Colorado Theatre Guild Remembers Henry Lowenstein

How do we even begin to write about a man like Henry Lowenstein?

Think of how different the landscape of local theatre would be had he not arrived in Denver at the bequest of Helen Bonfils.

No doubt the Colorado Theatre Guild would be quite different.

When Henry learned that a new theatre community organization was being formed, he reached out. What he offered was the organization founded by himself, Ed Baierlein, Al Brooks and Maxine Munt - The Colorado Theatre Producers Guild. The Producers Guild was started in 1975 but by the mid-90s had gone quiet. Along with the name came seed money - around $3,000.00.

After some starts and stops with galas the CTG board agreed to produce a full out annual award ceremony in 2006 to replace the defunct Denver Drama Critics Circle awards. At the insistences of then board member Jane Potts, the award was to be named after Henry Lowenstein.

The Henry. The Henry's. The Henry Awards.

When advised of our decision to give this annual award his name he wrote, "I am deeply honored that you selected my name for the awards, but in truth the honor belongs to the many hundreds, possibly even thousands, of wonderfully dedicated artists, performers, directors, technicians and volunteers with whom I had the good fortune to work during my time here in Denver...As I assemble the materials for writing about my years of involvement in the arts in our community, one point stands out above all others: The incredibly talented people who shared in every facet of making the arts work, always ready with fresh ideas and the willingness to devote their best efforts, time and again. Whatever the awards are called, these are the ones who must be honored and remembered when you now recognize the fine work we see all around us."

Colorado Theatre Guild President Pat Payne stated, "So many of us that call Colorado our artistic home have Henry to thank for that opportunity he gave us. Henry's 'Family-Tree' of theatre influence crisscrosses this country a few times over and his deep, deep influence on Denver Theatre will never be forgotten. It is no coincidence that the yearly awards for outstanding achievement in theatre in Colorado are named after Henry and today we hold those awards a little higher in honor of a great man that had a great influence. Thank you Henry. Simply...Thank You"

From CTG General Manger Gloria Shanstrom, "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, said, 'If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.' This is what Henry taught. It is a lesson we can hold in our hearts and pay forward. My love and thanks goes out to the family who so generously shared Henry with us."

It is with a heavy heart that we the Board members of Colorado Theatre Guild send our condolences to Henry's family and the entire Colorado Theatre community.

Henry spoke about the awards in 2011 at the Tattered Cover. Click here for the video.

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