LADY DAY

At Emerson’s Bar and Grill

Vintage Theatre: 1/12 – 2/18

 

    Mary Louise Lee as Billie Holiday 

     (Photo credit:RDG Photography)

You owe it to yourself to see “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.” Currently on view at Vintage Theatre, the show will move to The Garner Galleria after it closes on February 18.      

     It’s this critic’s not so humble opinion that this collaboration between the Denver Center Theatre Company and Vintage is a giant step forward for the Denver theatre community. This bridging of the gap between the Plex and the outlying theatres is a dream come true.

     Lanie Robertson’s play has been produced twice before, and this is the third time that Mary Louise Lee has portrayed Ms. Holiday.

     To get to see her perform the role in the Jeffrey Nickelson auditorium at The Vintage Theatre is a great honor. Nickelson, a beloved actor/director and producer, passed away shortly after moving his Shadow Theatre to the space in which Vintage now resides.

     Playwright Robertson sets the play in 1959, where Billie Holiday is performing at The Emerson Bar and Grill just a few months before her death. The play is peppered with anecdotes and memories that are by turns heart-wrenching and humorous.

     Whether singing classic songs such as “God Bless the Child Who Got His Own” or “Strange Fruit,” Denver’s first lady, Mary Louise Lee, is luminous as legendary jazz singer, Billie Holiday. Her performance is nuanced in such a way as to provide us as audience with glimpses of this iconic artist’s multi-faceted persona.

     Music director Trent Hines accompanies Ms. Lee as well as performing the part of Jimmy Powers, Holiday’s shy and supportive lover.  

     Betty Hart’s clear-eyed direction brings out all the humor and pathos in the story of this artist’s life.

     Phil Cope’s eye-pleasing scenic design, graced with signature gardenias, gives us a raised stage before a faux proscenium with purple curtain that’s flanked by a grand piano and a bar.

“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” 

The life of the legendary Billie Holiday is told through the songs that made her famous.

This performance contains adult language and content.

90 minutes – no intermission

Vintage Theatre presents

Jan. 12 – Feb 18*

Fri/Sat and Mon., Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m.; Sun. at 2:30 p.m.; Thurs., Feb 1, 8 and 15 at 7:30 p.m.

$15 - $34 

www.vintagetheatre.org or 303-856-7830. 

Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora 80010.Marlowe's Musings

*

RUMORS

Lowry’s Spotlight Theater: 1/6 – 2/3

    

RUMORS is the laugh-inducing tonic you’ve been praying for. Run to get a ticket!

     L-R: Bernie Cardell and Haley Johnson

Neil Simon’s “Rumors” involves four couples who arrive at the town house of the Deputy Mayor to celebrate their host’s tenth anniversary. When the first guests arrives they discover a situation that could escalate into a scandal. The confusion that ensues in Mr. Simon’s brilliantly written script allows for one of the best directed farces to have been seen in Denver in ages.

     Director Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry elicits hilarious performances from an ensemble of some of Denver’s finest actors. Besides casting the show so well, Terry paces the show at a delirious gallop! 

      The ensemble includes such incredible talent as: Mark Collins (Ken Gorman), Abby Apple Boes (Chris Gorman), Bernie Cardell (Lenny Ganz), Haley Johnson (Claire Ganz), Katie Mangett (Cookie Cusack), Claude Deiner (Ernie Cusack), Andy Anderson (Glenn Cooper), Molly Turner (Cassie Cooper), Dan Connell (Officer Welch) and Kelly Alayne Dwyer (Officer Pudney).

    The beautifully appointed and eye-pleasing scenic design is done by Bernie Cardell .  Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry has created eye-popping costumes for the ladies.

 Lowry’s Spotlight Theater

Neil Simon’s “Rumors” 

Jan. 6 – Feb. 3

Fri/Sat & Mon., Jan. 15 @ 7:30 p.m.; Sundays @2:00 p.m.; Sat, Feb. 3 @2:00 p.m.

No performance Friday, February 2

Tickets $12 – $25

ThisIsSpotlightTheater.com or call 720-530-4596.
@ The John Hand Theater, 7653 East 1st Place, Denver, Colorado 80230 Marlowe's Musings

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S THE KING AND I

THE BUELL THEATRE: JANUARY 2 -14

              Madeline Trumble as Mrs. Anna 

     Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, “The King and I” is one of the most beloved in the American musical theatre canon. It’s based upon Margaret Landon’s novel ,“Anna and the King of Siam,” which is in turn based upon the novels of Anna Leonowens, which describe the five years that she lived in the Siamese court.

    Rodgers and Hammerstein’s decision to create the story as a musical resulted in Tonys for the original Broadway production as well as for two subsequent revivals. The Twentieth Century Fox motion picture directed by Walter Lang in 1956 was nominated for nine Oscars, and won five.

     This heart-opening production now on view at The Buell Theatre is a banquet for the eye, the ear and the heart.

     Yul Brynner, who played the king both on Broadway and in the film, won a Tony for the former and an Oscar for the latter.   It is no small achievement that Jose Llana has managed to make the part his own. Mr. Llana delivers a commanding performance that is laced with tenderness and great good humor.

     Madeline Trumble is delicious in the acting and singing of the role of “Mrs. Anna.” This actor is such an enchanting presence upon the stage as to make this evening of theatre a reason for celebration.

     Q Lim’s performance in the role of Tuptim provides us with a soprano that stuns.

     The show is chock-full of musical numbers that you’ll be humming and singing for days. Among these are such classics as: “Shall we Dance,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello, Young Lovers” and “Getting to Know You.”

For tickets call 303-893-4100 or go online at denvercenter.org Marlowe's Musings