By Beki Pineda SUNSET BOULEVARD. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; book and Lyrics by Christopher Hampton; directed by Craig Bond and Evgueni Mlodik. Produced by Vintage Theatre (1468 Dayton St., Aurora) through May 29. Tickets available at 303-856-7830 or www.vintagetheatre.org. Long before I had ever seen any version of this show, I had fallen deeply
By Beki Pineda NOVEMBER. Written by David Mamet; directed by John Ashton. Produced by the Avenue Theater (417 East 17th Ave., Denver) through May 21. Tickets available at 303-321-5925 or www.avenuetheater.com. Earlier this season we went “All the Way with LBJ.” Now we get a slightly different angle on a Presidential re-election campaign. Charles Smith
By Beki Pineda SOUTH PACIFIC. Written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Josh Logan; music by Richard Rodgers; lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; directed by Patrick Sawyer. Produced by Candlelight Dinner Playhouse (4747 Marketplace Drive, Johnstown) through May 8. Tickets available at 907-744-3747 or www.coloradocandlelight.com. It all started with Bloody Mary. She was the subject of
By Beki Pineda FUTURA. Written by Jordan Harrison; directed by Meridith C. Grundei. Produced by The Catamounts and performed at Nomad Playhouse, 1410 Quince Ave., through April 16. Tickets available at 720-468-0487 or thecatamounts.org. Futura is a typographical font—clean and lean—created by Paul Renner in 1927 in response to the frilly, serif-ridden fonts then in
By Beki Pineda ELLIOT, A SOLDIER’S FUGUE. Written by Quiara Alegria Hudes; directed by Chip Walton. Produced by Curious Theatre Company (1080 Acoma St., Denver) through April 23. Tickets available at 303-623-2349 or www.curioustheatre.org. The number three has various mystical meanings, but in all societies, it is the number of time. Past, present, future; beginning,
By Beki Pineda RAGTIME. Book by Terrance McNally; music by Stephen Flaherty; lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; directed and choreographed by Kelly Van Oosbree. Co-produced by Performance Now Theatre Company and the Lakewood Cultural Center (performing at LCC, 470 South Allison Parkway, Lakewood) through April 10. Tickets available at 303-987-7845 or www.lakewood.org. Get them before they
By Beki Pineda THE MOUNTAINTOP. Written by Katori Hall; directed by Gavin Mayer. Produced by the Arvada Center (6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada) through April 17. Tickets available at 720-898-7200 or www.arvadacenter.org. Katori Hall, the playwright of this startling script, has a vivid imagination. She pondered the interim between Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I’ve been to
By Beki Pineda THE GHOSTS OF US. Written by Rebecca Gorman O’Neill; directed by Melissa McCarl. Produced by the Athena Project (performing in the Byron Theatre at the Newman Center, 2344 East Iliff Ave., Denver) through April 10. Tickets available at 303-219-0882 or www.athenaprojectfestival.org. A word about the Athena Project first. This is a once-a-year
By Beki Pineda YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU. Written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman; directed by Jamie Billings. Produced by Miners Alley Playhouse (1224 Washington St., Golden) through May 1. Tickets available at 303-935-3044 or www.minersalley.com. The conversation around a lot of family dinner tables centers on the day’s accomplishments, college plans,
By Beki Pineda TIGERS BE STILL. Written by Kim Rosenstock; directed by John Ashton. Produced by the Avenue Theatre (417 E. 17th Ave., Denver) through April 2. Tickets available at 303-321-5925 or www.avenuetheater.com. A tale of how families pull together. A pair of sisters facing disillusionment and heartbreak find ways to get through this rough
By Beki Pineda BLACK ELK SPEAKS. Based on the book by John Neihardt, adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel; directed by donnie l. betts. Produced by the Aurora Fox Theatre (9900 East Colfax, Aurora) through April 10. Tickets available at 303-739-1970 or www.aurorafox.org. BLACK ELK SPEAKS is a history lesson told and illustrated by
Art literally sings in a new kind of speaker: the Soundwall, a framed canvas that gives off sound.
By Beki Pineda FUDDY MEERS. Written by David Lindsay-Abaire; directed by Emily Tarquin. Produced by Phamaly Theatre Company at the Aurora Fox Arts Center through Feb. 21 (9900 East Colfax, Aurora) and the Arvada Center from Feb. 26-28 (6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada). Tickets available at the Fox at 303-739-1970 or auroragov.org or at the Arvada
By Beki Pineda 4000 MILES. Written by Amy Herzog; directed by Len Matheo. Produced by Miners Alley Playhouse (1224 Washington St., Golden) through March 6. Tickets available at 303-935-3044 or www.minersalley.com. I’ve always said that what you as an audience member bring to the theater can positively or negatively impact how you feel about a
By Beki Pineda MRS. MANNERLY. Written by Jeffrey Hatcher; directed by Edith Weiss. Produced by The Arvada Center (6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada) through Feb. 21. Tickets available at 720-898-7200 or www.arvadacenter.org. Frequently during talkbacks with playwrights, they are asked, “Where do you get your ideas for plays?” In this case, Jeffrey Hatcher returned to a
By Beki Pineda Photo Credit: Town Hall Arts Center VIOLET. Music by Jeanine Tesori; lyrics and book by Brian Crawley; directed by Nick Sugar. Produced by Town Hall Arts Center (2450 West Main St., Littleton) through Feb. 7. Tickets available at 303-794-2787 or http://www.townhallartscenter.org. A sign on the wall of the set of VIOLET promises
Slackliners brainstorm ideas on how to propose a reasonable and respectful compromise with the Boulder County Council. If you’ve ever seen someone attempting what looks like tightrope walking between two trees a few feet from the ground in a park, you’ve seen the sport of slacklining. From trees and vertical poles to rock faces, the
Celebrating its 50th anniversary as the first sentinel building overlooking the Flatirons and CU, Golden West Manor has watched the city mushroom around it. The first of the Manor’s two towers, the iconic 11-story tower, was built in 1965—before Boulder’s 55-foot height restriction—to provide much-needed senior housing. In 1971, another 14-story tower was built, and
In September, Governor John Hickenlooper took a well-known fact—that cycling is good for people and good for the economy—and made it official by rolling out a four-year, $100-million plan to make Colorado the best state in the nation for riding a bike. Biking’s boost to Colorado’s coffers is no surprise. According to a 2000 Colorado
By Beki Pineda THE ADDAMS FAMILY. Music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa; book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice; directed by Scott Beyette. Produced by BDT Stage (5501 Arapahoe Ave.) through Feb. 27. Tickets available at 303-449-6000 or www.bdtstage.com. Why an ooky-kooky musical comedy for a Christmas show? I think the answer lies in the
