SOMEWHERE

Denver Center Theatre Company:

 May 1- May 31

                                           ANGEL LOZADA as ALEJANDRO

The Denver Center Theatre Company’s production of Matthew Lopez’s “Somewhere” is not to be missed!

     Lopez is the playwright who gave us “The Legend of Georgia McBride” and “The Inheritance,” the Tony Award-winner for Best Play in 2020.

      “Somewhere” is a memory play that’s reflective of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” in many ways.

    At its core, Lopez’s script presents the Candelaria family, Puerto Rican immigrants living in Manhattan in 1959. It’s a tight knit family whose absent father’s virtues are constantly extolled and his return anticipated. “West Side Story” is a big hit on Broadway and Jerome Robbins is conducting auditions for the film. Every one of the Candelarias has a big dream of dancing on Broadway and acting in the movies. The family speaks Spanish, English and most passionately, the language of dance.  When a neighborhood wide eviction is posted, their home and dreams are threatened.

     Inez is the matriarch of the family, who fosters all things artistic in her children. She is a woman who lives in fantasies of both past and future and is in denial of certain obvious realities.   Alejandro, the elder son, does the best he can to keep the family grounded in common sense. His is the voice of reason.   Francisco, the younger of the two brothers, is taking acting classes, and dreams of being the next Marlon Brando.  Their sister, Rebecca, is taking dancing lessons and dreaming of getting an audition with Jerome Robbins for the film of West Side Story. Jamie is a young Caucasian man that Inez brought up with the other children and who, a long time absent from their home, is now Jerome Robbins’ dance captain.     

     By turns hilarious and heart-breaking, Adriana Sevan is luminous as Inez. Angel Lozada is a strong presence as Alejandro. His performance is Powerful! Danny Gomez is a charmer as Francisco. Bela Serrano (Rebecca) and Keaton Miller (Jamie) are fine actors and breathtaking dancers. You will fall in love with each and everyone in this show.

     Director Laurie Woolery has paced the show at a gallop making the evening fly by. Mayte Natallo’s choreography and the dancing thereof is fiery and exhilarating. Kevin Copenhaver’s costume design is the professional work the Denver audience has come to expect of him.  Whether descriptive of a fantasia of joyful celebration or the trauma of explosive disaster, Pablo Santiago’s Lighting Design and Paul James Prendergast’s Sound Design work together magnificently. Mr. Prendergast’s incidental music is ear-pleasing! 
   The scenic design by Efren Delgadillo, Jr., which features a gleaming silver, multi-tiered fire escape, is magnificent!

This is a heart-opening production that demands to be seen!!!   Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.

 

For tickets call the box office at 303-893-4100 or go online at denvercenter.org

 ANGELS IN AMERICA

VINTAGE THEATRE: MARCH 27 – MAY 10

FLY TO THE BOX OFFICE FOR TICKETS FOR THIS ASTONISHING AND BREATHTAKING PRODUCTION!

Kelly Uhlenhopp and Casey Board (photo credit: RDG Photography)

ANGELS IN AMERICA, PART ONE: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES and PART TWO: PERESTROIKA comprise Tony Kushner’s 1990s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning ‘Gay Fantasia on National Themes.’ Magnificent and massive in its socio-political scope, it is also an intimate work that is perhaps the most important serious dramatic opus of the late twentieth century. 

   If you are a theatergoer whose taste runs to excellence in dark serious drama, this nearly seven-hour production is not to be missed.

    The play, which is currently exploding across Vintage Theatre’s intimate Bond-Trimble stage is set in New York City in the 80’s and features a gay couple, Prior and Louis, and a straight couple, Joe and Harper, struggling with the AIDS crisis, sexuality, religion, society and the abdication of the Reagan administration, which turned a blind eye to the death and devastation of the epidemic. A richly textured work, playwright Kushner has peppered this mostly realistic play  with the surreal and the supernatural. Apparitions from one character’s ancestral line as well as historical personages such as Ethel Rosenberg appear at key moments. Sometimes one character’s dream intersects with another’s drug-induced hallucination. Brendan T. Cochran’s minimalist set design is remarkably efficient and makes the performances really pop! Emily Maddox’s lighting design - especially in the final scenes of Part Two - makes us feel as though this production is encoded with light frequencies hitherto unseen in other productions. The sound design by Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry and Patrice Mondragon evokes an otherworldly aspect. Jasper Day’s costume design enhances the show. Whether everyday street clothes, angel wings reflective of our national flag, or jewel-toned cowls and robes for the council of Angels, Day’s costumes dazzle.

