The shows were announced Tuesday as part of Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ 2026-2027 artistic season, which also included its cabaret titles for the year.

The shows join new and returning productions, such as “The Phantom of the Opera” (also playing March 18-April 5 this year in Denver), “The Book of Mormon,” “Disney’s Beauty & the Beast,” and “Buena Vista Social Club” (see below for the full list).

“This season underscores the elements that define Broadway at its best — spectacle, storytelling, and the profound emotional journeys that only live theatre can provide,” said John Ekeberg, executive director of DCPA Broadway and Cabaret, in a statement. “We are excited to feature both returning favorites and national tours that have earned significant attention, including three of the five Best Musical nominees at the 2025 Tony Awards.”

At this point, the show announcements are aimed at subscribers, with tickets available at . Single tickets will go on sale to the public later, DCPA officials said. More shows will also be added and announced throughout the year.

The new season — which takes place at the Buell Theatre and other venues at the Denver Performing Arts Complex — is divided into subscription shows and added attractions, as DCPA calls them, with DCPA Cabaret shows as part of the full subscription package.

Here’s the complete list:

DCPA 2026-27 Broadway season

“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”
Oct. 20-Nov. 7, 2026 (Buell Theatre)

“What a Glorious Feeling!”
Nov. 7, 2026-April 4, 2027 (Garner Galleria Theatre)

“Bluey’s Big Play”
Nov. 21-22, 2026 (Buell) *

“Waitress”
Nov. 27-29, 2026 (Buell) *

“Jersey Boys”
Dec. 1-6, 2026 (Buell) *

“Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis”
Dec. 18-19, 2026 (Buell) *

“Elf the Musical”
Dec. 22-27, 2026 (Buell) *

“The Book of Mormon”
Jan. 5-17, 2027 (Buell)

“Legally Blonde: The Musical”
Feb. 5-7, 2027 (Buell) *

“Boop! ® The Musical”
March 9-21, 2027 (Buell)

“Riverdance 30 — The New Generation”
March 23-28, 2027 (Buell) *

“The Great Gatsby”
April 6-18 (Buell)

“The Secret Comedy of Women®”
April 21-May 16, 2027 (Garner Galleria) *

“Buena Vista Social Club”
April 27-May 9, 2027 (Buell)

“Mamma Mia!”
May 11-16, 2027 (Buell) *

“Death Becomes Her”
May 25-June 6, 2027 (Buell)

“Maybe Happy Ending”
Aug. 18-29, 2027 (Buell)

“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical”
Sept. 7-12, 2027 (Buell) *

* = added attractions

“I saw an opera version of ‘Pirates of Penzance’ at Denver Center for the Performing Arts in the late ’90s and was thinking the whole time, ‘This is incredible!’ But also, ‘That guy’s saying a ton of words!’ ” said the , whose touring life brings him to Denver with the Tony Award-winning musical “Shucked,” Oct. 7-19 at the Buell Theatre.

This will be his first time performing on its stage — despite having leaned forward in a seat there many times before.

” ‘Pirates’ is probably where I got the bug, and I’ve never really stopped trying to absorb and learn and grow,” said Fitzgerald, who grew up in Longmont. He’s already performed more than 300 shows in the first national tour of “Shucked,” a pun-filled musical comedy being hailed as a casserole of “The Music Man” and “Hee-Haw,” with bushels of ear-tickling one-liners.

finished its Broadway run in New York last year and has been on the road since then, having fulfilled its potential as a “Hee Haw”-inspired, Off Broadway parody from a decade ago. Tony winner Robert Horn (“Tootsie,” “Designing Women”), who wrote the book, introduced Fitzgerald to the show less than two years ago while Fitzgerald was playing in Disney’s “Hercules.”

Fitzgerald, in his charming persistence, made sure Horn gave him an audition. As a singer and dancer in the ensemble and understudy for a pair of leading roles, Fitzgerald’s now belting out songs by Grammy winners Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally (Kacey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow”) under the direction of Tony winner Jack O’Brien (“Hairspray”).

