Summer Stages: BWW's Top Picks for Summer Theatre in Denver
By: Michael Mulhern Jun. 14, 2013
Even though Colorado summers boast gorgeous weather and plenty to do outdoors, there are still several excellent productions to take advantage of that are fun for friends, family or a date night. Below is a listing of some of the highlights of for a fun-filled Colorado summer...
The Wizard of Oz - Boulder's Dinner Theatre (Now - Aug. 31st)
Click your heels together and join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion as they journey off to see the Ward through the magical Land of Oz. In their search for their heart's desires, they encounter the inhabitants of Oz: Munchkins, Crows, Trees, Poppies, Winkies, Flying Monkeys, and a few witches, and learn that no matter how far our journeys take us - there's no place like home. Playing at Boulder's Dinner Theatre, The Wizard of Oz runs all summer long, now through August 31, 2013.www.bouldersdinnertheatre.com
Colorado Shakespeare Festival - University of Colorado, Boulder (Now - Aug. 11th)
A classic lineup, fresh creative energy and brand-new visions, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival offers both traditions and twists now through August 11th. The 56th annual season will feature a classic lineup - a comedy, a tragedy, a history - alongside a hilarious Shakespeare sendup and a return engagement of an Off-Broadway hit. But if anything, expect the unexpected, as two veterans and two of CSF's favorite comic actors take the helm and offer their own visions, from the exotic to the traditional. On deck for the season are the beloved comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the hilarious 37-plays-within-a-play, "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)," the dark tragedy of "Macbeth" and "Richard II," cited by many actors and directors as their favorite play in the canon. There also will be two very special performances of Tina Packer's "Women of Will: The Overview," fresh off its successful runs Off-Broadway and in Prague. www.coloradoshakes.org
Creede Repertory Theatre Summer Season (Now - Sept. 20th)
Multi-talented and nationally acclaimed Creede Repertory Theatre presents another jam packed summer of classics, musical comedy, touching dramas and zombies? The 2013 season includes Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Steven Levenson's war drama The Language of Trees, Jules Verne's action packed Around the World in 80 Days, Shakespeare's classic comedy The Taming of the Shrew, and John Heimbuch's unique twist - William Shakespeare's Land of the Dead. www.creederep.org
Minimum Wage - Avenue Theater (June 21st - Aug. 3rd)
Cross Fast Food Nation with "Saturday Night Live," beat in some a capella music with a whole lot of humor, and you've got Minimum Wage by local sibling duo Jeff and Charlie La Greca. In this hilarious show, the theater transforms into the newest Denver franchise of Happy Burger. As you learn the Happy Burger oath, and proudly sing along with the Happy Burger anthem, it's clear that this is no ordinary musical comedy. Flipping burgers has never been so fun! www.avenuetheater.com
Theatre Aspen Summer Season
Les Miserables (June 21st - Aug. 17th) This international smash-hit may be the most popular musical in the world. Epic, grand and uplifting, LES MISERABLES packs an emotional wallop that has thrilled audiences all over the world. The sung-through pop opera overflows with melodies that are already standards; its powerful affirmation of the human spirit has made LES MISERABLES a popular masterpiece.
Fully Committed (July 5th - Aug. 15th) Fully Committed is rapid-fire funny without being slapstick or obvious, and it does so via an inventive one-man conceit that has one actor playing 40 parts in 75 minutes! Sam is an actor working as a reservations clerk in the basement of an excruciatingly fashionable Manhattan restaurant. It's December. He's got a recently widowed father home alone in South Bend, an absurdly dysfunctional work environment, and a stage career stuck on a treadmill of disappointment. Sam spends virtually the entire play on the phone, carrying on both ends of the conversations with a pleading, screaming, entitled public.