Directors Bernie Cardell and Troy Lakey have ignited Part One and Part Two respectively with a fire that is lacking in some productions . Their casting is impeccably correct, and their pacing makes the seven-hour opus ( I saw both parts on the same day!) fly by.

Upon entering the theatre one is regaled with an austere set design done in cemetery grey that is draped, or better, shrouded, in white fabric.

The ensemble’s performances are astounding!

    Casey Board, who portrays Prior Walter, conveys an open-hearted vulnerability in his arc from victimization in the initial phase of his prognosis at the top of the play,  to the strength of independent self awareness as he seeks “more life” at final curtain.

    Dakota C. Hill is mesmerizing and brilliant as Prior’s boyfriend Louis. His performance is richly textured, and one remembers his brilliance from his portrayal of Eric Glass in the 2023 production of “The Inheritance.” 

     Andrew Uhlenhopp plays Roy Cohn, the heinous lawyer who was the chief counsel for Joseph McCarthy and the prosecutor of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg prior to their execution.  Uhlenhopp’s portrayal of this lying, unethical lawyer is loud, abrasive and… riveting!  

     Kelly Uhlenhopp is jaw-dropping formidable as the Angel! Astonishing!   Her portrayal of a crazed homeless person in another scene with Haley Johnson as Mother Pitt is disturbing, and powerfully well delivered as well.

     As Joe Pitt’s mother Hannah, Haley Johnson conveys a mostly internalized horror at a phone call from her drunk son. As the specter of Ethel Rosenberg, Johnson’s mostly silent karmic visitations of the dying Cohn are so well-acted that you simply can’t take your eyes off her.    

     As Prior’s nurse and drag queen friend Belize, Jonathan Underwood delivers a lot of hilariously witty lines spiced up by the voice of reason. In Belize’s interactions with Louis and later with Roy, Underwood injects a biting sarcastic tone. Belize is warmly compassionate in his caring for Prior. He even manages to realistically stuff his emotions and stifle animosity caring for  the abusive, bigoted and self destructive Roy Cohn. As Mr. Lies, Underwood accompanies Nicole Kaiser’s Harper Pitt as a sort of tour guide on her valium-induced adventures in consciousness. Superb work!

Chad Hewitt turns in a superb performance as Joe Pitt, the closeted Mormon whose lonely and abandoned wife,Harper, has turned to drugs. Seduced by the machiavellian manipulations of Roy Cohn, Joe falls right in line with the unethical and deadly political machine.

Nicole Kaiser  is luminous and haunting as Joe’s wife, Harper. The slight and beautiful actor delivers Harper’s valium-addicted and sexually deprived young wife with an intentionally foggy consciousness. As Martin Heller, Cohn’s toadying political acolyte, Kaiser is brilliant.

It is also to be noted that Andrew Uhlenhopp and Chad Hewitt spice up what up until now had been this reviewer’s least favorite scene. Their appearance in Prior Walter’s dreams as Prior I and Prior 2, the ancestors of this Prior Walter, was invigorating and thrilling!

Advisory: there is simulated sex, strong language and the referencing of drug usage in the production(s.) Leave the kids home.

(Before you go… please know that general admission tickets are only $36.00 for this Great Work. You will be in the intimacy of the Bond-Trimble theatre so you will be only a few feet away from this outrageously talented ensemble. If you’re weighing this ticket against the ones at the larger theaters please remember those tickets range from the hundreds and upwards and place you well back from the stage. You will also have to shell out twenty bucks for parking at certain venues.  At Vintage parking is free.  How does it get any better? Just sayin.’)

For tickets call the Box Office at 303- 856-7830 or go online at info@vintagetheatre.org

  

                THE WIZ

TOWN HALL ARTS CENTER: MARCH 20 – APRIL 19

                     Cha'rel J'iCole as Evillene 

                  (photo credit: RDG Photography)

 

With music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown, “The Wiz is a musical based upon the L. Frank Baum children’s book, “The Wizard of Oz."