The silly-yet-demanding “Shucked” is an ideal project for Fitzgerald’s strengths, said Shawn Hann, director of theater at Denver School of the Arts. She helped develop his comedic chops and performance precision, and has been delighted to stay in touch with him ever since.

“Ryan always was a natural-born comedian, with this elastic face kind of like Jim Carrey from ‘The Mask,’ ” said Hann, who has run DSA’s theater program for 25 years. “He’s a chameleon and can drop into these wacky, weird, crazy characters easily. When he went off to college, he got into ballet, and that just took him to the next level.”

Now based in New York City, Fitzgerald recalls commuting from Longmont to DSA an hour or more each day to rehearse lines and moves for shows such as “Amadeus.” After winning a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, he dove into the world of auditions and summer stock, including “The Sound of Music” at Boulder Dinner Theatre one summer — following daytime lessons with Boulder’s renowned Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet.

“After I graduated, I did (acting work on) Disney Cruise Lines for a year and then moved to New York,” Fitzgerald said. “But I was only there for two months before I booked an international tour of ‘West Side Story,’ which was my bread and butter for a long time.”

By “long time,” Fitzgerald means six full tours of the show in the early 2010s, spiriting him across Europe and polishing his work ethic through exhausting choreography and singing. Since then, he’s stepped out in “Shrek” and “Matilda” (St. Louis Municipal Opera Theater); “My Fair Lady” (Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, N.Y.); “The Producers” (Mt. Washington Valley Theatre in North Conway, N.H.); and Disney’s “Hercules” (Paper Mill Playhouse, in Millburn, N.J.).

And, as it turns out, a pair of recent shows at the Arvada Center: (he played Neil Sedaka and performed in the ensemble) and

That’s the working actor’s life, he said — staying hungry and fit as opportunities pop up across a variety of formats. His work in “West Side Story” nabbed a Helen Hayes Awards nomination (named after the first lady of American theater), and he’s got a pair of upcoming projects he can’t discuss yet, but that will continue his upward growth after “Shucked.”

“I definitely can’t do anything other than put my entire self into it,” Fitzgerald said. “How can you not be overjoyed? Theater is an ancient artistic tradition and it’s a privilege and honor to call myself one of those people who gets to do it for a living.”

Especially in a corn-fed, prize-winning show like “Shucked.”

“I don’t want to ruin any jokes,” he added, “but I just passed a huge squirrel. Which is funny, because I don’t remember eating one.”

If You Go

“Shucked.” Tony award-winning touring Broadway musical comedy, presented by Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Various shows Tuesday, Oct. 7-Friday, Oct. 17, at the Buell Theatre at Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1350 Curtis St. in Denver. Tickets: $47.20-$147.50 via . Call the box office at 303-893-4100 for more information. ]]> 7297463 2025-10-07T06:00:07+00:00 2025-10-07T12:48:23+00:00 /2025/10/02/harry-potter-cursed-child-tickets-denver/ Thu, 02 Oct 2025 20:13:44 +0000 /?p=7298415 “Harry Potter” fans: your time is nigh.

The Denver debut of Broadway’s touring “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” — a Tony Award-winning show written exclusively for the stage that follows Harry’s son, Albus, and Draco Malfoy’s son, Scorpius after the events of the books and movies — can’t come fast enough for some. That makes Thursday’s ticket-sale announcement, with sales timed to Halloween, a treat for devotees.

Tickets to the May 30-June 21, 2026, run of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at the Buell Theatre at the Denver Performing Arts Complex will go on sale starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, at . Ticket buyers can also call the box office at 303-893-4100. (Groups of 10 or more can book tickets by calling that number as well.)

The show’s local producers at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts said passes will cost between $57.82-$223.02, including taxes and fees, “with a select number of premium tickets available. … There will be a limited number of lottery seats available for this engagement. Details will be provided closer to the engagement,” Denver Center officials wrote.