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (July 11th - Aug. 17th) The time of the action is "an average day in the life of Charlie Brown." It really is just that, a day made up of little moments picked from all the days of Charlie Brown, from Valentine's Day to the a championship baseball game, from wild optimism to utter despair, all mixed in with the lives of his friends (both human and non-human) and strung together on the string of a single day, from bright uncertain morning to hopeful starlit evening. The show features the classic song Happiness, as well as a contemporary score highlighting the talents of the six-member cast. www.theatreaspen.org
Closer - Vintage Theatre, Aurora (June 28th - July 21st)Four lives intertwine over the course of four and a half years in this densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal. Dan (Casey Andree), an obituary writer, meets Alice (Erica Fox), a stripper, after an accident in the street. Eighteen months later, they are a couple, and Dan has written a novel inspired by Alice. While posing for his book jacket cover, Dan meets Anna (Haley Johnson), a photographer. He pursues her, but she rejects his advances despite their mutual attraction. Larry (Eric Mather), a dermatologist, "meets" Dan in an Internet chat room. Dan, obsessing over Anna, pretends to be her and has cybersex with Larry. They arrange to meet the next day at an aquarium. Larry arrives and so too, coincidentally, does the real Anna. This sets up a series of pass-the-lover scenes in which this quartet struggle to find intimacy but can't seem to get closer. www.vintagetheatre.com
Curtains - Arvada Center (July 5th - July 28th) The whodunit musical comedy Curtains features a dazzling musical score by the legendary team, Kander and Ebb ( Chicago, Cabaret ) and was nominated for eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score. The chief sleuth, Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, with a secret affinity for musical theater, investigates the murder of a Broadway-bound theater company's tremendously untalented star on opening night. Could the culprit be the hard-edged lady producer, one of the recently divorced songwriting team, the egomaniacal British director, or the seemingly sweet ingénue? Curtains will have you on The Edge of your seat - laughing!www.arvadacenter.org
Hairspray - Evergreen Players (July 12th - Aug. 4th) Winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Hairspray is a family?friendly musical piled high with laughter, romance, and deliriously tuneful songs. It's 1962 in Baltimore, and the lovable plus?size teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire ?? to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star. She uses her newfound power to dethrone the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin, and fight segregation on a TV network, all without mussing her 'do! www.evergreenplayers.org
Fiddler on the Roof - PHAMALY, Denver Center (July 18 - Aug. 11th) Celebrate the power of tradition and change with this multiple Tony Award-winning musical that has danced its way into the hearts of people all over the world for nearly 50 years. As Tevye tries to hold onto his religion, his Russian-Jewish customs, and his five daughters, he knows that "without tradition, our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof." Resplendent with some of the most beloved and timeless songs in musical theatre like "Sunrise, Sunset," "Matchmaker," "If I Were a Rich Man," and "Do You Love Me,". Fiddler on the Roof is filled with laughter, warmth, and inspiration for the whole family. www.phamaly.org
The House of Blue Leaves - The Edge Theatre, Lakewood (July 19th - Aug. 11th)
Set in Sunnyside, Queens in 1965, on the day Pope Paul VI visited New York City, the black comedy features nuns, a political bombing, a GI headed for Vietnam, a zookeeper who dreams of making it big in Hollywood as a songwriter, and his wife Bananas, a schizophrenic destined for the institution that provides the play's title. Drama Critic's Circle Award for Best American Play and Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. www.theeproject.org
Wonder of the World - Miners Alley Playhouse, Golden (July 26th - Sept. 1st)
Nothing will prepare you for the dirty little secret Cass discovers in her husband's sweater drawer. It is so shocking that our heroine has no choice but to flee to the honeymoon capital of the world in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. It's a wild ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel of laughs as Cass embarks on a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with a blithely suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water's edge. www.minersalley.com
In The Heights - Vintage Theatre, Aurora (Aug. 2nd - Sept. 8th) Welcome to Washington Heights - a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. In the Heights is the winner of four Tony Awards including for Best Musical. www.vintagetheatre.com
Peter and the Starcatcher - Ellie Caulkins Opera House (Aug. 15th - Sept. 1st)
Broadway's most mayhem-filled evening of madcap fun will launch its national tour in Denver. Hailed as "The most exhilarating storytelling on Broadway in decades" (New York Times), this five-time Tony winner is a hilarious romp through the Neverland you never knew. With enormous talent, ingenious stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of imagination, you'll experience the story of a nameless boy who becomes Peter Pan. www.denvercenter.org
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