In 1975 “The Wiz” received seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. 

When I saw the tour of the stage version of THE WIZ in the early 80s at The Auditorium Theatre, I was so enchanted I couldn’t wait to buy a ticket for the next evening. Unfortunately, the show was sold out for the duration.

     The dynamic and energizing direction and choreography of Christopher Page Sanders makes Town Hall Arts’ production outstanding! Sanders has cast actors who can sing and dance up a storm…so to speak. (The dancing of the tornado near the top of the show is exhilarating!)

The Tony award-winning music is a mixture of gospel, R&B, and Broadway that is uplifting and truly exhilarating! 

Dorothy is sung with great heart by Thurzday. Daevon Robinson is sensational as the lion. Angel Miguel Garcia is a wonderfully limber scarecrow. Simeon Wallace, a superbly well-sung Tin Man, gives us a superb rendition of “Slide Some Oil to Me.” 

     Cha’rel  Ji’Cole sends us right up through the rafters at the top of Act Two with her powerful singing of Evillene’s “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News!”

     Shakira D. Abney-Wisdom is hilarious in the role of Addaperle.

     Thanks to Alex Burse’s music direction, the company’s “Everybody Rejoice/Brand New Day” sends us into musical theatre heaven. Burse is also responsible for conducting the great just offstage orchestra!

 

For tickets call the box office at 303-794-2787, Ext 5 or go online at boxoffice@townhallartscenter.org

 

L-R; Sarah Kit Farrell, Abby McInerney and Nancy Evans Begley (Photo credit: RDG Photography)

NINE TO FIVE, THE MUSICAL

VINTAGE THEATRE: FEB. 20 – MAR. 29

 

     With music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and book by Patricia Resnik, NINE TO FIVE, the musical, is based upon the original movie’s 1980 screenplay. Three hard-working, fun-loving women, frustrated by the sexist antics of their macho pig boss, plot to undermine the patriarchy, and take back their power. 

     The friendship of these three ladies proves that standing up to sexism can have devastating results for the perpetrators. (The show could not be timelier.) As the heinous crimes against women on the world stage are unveiled on the evening news and the top-down structures of the old patriarchy topple, the innocent taking back of power by this trio of heart coherent ladies is even more enchanting than the last time we have seen it.

     In 2009 the show received 15 Drama Desk nominations and 4 Tony nominations.

     Co-directors Dana Hart Wright and Paul Page have cast the show impeccably and paced it at a gallop.

     Wright, who has directed such plays as Ovation West’s “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” was recently seen acting in Veritas Productions and Theatre Arts’ “Jerry’s Girls” at the Pluss Theatre at the Mizel Center and “The Odd Couple” at Miners Alley Performance Arts Center. 

     Page has been a mainstay of the theatre community since the onset of this reviewer’s gig as theatre critic in the early nineties. Besides his acting credits, Page just directed Mike Broemell’s play, “An Echoing Spring, A Story of Matthew Shepard,” at the John Hand Theatre on Lowry.

     The trio of women at the heart of this show could not have been cast more beautifully.

     Sarah Kit Farrell channels Dolly Parton as Doralee Rhodes. This actor recently exploded onto the Denver Theatre scene with a spectacular Nellie Forbush in Performance Now’s “South Pacific.” Here she is a luminous Doralee! Her singing of “Backwoods Barbie” and “Cowgirls Revenge” is indelible.

     Nancy Evans Begley is stunning in her performance of a brilliantly nuanced Violet Newstead. Sparkling and shimmering in Cole Emarine’s eye-popping black costume, her singing and dancing of “One of the Boys,” is one of the dazzling highlights of the show.

     Abby McInerney is a revelation as Judy Bernly. Her powerful singing of “Get Out and Stay Out,” that slams the door shut on her relationship with a narcissistic ex, brought down the house. 

     Keith Hershman delivers the role of the sexist office boss, Franklin Hart, with a manic portrayal of the lecherous character we love to hate.

    Jennifer Burnett’s performance in the role of the Boss’s snitch, Roz Keith, is hilarious.

     Matthew Combs’ performance as Violet’s paramour Joe, shines in his duet with Ms. Begley, “Let Love Grow.” 

