who said she’d follow him to hell if need be, isn’t willing to take dead for an answer. At Creede Rep’s new Ruth Humphreys Brown Theatre, 124 N. Main St., 719-658-2540, 1-866-658-2540, or . John Moore
Family Fun
Run, walk, eat, drink and help fight AIDS
Saturday. Spend a day in the park to support AIDS patients at the AIDS Walk Colorado. The north side of Cheesman Park will be filled with events, featuring a 5K run and walk and a volleyball tournament. The Celebration of Life festival brings together live entertainment, tasty food, beer and all sorts of vendors for a late-summer shindig. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, opening ceremony starts at 9 a.m. Cheesman Park, East Eighth Avenue and Franklin Street. 5K run registration is $35; walking is free, though fundraising is encouraged.
Scottish culture in Highlands Ranch
Saturday-Sunday. Salute Scottish culture at the Scottish Festival and Highland Games in, fittingly, Highlands Ranch. Clans will gather for dancing, singing and competitions including stone put and caber toss. Four stages of music will keep things lively. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Highland Heritage Park, 9651 S. Quebec St., Highlands Ranch. $17 for adults; $12 for active military, seniors age 60 and older and kids ages 7 to 11.
Children’s Garden celebrates its first year
Tuesday. Celebrate the first birthday of the Mordecai Children’s Garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It’s also a party for Digger, the marmot mascot for the Children’s Garden, so get ready to eat some birthday treats. Activities such as planting sunflowers and playing music will keep youngsters busy during their visit. Admission to the Children’s Garden is free during the birthday bash — just head for the top level of the gardens’ parking structure. 9 a.m. to noon. Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St.; 720-865-3500. Admission is free.
“Real Pirates,” ahoy!
Through Aug. 21. There’s just a little more than a week left to catch “Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah From Slave Ship to Pirate Ship” at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. To accommodate the most guests, the museum is extending the hours for “Pirates” until 9 p.m. Runs 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through Aug. 21; last entry time is 7:30 p.m. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.; 303-370-6000. Tickets, which include museum entry, are $22 for adults, $16 for seniors, $13 for juniors/students. Museum members receive a discount.
Classical music
Pianist Inon Barnatan in Aspen and Salida
Friday and Wednesday. Few young musicians have enjoyed faster-rising careers than Israeli-born pianist Inon Barnatan, who moved to the United States in 2006. He will perform at 6 p.m. Wednesday with the Aspen Concert Orchestra as part of a series of appearances at the Aspen Music Festival ($20, 970-925-9042 or ). In addition, he will join the Ars Nova String Quartet at 7:30 p.m. today for a concert in Salida under the auspices of Salida Aspen Concerts. ($15, 719-539-6153 or ). Kyle MacMillan
Comedy
TV fixture Greg Proops at Comedy Works
Friday-Saturday. As much a fixture of the stand-up circuit as the improv scene, sandpaper-voiced, Phoenix-born comedian Greg Proops is most reconizable for his breathless work on the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” — both the British and American versions. But he’s also an L.A. regular, voice-over actor and writer familiar to fans of late-night shows like “Chelsea Lately” and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” as well as Nickelodeon’s “True Jackson, VP.” If you missed him last October in Denver, this weekend’s your chance: Proops will play five shows at Comedy Works on Larimer Square. 8 and 10 p.m. today; 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday. $24. 1226 15th St. 303-595- 3637 or . John Wenzel
Art
Take a guided tour of DU’s public art
Thursday. The University of Denver might not be the first place that comes to mind when it comes to local public art, but the campus is actually a rich repository of such work. Dan Jacobs, DU’s curator of art, will lead a guided tour of the school’s holdings at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, beginning at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. Pieces to be seen range from Arnold Rönnebeck’s “Trio and Tone Shapes” (1938-39) to Chen Wenling’s “Happy Life No. 8” (2005). The event is free, but reservations are required: . Kyle MacMillan
An evocative, eerie montage at Denver Art Museum
Using a painstaking stop-action animation process, Boulder artist Stacey Speers spent four years piecing together 4,000 handmade collages to create “Night Hunter,” a kind of gentle, old-fashioned horror film with a quirky Gothic flair.
The 8-minute work, which marries footage of silent-film actress Lillian Gish with fragments of 18th- and 19th-century engravings, has a deliberately anachronistic, slightly awkward look. Think Edward Gorey meets William Kentridge.
It’s a spellbindingly evocative if slightly unsettling montage, with fragmented scenes of the wonderfully waifish Gish merging enigmatically with yellow-tinted worms and weirdly oversized eggs.
The piece will be screened continuously through Sunday in the Fuse Box, an installation space on the fourth floor of the modern and contemporary galleries of the Denver Art Museum, between Broadway Bannock Street on West 13th Avenue.
Also on view are some of the collages that Speers used to make the film, as well as a kind of elaborate Victorian doll house, titled “Night Hunter House,” with excerpts of the film showing on screens in each of its tiny rooms.
The installation is free with regular museum admission. 720-865-5000 or . Kyle MacMillan