“Prepare for a mind-blowing race through time, spectacular spells, and an epic battle, all brought to life with the most astonishing theatrical magic ever seen on stage,” the Denver Center wrote.

Note: the 2-hour and 50-minute show is recommended for ages 8 and up and contains haze, CO2 fog, flame and pyrotechnic effects.

It’s not to the detriment of the show’s high-minded themes, but it is uncomfortably — if perhaps not always intentionally — resonant. The touring Broadway adaptation of the 2001 novel, which plays Denver’s Buell Theatre through March 30, blends philosophy, puppetry and brutal survival in a way that feels both unapologetic and surreal.

It’s a bold take on fleeing one’s home for a better life across the sea — in this case Canada, where “Life of Pi” author Yann Martel spent some time growing up — and the ways in which corrosive politics and violence drive global realignment.

Our teenage hero Pi Patel (played by Taha Mandviwala) is the pin-drop on the stage’s square map, central in his white-roomed recovery bed, his family’s colorful zoo, his town’s bustling market, and eventually his lifeboat. Set elements and props whirl around him like exploded technical drawings, their always-visible human operators acting as a stage presence in their own right.

After batting off questions from a pair of Japanese investigators who meet Pi in his recovery room in Mexico, we flash back to a whirlwind origin that sets up his 227 days at sea, following a shipwreck that kills his family and most of the animals they’re toting across the Pacific Ocean from India.

As setup, we witness the inexorable decline of Pi’s family’s zoo due to off-stage riots and social unrest in 1970s India. As Pi’s father, Sorab Wadia walks a fine line between paternal caricature and nuanced concern for his kids as he protects threatened butterflies, birds, hyenas, a giraffe and, as is soon established, a Bengal tiger with the absurd name of Richard Parker.

In a market setting that surprise-pops out of the set’s walls, Pi is confronted by choices as Catholic, Muslim and Hindu forces swirl to convert him. His years-long search for truth yields a lot of striking dialogue, and it’s comforting to see his family depicted as people with functional relationships who support him despite their disagreements.

Still, as Pi says, “I am not easy to explain.” His tests of faith and constant proclamations are handled with care by Lolita Chakrabarti, whose writing for the stage feels as wide open and visceral as the 2012 film. But under the direction of Ashley Brooke Monroe, it also often feels like Mandviwala is sprinting from one mark to the next, delivering his lines at a high, ragged volume that flattens their dynamic themes.

It lends a vigor that masks the play’s two-hour runtime (yes, it’s a play, not a musical) and one can only imagine how exhausted Mandviwala is at the end of each committed performance. There’s also a strange poetry to watching certain animals “die” as their human operators leave the stage. It’s a metaphor for the way the soul animates our bodies, or doesn’t, and an acknowledgment that descriptive literary devices and CGI don’t have to translate perfectly to theater (minus the animated projection mapping that takes us through both Pi’s mind and his watery adventures).

After surviving the shipwreck, Pi’s joy, humor and despair turn on a dime as his lifeboat is beset by surviving animals — a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan named Orange Juice, and our Royal Bengal tiger. That last one, which stalks and growls realistically thanks to a trio of stunningly talented puppeteers, acts as both antagonist and doppelgänger to Pi. He persists despite sharing his craft with these animals, which are whittled down by Richard Parker until it’s just him and Pi.

The seafaring portion of the show feels like a host of practical, creative problem-solving that unfortunately can crowd the stage with puppeteers. They send fish, zoo animals and shipwreck flotsam across the set, occasionally carrying Pi over their heads to symbolize his drifting. Instead of hiding them, the show lets you get used to them — not by fading into the background, but by putting their naked artistry on display.

It’s saying something that the depictions of animal violence, desperation and death feel documentary-style, despite their highly symbolic rendering. Of course, this rightly Tony-winning “Life of Pi” boasts roundly strong performances, a propulsive and cinematic look, and plenty of thoughtful one-liners that interrogate faith and the choices we make to survive.