     Rick Long is “smooth as buttah” in his portrayal of the dapper corporate hot shot, Tinsworthy.

  The musical tracks by music director Tanner Kelly are exceptionally well done.

   The choreography by Dallas Slankard is a delight. It’s on full display at the top of Act Two showcasing Ms. Begley and the male ensemble in “One of the Boys.” 

Not to be missed! 

For tickets call: 303-856-7830 or go online at www.vintagetheatre.org

 

 

 

 THE ODD COUPLE 

(THE FEMALE VERSION)

MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER:

JANUARY 20- MARCH 8

 

L-R: Josh Levy, Emma Messenger and Damon Guerrasio

Run to get tickets for Miners Alley Playhouse’s deliriously funny production of Neil Simon’s 

THE ODD COUPLE (THE FEMALE VERSION.) 

The Miners Alley Performing Arts Center’s production of “The Odd Couple (Female Version) is a delightful, thoroughly entertaining evening of theatre.

You may know that playwright Neil Simon is second only to Shakespeare as far as the number of plays being produced every year in this country. And if you loved the movie starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and/or the television series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, you’re gonna LOVE this one!

Award-winning director Warren Sherrill has cast the show impeccably. 

Denver favorite Emma Messenger portrays neat-pin Florence Unger with a luminous performance that gives us as audience a chance to see her wide range of expressive emotions. Sheryl McCallum is brilliant in her performance of the role of Olive Madison, the sloppy, free-wheeling friend whose welcoming of Florence into her home in her time of need, backfires!

Candace Orrino, Adrian Egolf, Dana Hart Wright and Annie Dwyer make up the circle of ladies who bookend the show with exhilarating banter during their friendly trivia game night.  Dwyer, who has acted on many of the stages throughout Colorado and has been a Denver favorite since her days at Heritage Square Music Hall, sparkles and zings!

These superb divas do a much better job of providing the set-up for playwright Simon’s work than many of their male counterparts in previous productions.  The set-up is great, and by the time we come out of intermission, Act Two explodes with the hilarious performances of Josh Levy and Damon Guerrasio, who are the male equivalent of the Pigeon sisters in the original. Here they are two Spanish brothers, Manolo and Jesus Costazuela, who speak a hilarious sort of “pidgin English” as they are entertained by Florence and Olive.  Outrageously funny, they will have you rolling in the aisles!

So superb acting, excellent direction and the usual suspects creating theatrical heaven in the tech department over at MAPAC are just a few of the reasons you should drop everything on Saturday night and get over to Golden to see this show. Crystal McKenzie’s costume design is eye-pleasing! John Hauser’s sound design provides just the right auditory bridges between the scenes. Vance McKenzie’s lighting design illuminates Scott McKean’s excellent set to perfection.

It is to be recognized that Miners Alley Performing Arts Center is one of the best designed of Colorado’s theatres. It features comfortable seating with plenty of leg room, as well as a congenial and welcoming staff.

Before and after the show … and at intermission as well, the well-stocked bar awaits you.   

      This month there is an additional treat. An exhibition of Erica Borrillo’s eye-popping abstract paintings is on view in the lobby.  An artist currently living in Colorado, I have often said her breathtaking work should be on display in New York City.

     So go see this laugh-inducing show and get all these bells and whistles, too! You’ll be glad you did!

 

For tickets call the box office at 303-935-3044 or go online at minersalley.com

 

                        Sarah Kit Farrell and Jeremy Rill 

              (photo credit RDG Photography)

 SOUTH PACIFIC

PERFORMANCE NOW THEATRE COMPANY: JAN 9 – JAN 25

 

Sarah Kit Farrell is a brilliant new star in the firmament of the local theatre scene. 

Her Nellie Forbush is Outstanding!

 

With music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein, “South Pacific” is based upon James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Tales of the South Pacific.” The Broadway Musical was the first to win a Pulitzer Prize in the Drama category.

Opening on Broadway in 1949, it swept the 1950 Tony Awards with 10 nods including Best Musical, Director and all 4 major acting categories.

“South Pacific’s” Broadway run was for many years, second only to that of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first hit, “Oklahoma.”   

     The Performance Now production currently on view at The Lakewood Cultural Center is directed with a warm and affectionate touch by award-winning Kelly Van Oosbree, who also choreographs the proceedings with exuberant joy. 

