BWW Review: THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN': THE MUSIC & LYRICS OF BOB DYLAN at Colorado Symphony
by Jon Bee - February 23, 2022
Bob Dylan is many things, among them a music icon. Though, it is often the covers of his songs that live louder. Under the baton of Steve Hackman, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra pays tribute to Dylan in a way that truly highlights the original artist....
BWW Review: DCPA's Long-Awaited RATTLESNAKE KATE Attacks
by Chris Arneson - February 22, 2022
The musical is based on former Lumineers member Neyla Pekarek's first solo album, Rattlesnake, which features songs inspired by the life of Colorado's own 'Rattlesnake Kate' Slaughterback. Nearly 100 years ago, Kate killed around 140 rattlesnakes mostly using a wooden sign she found after her rifle ...
BWW Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Littleton's Town Hall
by Chris Arneson - February 11, 2022
Little Shop of Horrors may not be the happiest musical, but there's something about a plant wreaking havoc on a bunch of downtrodden folks that might offer a bit of momentary schadenfreude. And if you don't get it from that, Town Hall's production is likely to scratch your itch for a well-designed p...
BWW Review: FANTASIA IN CONCERT at Colorado Symphony
by Jon Bee - February 08, 2022
There have been a handful of constants in my life - among them are music and Disney. I can presume I am one of many that would say the same. As a young boy, I can remember watching Fantasia and being overcome with joy as the little winged horses danced on the screen along to some of the greatest cla...
BWW Review: THE CHOIR OF MAN is Exactly What You Expect
by Chris Arneson - January 21, 2022
If you've ever thought you needed a live show about a pub choir of burly men, have I got news for you. The Choir of Man is literally that, and apparently they're big in the UK....
BWW Review: THE OTHER JOSH COHEN at DCPA
by Chris Arneson - January 06, 2022
Josh Cohen is overweight, can't get a date, and his apartment was just emptied by a burglar--but that was a year ago, and a lot has improved since then, according to a much healthier and happier-looking Josh Cohen with a guitar....
BWW Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS at Boulder Dinner Theatre
by Jon Bee - January 04, 2022
We may not have gotten snow just yet, but White Christmas at Boulder Dinner Theatre is the perfect way to catch the holiday spirit....
BWW Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Candlelight Dinner Playhouse
by Jon Bee - December 29, 2021
The classics can go a long way at Christmas. Although the story doesn’t really mention Christmas, there is something about classic musicals that still some captures the essence of festivity. In Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s latest production of The Sound of Music, the hills are anything but quiet....
BWW Review: 'The King Has Returned' to Denver
by Chris Arneson - December 14, 2021
Somehow, I had managed to avoid seeing the Broadway production of The Lion King for its decades-long existence. Well, maybe not avoid necessarily--it was killing me that I'd never planned well enough to catch it. So until I did, I avoided anything that might make my first viewing any less magical th...
BWW Review: Christmas Chaos Ensues in ELF, THE MUSICAL at Arvada Center For Arts & Humanities
by Jon Bee - December 11, 2021
The holidays always come with baggage. Winter events, gift giving, and family gatherings can quickly devolve into mayhem among the twinkling lights that line every streetlamp and window sill. Though, Arvada Center's current holiday production of Elf provides it's own sense of pandemonium....
BWW Review: HIP HOP NUTCRACKER at DCPA
by Jon Bee - November 29, 2021
Hip-hop meets Tchaikovsky? Sign me up! The latest stop for the Hip Hop Nutcracker was Denver’s own DCPA Buell Theater. Though it may not be the ballet you’re used to, this rendition brings classical into the contemporary space....
BWW Review: JEST A SECOND at Cherry Creek Theatre
by Jon Bee - November 19, 2021
Coming out is hardly ever easy. The build up to the reveal, even down to the very second that the words, 'I'm gay' leave your lips can make it feel like as soon as you say it, everything that you built up in your mind will immediately come cascading down like an avalanche. Such a moment is where we ...