But be prepared to leave the theater with an unsettled feeling, as this “Life of Pi” poses the question: “What can we do when truth is slippery, and life-changing events are mostly out of our control?” and answers with “Not much.”

If you go

“The Life of Pi.” Touring Broadway play in Denver through March 30 at Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Buell Theatre, 1350 Curtis St. in Denver. Some scenes contain simulated violence and flashing lights. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Tickets: $46-$109.25 via

The shows, which DCPA announced Monday, join new and returning titles for the regional market such as “MJ,” “Hadestown,” The Lion King,” “Beetlejuice,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “The Sound of Music” (see below for the full list).

“The (new) Broadway season is full of spellbinding, spine-tingling (and slightly corny) hits, and we can’t wait to see you at the theater,” wrote John Ekeberg, executive director of DCPA Broadway and Cabaret, in a statement.

At this point, the show announcements are aimed at subscribers, with tickets available at . Single tickets will go on sale to the public later, DCPA officials said. They also announced an auto-renew feature for current subscribers that Ekeberg said will save them the trouble of re-subscribing every year, or else potentially “losing their favorite seats or their DCPA subscriber perks.”

The crowd-pleasing lineup is entirely intentional, DCPA leaders have said, with classics such as “The Sound of Music” sitting comfortably next to newer works such as the acclaimed “Hadestown.” Last season featured a similar mix, including comfort-food shows “Hamilton,” “The Book of Mormon” and “Mamma Mia!” alongside the national tour launch of “Kimberly Akimbo” and other new bookings.

The new season — which takes place at the Buell Theatre and other venues at the Denver Performing Arts Complex — is divided into subscription shows and added attractions, as DCPA calls them, with DCPA Cabaret shows (i.e., this year’s locally produced “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors”) as part of the full subscription package.

Here’s the complete list:

DCPA 2025-26 Broadway season

“Bluebird Improv with Tim Meadows, Matt Walsh, Brad Morris and Joe Canale”
May 16-18, 2025 (Garner Galleria Theatre)

“Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song”
May 28-June 29, 2025 (Garner Galleria)

“Dixie’s Tupperware Party”
July 16-Aug. 17, 2025 (Garner Galleria)

“Dixie’s Never Wear a Tube Top While Riding a Mechanical Bull …”
Aug. 20-Sept. 7, 2025 (Garner Galleria)

“Shucked”
Oct. 7-19, 2025 (Buell Theatre)

“Disney’s The Lion King”
Oct. 23-Nov. 16, 2025 (Buell)

“Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors”
Nov. 8, 2025-May 10, 2026 (Garner Galleria)

“The Hip Hop Nutcracker”
Nov. 21-23, 2025 (Buell)

“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical”
Dec. 3-7, 2025 (Buell)

“The Notebook”
Dec. 16-28, 2025 (Buell)

“Six”
Jan. 7-11, 2026 (Buell)

“Water for Elephants”
Feb. 11-22, 2026 (Buell)

“Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man”
Feb. 27-March 1, 2026 (Buell)

“The Phantom of the Opera”
March 18-April 5, 2026 (Buell)

“Hell’s Kitchen”
April 14-26, 2026 (Buell)

“Hadestown”
May 5-10, 2026 (Buell)

“MJ”
May 13-17, 2026 (Buell)

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
May 30-June 27, 2026 (Buell)

“The Sound of Music”
July 29-Aug. 2, 2026 (Buell)

“Beetlejuice”
Aug. 4-9, 2026 (Buell)

“Monty Python’s Spamalot”
Aug. 11-23, 2026 (Buell)

“The Outsiders”
Sept. 8-27, 2026 (Buell)

That David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori’s musical about a teenager with an extremely rare disease and her dysfunctional parents (less rare but oh-so challenging), can be soul-affirming without losing its edge and ouchy-ness is an achievement, one that speaks to the elasticity of the musical genre. And one that the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League recognized when they awarded  “Kimberly Akimbo” five Tony Awards in 2022. Among that trove were statuettes for best musical, best leading actress, and best featured actress.

