The Ten Best Comedy Events in Denver in October

Although the blockbuster comedy lineup of September 2015 may be difficult to beat in terms of star-wattage, October’s offerings deliver just as many laughs per minute. Halloween giggle treats abound this month, and everyone from cinephiles to political wonks to ’90s nostalgists can find a show fancy enough to tickle. Among our to…

Playbill: Three New Shows and Performances in Denver October 2-4

Interesting surroundings link new plays and performances in Denver this weekend, from Cherry Creek Theater Company’s stage in a carpet store and Theatre Or’s run in a concert venue to Lemon Sponge Cake’s public-art dance commission in a park. Where there’s a will, there’s a way: Here are the specifics…

Review: West Side Story Transports Romeo and Juliet to NYC in the ’50s

After decades of productions of West Side Story, both professional and amateur, it’s hard to grasp how daring and original the notion of a contemporary musical based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was in the 1950s. The idea originated with director-choreographer Jerome Robbins, composer Leonard Bernstein and script writer Arthur…

Smoking Weed and Painting with Margaret Cho and Kevin Pereira

Puff, Pass, and Paint often welcomes colorful guests at the private, cannabis-meets-cocktails-and-canvas class offered every weekend. This Saturday, comedians Margaret Cho and Kevin Pereira joined in the fun while filming an episode of the new TruTV show I’m So Into that highlights — you guessed it— marijuana. Comic Cho has done…

Playbill: Three Front Range Dance Events September 24-27

Dance takes center stage — and even the silver screen — this week in Denver, with a performing-arts calendar that includes a stopover by Twyla Tharp’s golden-anniversary tour, a celebration of dance on film, and a fall premiere from Denver’s own Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. Twyla Tharp Dance: 50th Anniversary…

Theater review: Love and Language Triumph in Outside Mullingar

John Patrick Shanley first visited his father’s birthplace in Ireland in 1993, and Outside Mullingar, which opened last year in New York, is a clear response to what he found there. We know this Ireland he depicts — rural, muddy and barren; we know of its isolated farms and the…

Review: American Girls Dances With the Challenges of Teenagers

American Girls might be the antidote to Girls Only, a giggly, anodyne and essentially contentless production based on the teenage diaries of its two creators: never mean, never disconcerting, never surprising — the kind of show you take in when you crave drinks with your girlfriends and don’t have the…

Playbill: Four New Shows and Theater Events in Denver, September 10-13

This season Denver stages offer theatrical fare from our own back yard and across the nation on levels both intimate and brashly big-budget. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the best local openings this weekend. Colorado Theatre Festival Robert and  Judi Newman Center for Theatre Education 1101 13th Street…

Marty DeRosa on Lucha Libre & Laughs, and Wrestling with Depression

Marty DeRosa is a comedian, podcaster and wrestling super fan who lives in Los Angeles. DeRosa, who got started in Chicago, created the insightful podcast, Wrestling with Depression, where he interviews comedians, wrestlers and other artists about their struggles with mental illness. He also runs several shows with fan favorite wrestler Colt…

Playbill: Three New Plays in Denver September 4-6

Theater is back on track, with many fall season offerings debuting on Labor Day Weekend. From Aurora’s Vintage Theatre to Lakewood’s acclaimed Edge Theater and the Bug in Denver, the pickings are suddenly looking good. Any Given Monday Vintage Theatre  Friday, September 4 through October 25 7:30 p.m. Fridays and…

Ten Fun Front Range Events for Labor Day Weekend

Summer doesn’t officially end for another few weeks, but this is the last big weekend of summer fun for most folks. Fortunately, there’s plenty of fun to be had, right outside your front door and all along the Front Range. Here are ten ways to have fun this weekend without…

Brian Regan on Clean Jokes, Letterman, Red Rocks and Top Five

Brian Regan is one of the very few comedians who’s achieved an arena-headlining level of success on the appeal of his jokes alone. Regan’s observations on everyday peccadilloes and his emphatic delivery have won him generations of fans, from Mormon elders to precocious young comedy nerds in training. Unlike many other…

Review: Bright Ideas Is a Class Act at Avenue Theater

The Avenue Theater, long known for comedy, has been undergoing a prolonged transition since the departure of artistic director Bob Wells. The Avenue is a shabby, comfortable and unpretentious theater that you could always visit in your grubbies for a drink or two and a relaxing evening, though every now…

The Ten Best Comedy Events in Denver in September

September is dedicated to getting back to business. For everyone from returning students to migratory birds, the long days of sun-dappled leisure are over and work begins anew. While comedy never takes time off, it’s in particularly fine form this month. From living legends to cutting-edge talents, from classy theaters…

Playbill: Four Front Range Plays and Performances for August 27-29

Ready to get back into nice, dark theater for a live performance? Small theaters around town are beginning to stir as new seasons get under way, while downtown Fort Collins will throw a Northern Colorado-centric Fringe Festival touting local talent. Say goodbye to summer with these theatrical events. Bright Ideas…

Review: Relatively Speaking Brings Early Ayckbourn to Germinal Stage

The witty, surprising dialogue is as tangled and twisty, as continually knotting and unfurling, as a ball of wool between the paws of a kitten. Nothing sounds serious, though there’s a whisper of something darker underlying the action, an acknowledgment of the anger and misunderstanding that underlie many marriages, a…

The Odd Couple—The Female Version, Pump Boys and Dinettes Closing

If you haven’t seen <em>Pinter Early & Late</em>, this is your last chance to catch the challenging, enlightening and, yes, entertaining production at Germinal Stage. But there are other worthy shows around town; here are our capsule reviews of a half-dozen current productions that we’ve recently reviewed. The Foreigner: You…