Denver Center to Hold 'Celebration of Life' Memorial for Randy Weeks on Nov 3

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts together with the Weeks' family will hold a Celebration of Life to honor Randy Weeks, DCPA President and Broadway Executive Director. The memorial will be held Monday, November 3 at 4pm Mountain Time on the stage of The Buell Theatre.

If there were a Tony Award for Best Broadway Presenter, DCPA President and Broadway Executive Director D. Randall "Randy" Weeks would have received it. But perhaps it was a bigger honor to receive that very award from his national peers at The Broadway League, a group of 700+ theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters and general managers who bring Broadway to more than 30 million people in New York and more than 200 cities across North America. He was a giant among giants.

Randy died on Thursday, October 9 at 59 at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel in London, England while attending the Independent Producers Network conference.

Randy's relationship with the DCPA began in 1978 when he started working in the Box Office while earning his Bachelor's Degree in Business from the University of Colorado. Despite a foray into his parent's restaurant business, Randy's first love was the theatre. He was serving as Theatre Operations Manager at the Kennedy Center, when local Broadway presenter Bob Garner tapped Randy to take the helm of Denver Center Attractions in 1989.

Since then, Randy presented more than 400 shows - including ten national touring premieres (The Book of Mormon, Pippin, Peter and the Starcatcher, Disney's The Lion King, Sunset Boulevard, and the revival of A Chorus Line among others) and the pre-Broadway engagement of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Collectively, he entertained more than 11.6 million guests throughout Colorado and well beyond.

During his tenure, he opened the Garner Galleria Theatre in 1992 with the smash hit Forever Plaid. The addition of the cabaret model into the DCPA's programming proved to be a wild success, treating audiences to such long-running shows as Always...Patsy Cline and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.

He also was an early adopter of new theatre, including the national tour of Traces, cementing Denver's place as a launch pad of exciting works destined for national prominence.

Randy's dedication to the DCPA came in many forms. He was one of the founding members of the Women's Voices Fund -- a foundation established to foster the work of women in theatre -- making gifts to honor his mother and aunt. He represented the DCPA in its ongoing relationship with the City of Denver's Arts and Venues division and the not-for-profit Denver Theatre District. And, of course, he entered his very competitive and fun foursome in the DCPA's annual fundraising golf tournament.

Randy's theatre involvement extended far beyond the DCPA, including participation in the Denver School of the Arts Board, Independent Presenter's Network, The Broadway League, and Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. He was especially proud of his ongoing commitment to the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at CU-Boulder, hosting many of the young men at the theatre. But most recently, Randy spearheaded the creation of The Bobby G Awards in 2013, the Colorado regional awards program for The National High School Musical Theater Awards, which recognizes and fosters the talent of aspiring youth in the local community.

Randy was born in Laconia, NH on June 21, 1955. He is preceded in death by his mother, Joan Weeks. He is survived by his father, David Weeks of St. Helena, California; his sister, Pam Weeks of Durham, New Hampshire; his brother, Joel Weeks and husband Jim Hutchison of Marina del Ray, California; his sister, Stephanie Gamble and her husband Jim Gamble of St. Helena, California. He also leaves behind niece Sarah Gamble of St. Helena, nephew Ben Worthen and wife Jessica of Los Angeles, and nephews David and Jonathan Gamble, also of St. Helena. In addition, he leaves behind many cherished aunts, uncles, cousins and his theatre family.

Memorial gifts can be made to The Randy Weeks Memorial Fund for the Bobby G Awards, which supports the advancement of musical theatre for Colorado high school students. Please make checks payable to Denver Center for the Performing Arts and mail to: DCPA Development Office, 1101 13th Street, Denver, CO 80204.

A tribute on Friday, October 10 throughout the Denver Performing Arts Complex included dimmed lights, pre-show announcements, a moment of silence and visual displays. A compilation of this tribute can be seen below...