On Thursday, the national tour launched at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, inviting theatergoers to ache and laugh and ache and, yes, laugh again.

The show opens at the Skater Planet in Bergen County, N.J., a haunt that isn’t as happening as the town’s mall. Kimberly Levaco (Carolee Carmello), soon-to-be 16 years old, stands by herself, waiting. Although her face is that of an adult, everything about her tentative posture and awkward lonesomeness screams teenager.

High schooler and ice rink worker Seth (Miguel Gil) takes the microphone to announce a Zamboni timeout. A quartet of teen friends — Delia, Martin, Teresa and Aaron — chatter with an electric energy and then launch into “Skater Planet.” (“It����ap Saturday night in Bergen County. There are parties everywhere, but we never get invited.”) The words are cute-sad, but the ridiculously upbeat tune sets the tone for an infectious glee that permeates so much of “Kimberly Akimbo.”

While there is a genetic disorder that ages people prematurely, the show’s makers chose not to name Kimberly’s ailment. We do know that for every year in her life, her body ages five years, and that her life expectancy is dramatically abbreviated.

At school, Seth tells Kimberly in front of the lockers, “I thought you were the lunch lady.” Think of it as a version of kids saying the darndest things. That����ap before Kim and Seth become lab partners on a biology project about diseases, before they are friends and maybe more. Gil does wonders as the sweetly polite, tuba-playing, anagram-addicted Seth.

For show choir kids Delia, Martin, Teresa and Aaron (the charming ensemble of Grace Capeless, Darron Hayes, Skye Alyssa Friedman and Pierce Wheeler), the vectors of fondness veer hilariously off their mark. For Kimberly and Seth, whatever is gently going on between them is as subtle as it is true.

Carmello takes on the beautifully daunting and tricky work of being 16 going on 70. It����ap an illusion that one buys into or doesn’t quite. I didn’t when I saw a very good understudy do the role on Broadway (and still loved the show). I did here.

Certainly, Kimberly’s wardrobe (costumes by Sara Laux), a believable mashup of patterns and textures, plaid shirts and combat boots, helps. But it����ap the three-time Tony nominee Carmello’s way of inhabiting Kimberly’s fears and yearnings that convinces. Whether she’s composing a letter to a social service organization (“Make a Wish”) or crushing out on Seth (“Anagram”), her voice bubbles up and out, going from tentative to expectant.

Kimberly’s mature for her age, much the way children are forced to be when their parents aren’t mature for their ages. Mom Pattie (Dana Steingold) is pregnant, and from the video she’s surreptitiously shooting for the anticipated newcomer (“Hello, Darling”), she sees the next child as something of a do-over. But don’t judge Pattie too harshly; she follows a reprise of the self-absorbed “Hello Darling” with a ballad of remarkable tenderness about “Father Time.”

Dad Buddy (Jim Hogan) acts too much like a pal and not enough like a reliable father. He drinks. He’s late. He makes promises he won’t keep. His most paternal gesture is worrying that Seth might have a crush on his daughter. He sings “Happy for Her”  as he drives Kimberly and Seth to school.

Because Kimberly can be so can-do and her parents are often woefully childish, it����ap easy to forget that Pattie and Buddy have also been living with the burdens of their daughter’s fleeting life.

There are other dramas, too. For reasons they want to keep hush-hush, they uprooted Kimberly from Lodi to their new town without leaving a forwarding address.

The mystery of that abrupt departure is solved when Kimberly’s aunt Debra (Emily Koch) tracks down her niece at her new school. Debra wheedles information from Kimberly about the location of her sister and brother-in-law’s new home. It becomes clear quickly why the Levaco family doesn’t want Debra around.

“When life gives you lemons … you gotta go out and steal some apples,” she sings in “Better,” preaching to the quartet of show choir kids. Think of her as an Artful Dodger by way of the Jersey Turnpike, the Cat in the Hat out on parole.

