Performances traditional — and untraditional — set the stage this week, from an impromptu dance in an art gallery to the revival of a chilling, tried-and-true tale. Here’s what you’ll find this week on late-summer stages. See also: Five 5ths of the Wizard of Oz: A Fringe Benefit!…
Kate Berlant’s performances defy easy categorization. Verbally non sequitur and tonally absurd, Berlant has crafted a truly sui generis comedic persona untethered to the traditions of the surprisingly hidebound medium of standup. An NYU alumnus, Berlant gained renown in the New York comedy scene, earning her glowing (if befuddled) profiles in Playboy and The New York Times. A highlight of last year’s High Plains Comedy Festival, Berlant also has a groundswell of fans among Denver’s comedy community who turned up to see her at one of the first few Sexpot Comedy showcases. Westword caught up with Berlant before she returns for this year’s festival to discuss touring with musicians, finding her unique style, and her contingent of bro fans.
Pete Holmes is a comedian whose irrepressible spirit has endeared him to audiences nationwide. His last special Nice Try, the Devil aired last year on Comedy Central to widespread acclaim, including within these very pages, where we named it
The Odd Couple. There’s not a lot of nourishment in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, which has been around since the mid-1960s, but the central pairing of two very different men who find themselves sharing an apartment, and the humorous way their fights and misunderstandings mirror those of regular marriage…
The audience for Ignite Theatre’s Rent is large, boisterous, young, and deeply involved with the action. Throughout the evening, you hear hoots of appreciative laughter, empathetic breath intakes and murmurs, audible sniffles at the sad parts. This enthusiasm is matched by the enthusiasm on stage, the actors singing their hearts…
Whether you’re looking for the element of surprise inherent in an off-the-cuff improv riff, a laugh-out-loud good time as light as a perfect summer evening or a chilling comedy about a woman who obsessively answers a dead man’s phone, it’s all yours this weekend. Read on for the details. See…
You see aerial dance in circuses and burlesque shows, at gymnastics meets and even on the formal dance stage — but it wasn’t always so. And as Nancy Smith of Boulder’s Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance will attest, aerial dance has not only grown in stature in this country, but it’s…
Podcasts are in tune with the democratized spirit of internet media; anyone with a microphone and a computer can offer their listeners unlimited hours of recordings, usually for free. Limited only by their imaginations, podcasters have a freedom of expression unrestricted by commerce, censorship, or geography. Indeed, several great podcasts have blossomed from Denver’s own flourishing arts community. Here to celebrate them is Podcast Profiles, a new series documenting the efforts of local podcasters and spotlighting the peculiar personalities behind them
Though I generally love Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, The Sound of Music has never been one of my favorites. But continuing a tradition it started two years ago of bringing a more mainstream production down from the hills to Denver’s larger audiences, that’s the show Central City is presenting at…
Henry IV, Part 1. King Henry IV gained the throne by deposing his predecessor, Richard II, and having him murdered, and in Henry IV, Part 1, the crown lies uneasily on his head. Men who aided his insurgency have turned against him, and there’s rebellion brewing throughout the kingdom. Worst…
Going to a play in the summer isn’t that different from hitting a blockbuster film or burying your nose in a fat, classic novel: Big themes — Hurricane Katrina, the silent-film milieu of the early twentieth century and the rise of AIDS — power our current theater picks. Keep reading…
It’s always a treat to attend a play in the antique and elegant lobby of the Barth Hotel, one of fourteen residences maintained for elderly and disabled people by the nonprofit Senior Housing Options. In the past, the money from these annual fundraisers has been used to provide emergency kits…
By the time August rolls around, summer seems to have lost some of its summery luster. After sweltering in the muggy heat and unexpected downpours for two months, August
Schools re-open, attractions close, and Hollywood has already burned through its popcorniest blockbusters. It falls to comedy then, to entertain browbeaten Denverites, and fortunately for them, this August, Denver is replete with giggles. With two showcases in Boulder’s rapidly growing comedy market, a Red Rocks birthday celebration with an increasingly less reclusive comedy icon, and a homegrown comedy festival, there are enough great shows this month to keep you laughing until autumn.
Henry IV, Part 1. King Henry IV gained the throne by deposing his predecessor, Richard II, and having him murdered, and in Henry IV, Part 1, the crown lies uneasily on his head. Men who aided his insurgency have turned against him, and there’s rebellion brewing throughout the kingdom. Worst…
There’s not a lot of nourishment in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, which premiered on Broadway in 1965, spawned a film and television show, and is now showing at Miners Alley. But the central pairing of two very different men who find themselves sharing an apartment, and the humorous way…
Adam Sank is a nationally reknown comedian who has appeared on Last Comic Standing and VH1’s Best Week Ever. In June, Sank debuted his one-man cabaret show Mama, I Want to Sing Showtunes: A One ‘Mo Show to sell out crowds, with another run planned for august. Westword caught up with Sank before he comes to town this week to headline the LOL Presents showcase at the Denver Improv for phone interview where we discussed transcending an audience’s labels and performing naked at nudist retreats.
Comedy shows come and go all the time, usually whimpering out of existence after a few ignominious months of effort. So when a show reaches its second anniversary, it’s truly something to celebrate. Comedy fans can help ring in the anniversary this year on July 27th at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret. Named 2014’s Best Comedy Night by this very publication, Propaganda! has excelled thanks to host and producer Matt Monroe’s savvy booking, mingling a roster of enviable headliners with Lannie’s classy ambience month after month for free. July’s lineup features out-of-towners Raj Silverman and Brandie Posey along with local favorites Chris Charpentier, Adrian Mesa, Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald and headliner Adam Cayton-Holland. Doors open at 7:00pm for the free showcase.
In celebration of reaching this milestone, Westword caught up with Monroe to discuss the highlights of the past 2 years and how his commitment to Propaganda! would surprise his exes.
For some in a Phamaly Theatre Company production, just getting out of bed, dressing and arriving at rehearsal is a grueling ordeal. The group — once known as the Physically Handicapped Actors and Music Arts League — comprises performers with all kinds of physical problems, some more visible than others…
King Henry IV gained the throne by deposing his predecessor, Richard II, and having him murdered, and in Henry IV, Part 1, the crown lies uneasily on his head. He’s beset with political problems: Men who aided his insurgency have turned against him; there’s rebellion brewing throughout the kingdom; and,…
I Hate Hamlet. I Hate Hamlet is a bit like the curate’s egg: hilariously funny in parts, and in others so idiotic that you’re embarrassed for the actors. Why is the radiant Jamie Ann Romero wasting her talents wafting about as Deirdre, a stagestruck 29-year-old virgin who’ll have sex with…
In the ballet world, Damian Woetzel is a rock star. A one-time New York City Ballet principal, he retired in 2008, his last performance marked by a burst of critical praise, a shower of blooms and an ovation that lasted ten minutes. Since then, he’s been busy. It’s impossible to…
Summer is a mixed bag at metro-area stages, where the local companies entertain with audience-friendly fare, new play festivals and Shakespeare under the stars. And there’s more, so what will you see this weekend? Here are a few ideas. See also: Dance Fever: The Vail International Dance Festival…