     Under the baton of music director Heather Iris Holt, the twelve-piece orchestra does a great job spinning out the magnificent tunes in Rodgers’ score.

     Jeremy Rill anchors the show with  a strong and commanding presence as a formidable Emile de Becque.  His warm resonant singing of “Some Enchanted Evening” is ear-pleasing indeed.

     Sarah Kit Farrell sparkles and enchants us as Ensign Nellie Forbush.  Her rich, melodic singing of such favorites as “Cock-Eyed Optimist” and “I’m In Love with a Wonderful Guy” delights.

     It's wonderful to see Burke Walton back on the Denver stage! As Lieutenant Joseph Cable his singing of “Younger than Springtime” and “You Have to be Carefully Taught,” are indelible.

     Joyce Cole is an amusing and  most memorable Bloody Mary! Her singing of “Bali Hai” is spellbinding.

     Jeffrey Parker makes his characterization of Luther Billis truly his own. This Billis has a bit of an edge to it, allowing us as audience to see him as more than just a fun-loving Seabee. His work in “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame” exhilarates!

   Tiffany Sieu-Fruman is enchanting as Liat. Her love-duet, “Happy Talk,” with Burke Walton sparkles with joy. 

     Additionally, there is the pleasure of seeing Gabriel Morales onstage as Henry as well as Alison Mueller as Ensign Dinah Murphy.

Andrew Bates’ focused, minimal set design and Brett Maughan’s mood-shifting lighting design, conspire to suggest location with a light touch.

 NOT TO BE MISSED!!!

 

Tickets at https:www.performancenow.org/southpacific

 

 

Photos are by RDG Photography

 THE MARLOWE AWARDS FOR 2025

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS (PLAY) 

VERONICA STRAIGHT-LINGO, LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY, FIREHOUSE THEATER COMPANY

 

OUTSTANDING ACTOR (PLAY) 

KEVIN HART, MORNING AFTER GRACE, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS (PLAY) 

DIANE WZIONTKA, TORCH SONG, VINTAGE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR (PLAY)

 DWAYNE CARRINGTON, MORNING AFTER GRACE, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING ACTOR (MUSICAL)

 COOPER KAMINSKY, RING OF FIRE, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS (MUSICAL) 

DEBORAH PERSOFF, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, VINTAGE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS (MUSICAL) 

JULIA TOBEY, ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR (MUSICAL) 

BRIAN TRAMPLER, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, VINTAGE THEATRE PRODUCTIONS

 

 OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE MUSICAL

ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR (PLAY)

PAUL JAQUITH, LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY, THE FIREHOUSE THEATER COMPANY

 

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL, ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY, LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY, THE FIREHOUSE THEATER COMPANY

 

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR (MUSICAL) 

WARREN SHERRILL, ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL DEBUT

 PAUL PAGE, AN ECHOING SPRING, A STORY OF MATTHEW SHEPARD, COLORADO TINTS in local cooperation with ACT ONE Productions

 

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY 

REBECCA SCOTT DEAN, JERRY’S GIRLS, VERITAS PRODUCTIONS AND THEATRE ARTS

 

OUTSTANDING PROJECTIONS 

TOPHER BLAIR, THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, ARVADA CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTOR 

LEE ANN SCHERLONG, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, OVATION WEST THEATRE COMPANY

 

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN 

VANCE MCKENZIE, ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN 

JOHN HAUSER, ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN, 

TINA ANDERSON, ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN 

CRYSTAL MCKENZIE, ASSASSINS, MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

 

BEST STAGE DIRECTION OF AN OPERA

ALISON MORITZ, THE KNOCK, CENTRAL CITY OPERA

 

BEST CONDUCTOR OPERA, 

DAVID BLOOM, THE KNOCK, CENTRAL CITY OPERA

 

BEAT FEMALE OPERA SINGER

LISA MARIE ROGALI, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, CENTRAL CITY OPERA COMPANY

 

BEST MALE OPERA SINGER,

  ARMANDO CONTRERAS, THE KNOCK, CENTRAL CITY OPERA

Ties with:

ANDREW MORSTEIN, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, CENTRAL CITY OPERA