The second act brilliantly balances Seth and Kimberly’s growing fondness for each other with the criminal enterprise that Debra’s concocted. She’s created an assembly line for check kiting, having enlisted the teen quartet in her scheme. (Hey, they need money for their costumes!)

When they start to balk, she prods them by reminding them that another school’s show choir would have this funny business down pat. Like Debra’s other song and her constant wisecracking, “How to Wash a Check” is hilarious. Its darker implications fade in part because her “crew” is so inept at the task, but mostly because Koch’s and director Jessica Stone’s comedic timing is ace.

And the timing here needs to be crisp. Because “Kimberly Akimbo”  constantly mixes moods — up and down and sideways. Kimberly knows that time, however sped up, delivers the existential alongside the joyous. She wants us to know that, too.

Lisa Kennedy is a Denver-based freelance writer specializing in theater and film. 

IF YOU GO

“Kimberly Akimbo”: Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. Music by Jeanine Tesori. Directed by Jessica Stone. Featuring Carolee Carmello, Miguel Gil, Grace Capeless, Darron Hayes, Skye Alyssa Friedman, Pierce Wheeler, Jim Hogan, Dana Steingold and Emily Koch. At the Buell Theatre at the Denver Performing Arts Complex through Oct. 5.  For tickets and info denvercenter.org or 303-893-4100

That’s why the industry has moved further into movie adaptations, proven hits and revivals over new material, from “Mean Girls” and “Beetlejuice” to “Funny Girl” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Producing a Broadway show such as “Hamilton” or “The Book of Mormon” costs $11 to $12 million, . Disney’s stage adaptation of “Frozen,” which saw its pre-Broadway run in Denver in 2017 before its official Buell Theatre debut in June, cost a whopping $30 million. It had already closed on Broadway in 2020, The New York Times reported, as an early victim of the pandemic. But it’s making its money back on the road.

Most touring Broadway shows presented by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) feature a handful of relatively affordable tickets that, while not the best in the house, allow budget-conscious fans to experience the same titles as front-and-center patrons.

Here are five shows coming to Denver Performing Arts Complex that you can see for around $50 — or potentially less, since past ticket lotteries have offered seats for “Hamilton,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Six,” “Wicked,” and other shows for as low as $10. Note: the $50-and-under tickets closely hug the left and right sides of the theater, in both the orchestra and balcony sections, which can result in less-than-ideal stage views (though most action takes place center stage). Not all shows are on sale yet to the general public.

Watch denverpost.com/tag/broadway-theater for the latest ticket lotteries and on-sale dates, and buy passes for Buell Theatre shows at . All discount tickets are priced at $46.

“Kimberly Akimbo”

Making its national touring premiere at the Buell Theatre Sept. 22-Oct. 5, the road version of this Tony-winning musical promises to be an absurd delight that delves into familiar themes in surprising ways. Comedy and tragedy intermingle (as ever) as the plucky New Jersey adolescent Kimberly readjusts to a family move, social pressures, and a rare genetic condition that causes her to age rapidly. What now? (Exactly.)

“Funny Girl”

Isobel Lennart’s all-time-great musical, which first hit Broadway in 1964, got raves for its New York revival, and now it’s headed for Denver. The new version’s Buell Theatre debut will feature Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s earworm songs (“Don’t Rain On My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star,” and “People”) but also an updated book by Harvey Fierstein and new choreography to tell the tale of Lower East Side hopeful Fanny Brice and her dramatic rise to fame. Runs Dec. 10-22.

“Life of Pi”

This tale of a lifeboat-bound boy and his animal companions is sturdy enough to have morphed from novel to movie to Broadway show with raves at every turn. And if you’ve seen any of them, you’ll know it’s a challenge to bring 16-year-old Pi’s animal companions (a hyena, zebra, orangutan and Royal Bengal tiger) to life — which this production does with puppets. So how did it win a trio of Tony awards? With smart design and being great at everything else. Runs March 18-30, 2025. Tickets are not yet on sale, but a pre-sale is open to subscribers, with $46 general on-sale tickets expected to be available.