BWW Review: Forge Light's LIZZIE Kills
by Chris Arneson - October 15, 2021
If there's one thing I will never get enough of in musicals, it's fierce women belting their faces off. That alone is enough of a reason to tell you why you can't miss Forge Light Theatreworks' current production of Lizzie: The Lizzie Borden Musical....
BWW Review: THE IMPROVISED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY at DCPA
by Jon Bee - October 15, 2021
I’ve always had a soft spot for Shakespeare plays. While studying abroad in Italy back in college, I performed a variety of Shakespeare scenes, including the infamous Queen Mab monologue. I also got the chance to visit Verona and stand atop Juliet’s balcony. So when a Shakespeare inspired improv com...
BWW Review: SISTERS IN LAW at Theatre Or
by Jon Bee - October 13, 2021
History has its eyes on you - or at least according to Alexander Hamilton. American Political History has never been more important in today’s society than in the moments we collectively take together. Relationships and bonds between our friends and neighbors, or perhaps lack there of, is highlighte...
BWW Review: STEEL MAGNOLIAS at Cherry Creek Theatre is a Slice of Comfort
by Jon Bee - October 08, 2021
We all have those movies that we cling to for comfort. Movies, or even musical albums, that we could watch or listen to on repeat forever. For many of my friends, Steel Magnolias provides that sense of comfort. The iconic work as both a stage production and feature film have long impacted storytelli...
BWW Review: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN AT VINTAGE WILL LEAVE YOU IN STITCHES at Vintage Theatre
by Jon Bee - September 30, 2021
My senior year of high school, my final literature class book report was on Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein. Since then, I’ve read that book probably three or four times. For some reason, I always come back to the rather dark tale that inspired later projects such as the Mel Brooks comedy ...
BWW Review: Performance Now's DROWSY CHAPERONE Is Nowhere Near Tired
by Chris Arneson - September 17, 2021
At some point in the last year, we were all a lonely person in a chair, nostalgically listening through every one of our favorite Broadway cast albums, reminiscing of a time we were able to see them live....
BWW Review: BDT Stage's AVENUE Q is Just As Clever As You Remember
by Chris Arneson - September 01, 2021
Oh, how I missed raunchy theatre. It's been years since I paid my old pals at Avenue Q a visit. And the jokes still feel as fresh as...well, the salad I had right before I watched puppet sex at a dinner theater....
BWW Review: Forge Light's HOWARD BARNES is More Than Just Noteworthy
by Chris Arneson - August 12, 2021
As a theatre person, I can confidently say if my life were suddenly a musical, I'd be thrilled. Isn't the what many of us crave, anyway? The combo of having the world not only revolve around our story, but supplemented with harmonies and well-rehearsed choreography?...
BWW Review: Parker's LITTLE SHOP is Full of Big Moments
by Chris Arneson - July 14, 2021
Just by hearing the title, you've probably got the familiar bops of Little Shop of Horrors running through your head....
BWW Review: VAN GOGH is ALIVE at Stanley Marketplace
by Chris Arneson - July 14, 2021
Even if you're not much of an art connoisseur, you probably know a bit about Van Gogh. At least enough to be excited about an immersive exhibit featuring his work....
BWW Review: SHOUT! at Town Hall Arts Center
by Chris Arneson - June 09, 2021
SHOUT! The Mod Musical, now playing at Town Hall Arts Center, offers a silly (and sometimes somber) escape from our current world....
BWW Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at Arvada Center
by Jon Bee - June 02, 2021
I’ve always had a soft spot for the songs of yesteryear. Jukebox musicals usually leave me in a happy place by the time the show ends. In the case of Million Dollar Quartet at Arvada, this show left me feeling the same way I felt from the moment it started - joyful....
BWW Review: LITTLE WOMEN Marches On at Candlelight Dinner Theatre
by Jon Bee - May 25, 2021
Let me start by saying how lovely it was to sit and enjoy live theater again after so much time away. As we all start to come out of the woodwork and step into a new world, I stand ready and exhilarated for the new renaissance of art that is headed our direction. Welcoming me to this new age was Can...