Playwright Steven Dietz was trying to find a quiet place in the Indianapolis Museum of Art on a recent Thursday afternoon.
Not as easy as it might sound.
“There’s a Matisse exhibit here now, so it’s very busy,” he said on the phone.
The Colorado-bred writer, who splits his time between Seattle and Austin, where he teaches at the Univesity of Texas, was in Indianapolis for the
When “Rancho Mirage,” about six friends who dish up far more than their fill during a dinner party, premieres at Denver’s Curious Theatre Company Nov. 2, it will have had the benefit of two different productions, one in Boston, the other in Indianapolis. Its next staging will be in Atlanta, thanks to the , an alliance of indie theaters, which Curious has been a vigorous player in.
“I’m a great champion of the New Play Network on several levels. The primary one being that a handful of theaters work together to give a play multiple productions,” Dietz said. “That is completely at odds with what has been the model of Broadway and Off-Broadway and, frankly, the larger regional theaters.”
While Dietz won’t be in town for opening night, he will be here when “Rancho Mirage” overlaps with his . His adaptation of
“I’ve been sending plays to the Denver Center every year since 1982,” Dietz said with a laugh. “But I will tell you, to have this Jackie Robinson play be my first seems very fitting. My folks have passed now but my dad made me a baseball fan. I have an adopted African-American son from Ethiopia. There are a lot of reasons why ‘Jackie & Me’ is very close to my heart.”
In early 2014, Fort Collins’ Bas Bleu Theatre Company will get in on the action when it stages Dietz’s 2008 comedy
Dietz grew up in Denver’s Bear Valley neighborhood and attended the University of Northern Colorado. He left the state, “right after college in 1980 and immediately drove my car around the country.” He landed in Minneapolis and that city’s The , where his career took root, first as a director then as a writer. But he always visited Denver.
“She would send him articles, reviews, etc. out of The Post (or The News) about our work in the ‘early years,’ and that’s how we initially became acquainted, believe it or not!” In 2009 Curious staged Dietz’s
“I think [Rancho Mirage] has all the traits that make Steven such a dynamic and popular American playwright,” Walton said. “Crackling dialogue, engaging characters, and some really profound insights into our contemporary world.”
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567, lkennedy@denverpost.com or twitter.com/bylisakennedy