“& Juliet”

Revisiting classics from the perspective of different characters is a time-honored move, but “& Juliet” uses Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” as a jumping-off point for a meta-musical about second chances. Playing June 4-15, 2025, “& Juliet” reinterprets the characters with humor and pop music (“Since U Been Gone‚? “Roar,” “Baby One More Time,” “Larger Than Life” — all written or co-written by Max Martin) and asks what her life would be like if she hadn’t ended it over her beau. Tickets are not yet on sale, but a pre-sale is open to subscribers, with $46 general on-sale tickets expected to be available.

“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”

Familiar names abound at the Buell this year this season — see “Mama Mia!,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Addams Family,” “Back to the Future,” and “The Wiz” — but one you shouldn’t miss is “Moulin Rouge.” The second Denver visit from the Broadway adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie will be a full-stop triumph that offers everything you could want from a stage production. It’s “remixed,” as DCPA says, with new songs and choreography, and arguably improves upon the romance-heavy, bohemian-vs-aristocrats source material. Running Aug. 5-10, 2025. Tickets are not yet on sale, but a pre-sale is open to subscribers, with $46 general on-sale tickets expected to be available.

The touring Broadway show is a high-energy master class for the heavily young-skewing audience, ranging from adolescents to preschoolers, and their equally excited parents. As with my 7-year-old daughter Lucy, this was undoubtedly the first touring Broadway musical they’ve experienced, and the rapture in the audience hinted it won’t be their last.

Adapted from the 2013 Disney animated movie (itself inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”), the musical follows the branching paths of sisters Elsa and Anna in the fairytale kingdom of Arendelle. The Broadway version diverges from the movie’s plot at times, and certainly adds song-and-dance that wasn’t in the film. But it was rare for the soaring songs (with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez) or the book (by Jennifer Lee) to feel padded for the stage’s sake.

In fact, the musical packs a host of themes in its opening minutes, quickly tackling songs such as “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” and “For the First Time in Forever” while introducing our main characters and the townsfolk-chorus.

Young Elsa (Avelyn Lena Choi) and young Anna (played with boisterous relish by Norah Nunes) set a tone of merriment in advance of the tragic scenes to come. Elsa possesses a dangerous magic with which she can not only create snow with the flick of a wrist, but also freeze people’s hearts and heads (literally and figuratively).

When she accidentally does so while playing with Anna, her parents enlist forest trolls to thaw her. Their creepy, yellow eyes blink electronically from the back of the stage, and parents may want to anticipate some discomfort or alarm on the part of their kids.

Like some of the rapid-fire lyrics, the jumble of backstory may also seem arcane for those not familiar with the plot. But the musical soon falls into a natural rhythm with grown-up Elsa (Caroline Bowman) and Anna (Lauren Nicole Chapman) on stage. Their parents were lost at sea, Elsa is now being crowned as queen, and Anna is considering an uncertain future.

Elsa has been hidden away most of her life, given her parents’ fear that she would hurt others or be seen as a monster. Anna’s memory has been wiped of this information. But the secret doesn’t last long as Elsa’s control slips after Anna tells her of a last-minute engagement to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. He’s played with overwhelming charm and vigor by the buoyant Preston Perez, although the same could be roundly said about any of the cast members.

With Elsa’s ice-powers on the loose and the townsfolk in horror, she flees to a nearby mountain, her parents’ warnings having been fulfilled. Projection-mapped animations of ice crackling its way around the proscenium and sets are bolstered by a digital backscreen, confetti snow and gorgeous lighting by Natasha Katz. The every-trick-in-the-book approach works beautifully, and I wondered several times during the show where the crew could possibly be storing all these huge, intricately detailed sets.

