{"id":1961117,"date":"2025-08-15T00:12:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T00:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1961117"},"modified":"2025-08-15T00:12:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T00:12:19","slug":"late-summer-nights-that-are-made-for-the-stage-arts-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/late-summer-nights-that-are-made-for-the-stage-arts-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Late summer nights that are made for the stage | Arts & Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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August was once a comparatively quiet month on the Denver theater calendar as metro companies go quiet to gear up for their traditional fall season openers. But this year is different. Theatregoers not only have plenty of options \u2013 they have plenty of quality options. Here is just a representative sample:<\/p>\n

Shakespeare in the Wild<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This fourth annual, completely free outdoor offering has quickly established itself as a quintessential Colorado August outing for families in Littleton\u2019s majestic DeKoevend Park. Last year, 2,200 came out to enjoy \u201cAs You Like It.\u201d (I liked it.) This year, Leigh Miller & Company are presenting Shakespeare\u2019s most beloved tragedy, \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d \u2013\u00a0kindly abbreviated to 90 minutes on a glorious stage hand-crafted between two majestic, divinely-placed trees.<\/p>\n

Performances run through Aug. 31. Fridays through Sundays are outdoors at\u00a06315 S. University Blvd. in Centennial. Thursdays and rainy nights are indoors at nearby 6707 S. Vine St. No reservations are required but you\u2019ll want to RSVP so you can be updated if the weather is wonky. Info at\u00a0shakesinthewild.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Noelia Antweiler and MacKenzie Beyer are at the top of their games in Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s ‘Cry it Out.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

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‘Cry it Out’<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The sleeper hit of the summer, and quite likely the entire year, is this modest but fully affecting play now being presented by the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company<\/a> through Aug. 24 at the Dairy Arts Center. Playwright Molly Smith Metzler presents three vastly different new mothers who are navigating the transition to infant caregiving along archetypally different ways.<\/p>\n

What might be a paint-by-numbers story in lesser hands is nothing short of brilliant here thanks to the sharpness of Metzler\u2019s dialogue and a cast that delivers the goods in an uncharacteristically believable way. (That\u2019s Noelia Antweiler, MacKenzie Beyer, Erika Mori and Marco Alberto Robinson, directed by Candace Orrino.)<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t felt in such safe hands at a play in a very long time. Info at betc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Miners Alley Performing Arts Center has assembled a killer cast for Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Assassins.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

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‘Assassins’<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Every theater company that produces anything \u2013\u00a0whether brand new or 400 years old \u2013\u00a0finds an often disingenuous way to sell it on its \u201curgent relevance.\u201d It\u2019s almost infuriating to have to say here that the Miners Alley Performing Arts\u2019 current staging of Stephen Sondheim’s controversial 1990 musical \u201cAssassins\u201d is nothing if not, urgently relevant.<\/p>\n

The musical centers on nine actual or would-be presidential assassins, from John Wilkes Booth to John Hinckley Jr. These killers interact with one another and their intended targets as they vie for their place in history.<\/p>\n

\u201cAssassins\u201d does not in any way aspire for you to sympathize with these freaks and losers. But when you consider Thomas Jefferson and his promise of \u201cthe pursuit of happiness\u201d \u2013\u00a0we want what we want, when we want it \u2013\u00a0it becomes easier to grasp why some might come to believe that one of our inherited inalienable rights is to revolt against the government when it fails to fulfill its promises. If so, can these killers be seen as unnerving participants in an upside-down version of the American Dream?<\/p>\n

Frankly, I am not jonesing to see \u201cAssassins.\u201d But as a participating member of society, I am compelled to go \u2013\u00a0safe in the knowledge that the buzz on this particular staging is off the charts, and that the cast assembled by Warren Sherrill is one of the best any of us will see on any Colorado stage this year.<\/p>\n

A special Monday night performance (Aug. 18) offers tickets normally priced at $47 for just $25. Proceeds benefit the Denver Actors Fund<\/a>, and, full disclosure \u2013 that\u2019s my own nonprofit. Info at\u00a0minersalley.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

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As the Leading Player, actor Emma Maxfield lives up to her character’s name in Phamaly Theatre Company’s ‘Pippin.’\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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‘Pippin’<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Every summer, the disability-affirmative Phamaly Theatre Company stages a big Broadway musical at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. This year, that\u2019s \u201cPippin,\u201d the classic story of a company of eccentric circus performers who tell us the coming-of-age story of a young prince on a vain and self-absorbed search for a fulfilling life.<\/p>\n

Any musical takes on heightened significance and meaning when considered through the Phamaly lens, and this one will hit you on several different levels. It\u2019s anchored by a remarkable performer named Emma Maxwell as the Barnum-worthy ringmaster. Through Aug. 24 at the Kilstrom Theatre. https:\/\/phamaly.org\/show\/pippin\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Meet the ‘Murderers’: Mary Campbell, Mari Geasair and\u00a0Troy Lakey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Historic Elitch Theatre<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The 134-year-old Elitch Theatre, now 38 years removed from being fully operational, returned to staging bona-fide theater productions last summer \u2013\u00a0but with very limited production values, and only for one- or two-day runs. This year, those noble souls still desperately trying to save Denver\u2019s most significant cultural shell are offering \u201cMurderers,\u201d by Jeffrey Hatcher. That\u2019s a\u00a0 true-crime comedy that could not be more simply told or staged: Three residents of a fictional Florida retirement community (Troy Lakey, Mary Campbell and Mari Geasair) take turns confessing their salacious crimes in wildly entertaining ways. Audiences love it. It\u2019s Saturday (Aug. 16), one-night only at 4600 W. 37th Place. Info at historicelitchtheatre.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Brendan Duggan and Tiffany Ogburn in Off Center’s ‘Sweet & Lucky: Echo.’<\/p>\n

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\u2018Sweet & Lucky: Echo\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Denver Center captured the fancy of adventurous theatregoers in 2016 with \u201cSweet & Lucky,\u201d which at the time was both the venerated company\u2019s first foray into immersive theater, and the largest physical undertaking in its then 40-year history.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweet & Lucky\u201d took place in a 16,000-square-foot RiNo warehouse where a mysterious antique store served as a gateway into a labyrinth of dreamlike encounters. Audiences were broken into intimate groups of 12, and the unusual experience sold out nearly every performance of its four-month run.<\/p>\n

Now, Off-Center (the Denver Center\u2019s adventurous programming wing) is revisiting all of that, once again in collaboration with New York-based Third Rail Projects (founded by Boulder\u2019s Zach Morris).<\/p>\n

Creators say of this new companion piece: \u201cYou\u2019ll follow performers through a warehouse of memories, where vignettes of a couple\u2019s life materialize out of thin air \u2013 like pages of a scrapbook springing to vivid life. In the space between love and loss, remembering and forgetting, we\u2019ll uncover their most tender moments: Falling in love. Building a home. Weathering storms. Together, we\u2019ll remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEcho\u201d is now open through Oct. 5 at newly named facility called Broadway Park, 407 S. Broadway. Info at 303-893-4100 or denvercenter.org<\/a><\/p>\n

More where that came from<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a lot more going on, especially if you venture out of the metro, and you can find a comprehensive list of all of them at onstagecolorado.com\/full-calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source denvergazette.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August was once a comparatively quiet month on the Denver theater calendar as metro companies go quiet to gear up for their traditional fall season openers. But this year is different. Theatregoers not only have plenty of options \u2013 they have plenty of quality options. Here is just a representative sample: Shakespeare in the Wild […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1961118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1961117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Late-summer-nights-that-are-made-for-the-stage.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1961117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1961118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1961117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1961117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1961117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}