The show-stopper, of course, is the smash-hit song “Let It Go,” which Elsa belts out from her ice castle. It’s Bowman’s high point in an otherwise carefully restrained performance as Elsa, perfectly pitched and jaw-dropping in its intensity.

Some audiences may have seen the pre-Broadway run of “Frozen” in Denver in 2017, when Disney Theatrical tested it here. It’s evolved since then, having played internationally, but still resembles the animated movie in tone and pace. Notably, there’s a bit more sexual innuendo and playful, faux-nudity in this version (hidden behind tree branches), with Anna coming off as more horny than lonely. In Chapman’s hands, she’s also hilarious and impressive in both song and choreography. The latter finds her performing Rob Ashford’s wide, swing-dancer movies in unwieldy dresses or layers of fur. Truly, a feat.

Hans, who doesn’t turn out to be such a great guy, is contrasted with Kristoff (Nicholas Edwards), a hard-working ice peddler, and his reindeer Sven. The reindeer is realized on stage by a dancer inside a costume on stilts — an illusion that works surprisingly well, just like the puppeteer who controls and sings for the magical snowman Olaf. As Olaf, Jeremy Davis offers some of the cheekiest moments in the show, including “In Summer,” which finds him obliviously wishing a snowman could take a beach vacation.

This is one of the best movie-to-stage adaptations out there — certainly compared to the so-so “Aladdin” and other, overexposed Disney fare — and both the scale and attention to detail are stunning. In addition to the appreciably diverse casting, director Michael Grandage highlights the best of “Frozen” in this roundly lavish, heartwarming production. Embrace it while you can.

If you go

“Frozen.” Touring Broadway musical based on the animated Disney movie. Running time: 2 hours and 15 minutes, including 20-minute intermission. Playing through July 3 at the Buell Theatre, 1350 Curtis St. in Denver. Tickets: $35-$175 via 303-893-4100 or

At least, that is, if you aren’t a subscriber to Denver Center for the Performing Arts. If you are, a members-only sale will run June 11-17, based on availability. After that, public tickets go on at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9. Call 303-893-4100 or visit to buy.

The runs Oct. 16-Nov. 24 at the Buell Theatre. Here’s what else you need to know, according to DCPA officials:

• There is a maximum purchase limit of 9 tickets per account for the engagement.
• When tickets go on sale on July 9, prices will range from $49 to $199, with a select number of premium seats available from $229 for all performances.
• There will be a lottery for 40 $10 seats for all performances, and those details will be announced closer to the engagement.
• Visit — which is different than the ticket-sales site linked above — for more details as they become available
• The show is considered an “added attraction” for the regularly scheduled, 2024-25 DCPA season. Visit dpo.st/3VwdmqU for the full season’s schedule and more information.

Ticketholders for the March 5 and 6 performances can exchange for alternate dates or receive a refund, according to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. But the 2-hour and 35-minute production is scheduled to play only through Sunday, March 10, at the Buell.

“Yesterday, we shared that there was an in the Buell Theatre causing a cancellation,” said Heidi Bosk of DCPA. “While we were optimistic that performances could resume today, upon further review we have determined that we need one more day to complete our load-in and thoroughly test our systems to ensure that we can provide the quality production our community is accustomed to.”

“We anticipate that performances will resume tomorrow – Thursday, March 7,” she added.

DCPA officials did not respond to a question about the financial impact of losing these lucrative shows, which support its nonprofit Theatre Company and other programs.

A crew was reportedly working in the Buell when a crew member bumped into a piece of equipment “that set off the sprinklers above the stage,” . “The sprinklers were shut off in a matter of minutes, preventing any major damage,” according to Brian Kitts, director of marketing and communications for Denver Arts and Venues.

“The hold-up today was making sure the lighting was in good shape,” Kitts told The Denver Post Wednesday.

On Monday, the DCPA announced its Broadway lineup for the 2024-25 season, including blockbusters such as “Back to the Future: The Musical,” “Some Like It Hot,” “Hamilton,” “The Book of Mormon” and “Mean Girls.”

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