Curious again alone in offering annual “Free Night of Theatre”

By John Moore Oct. 30, 2012 The New York-based Theater Communications Group (TCG) has tried for eight years to organize a national night of free theater, but the initiative has failed to drum up much participation in Colorado. Not because audiences here don’t want a night of free theater, but because member theaters here just… Continue reading Curious again alone in offering annual “Free Night of Theatre”

Remodeled Chez Artiste movie theater re-opens Friday

  By John Moore Oct. 25, 2012 Landmark’s Chez Artiste Theatre  re-opens Friday (Oct. 26) after an extensive renovation and remodel. This renovation includes new advancements in sight, sound and seating, including Barco Digital Projection, upgraded digital sound and new  leather-style seats with expanded row widths. New decorative touches throughout the theater include new granite… Continue reading Remodeled Chez Artiste movie theater re-opens Friday

Video: Five minutes with … Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones was joined by Natasha Bedingfield and Virginia Williams for the 2012 Global Down Syndrome Foundation fundraising fashion show, titled "Be Beautiful Be Yourself 2012," at the Sheraton Hotel in Denver on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012. (Photo by Daniel Petty)

    In this ongoing web series, arts journalist John Moore interviews prominent visitors to Denver. Here, Quincy Jones, producer of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” the best-selling album in history, and international spokesman for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, talks with Moore before Jones’ fourth annual gala in Denver, which raised $1.5 million on Oct. 13,… Continue reading Video: Five minutes with … Quincy Jones

Denver Post profile: TV host Eden Lane opens up about her life and challenges

Last week, Eden Lane participated in a community-wide staged reading of Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black's play "8," hosted by the Denver Center Theatre Company and featuring a cast of both professional actors and local celebrities. The play chronicles the historic constitutional challenge to California s Proposition 8, which would have eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry. (Photo by Jennifer M. Koskinen, provided by the Denver Center)

  By John Moore Oct. 21, 2012 Colorado Public Television’s Eden Lane is believed to be the first transgender journalist on mainstream TV anywhere in the United States. “But I don’t think of being transgender as any part of my identity, any more than I do that I am left-handed,” she said. But “the Eden… Continue reading Denver Post profile: TV host Eden Lane opens up about her life and challenges

Two ex-theater critics, sitting around having coffee

Former theater writer Mark Collins has gone from critical to presidential in square product theatre's "44 Plays for 44 Presidents."

  By John Moore Oct. 19, 2012 For 10 years, Mark Collins was one of the leading critical voices in the Denver/Boulder theater community, combining a compassionate eye for the art of making theater with an opinion backed by a master’s degree. As a freelance contributor to the Boulder Daily Camera, Collins was always understated… Continue reading Two ex-theater critics, sitting around having coffee

Colorado theater companies join forces for military families

Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora.

  By John Moore Oct. 18, 2012 A new national initiative will be announced tomorrow that will recognize “the profound contributions of military service families,” and seven Colorado theater companies are helping to lead the way. The Blue Star Theatres program, founded by the national Theatre Communications Group service organization, will team 57 of its… Continue reading Colorado theater companies join forces for military families

Video, photo coverage: “After the Darklights” web-series launch party

Emily Paton Davies and Mike Marlow. Photo by Brian Landis Folkins.

By John Moore Oct. 10, 2012 The 10-minute pilot episode of “After the Darklights,” a new post-apocalyptic web series written and directed by Denver’s Michael Morgan, was launched today as a free online offering. The video posted above chronicles the launch party held at the Laundry on Lawrence artists collective at 27th and Lawrence streets… Continue reading Video, photo coverage: “After the Darklights” web-series launch party

Review: “Memphis” lifts you higher and higher

Felicia Boswell as Felicia and Bryan Fenkart as Huey in "Memphis." Photo by Paul Kolnik.

  By John Moore Oct. 10, 2012 “Memphis” is a sparkling Broadway musical that, to start, takes on race relations in almost the vein of a superficial fairy tale: A well-meaning white man wanders into the danger of a blues club on the dark side of town with all the blissful naivete of Larry Kroger… Continue reading Review: “Memphis” lifts you higher and higher

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 5: “Jackson Has It Going On”

Director Ben Dicke takes a moment in the Aurora Fox parking lot before taking to the stage in the delayed opening-night performance of "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" on Sept. Sept. 27, 2012. Photo by John Moore

  By John Moore Oct. 9, 2012 Part 5: Jackson Has It Going On Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director/starring actor.  Part 5, the final chapter, chronicles the triumphant rescheduled… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 5: “Jackson Has It Going On”

Podcast: Sarah Ruhl coming to Colorado Springs on Oct. 8

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center recently staged Sarah Ruhl's "In the Next Room, Or The Vibrator Play."

  By John Moore Oct. 4, 2012 Sarah Ruhl, one of America’s most produced playwrights, is coming to Colorado Springs’ TheatreWorks for a free evening of discussion on Monday, Oct. 8. Ruhl’s “The Clean House,” “Eurydice” and “In the Next Room, Or  The Vibrator Play,” have been produced at the Denver Center, Curious Theatre, Equinox,  TheatreWorks… Continue reading Podcast: Sarah Ruhl coming to Colorado Springs on Oct. 8

Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 4: “This Is Happening”

The day after Ben Dicke was released from the hospital, the cast met to discuss whether to postpone the run until January, or come back as soon as it was medically possible for Dicke. Photo by John Moore.

Part 4: This is Happening Veteran arts journalist John Moore followed the making of Ben Dicke’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” from inception to an opening night postponed by a serious backstage accident that hospitalized the director/starring actor. Part 4 chronicles the crucial decision-making in the wake of the accident, and why and how this show… Continue reading Video: The making of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Part 4: “This Is Happening”

News: Town Hall executive director Nancy Stalf resigns

The board of directors for the Littleton Town Hall Arts Center has accepted the resignation of executive director Nancy Stalf, effective at the end of November. Stalf  has been E.D. since October 2008 and is leaving to pursue other professional opportunities, according to a press release issued by Town Hall. “We appreciate the leadership that… Continue reading News: Town Hall executive director Nancy Stalf resigns

Video: Churchill, Barcelona and Navy at the Bluebird Theater

Tim Bruns and Bethany Kelly of Churchill took to the balcony of the Bluebird Theater. Photo by John Moore.

By John Moore Oct. 1, 2012 Churchill celebrated its recent major-label signing with two headlining shows at the Bluebird Theater in Denver on Sept. 29-30, 2012. On Day 2, the set included “Ark in a Flood,” above. The lineup included Navy and Barcelona. Video by John Moore. Barcelona: Seattle’s Barcelona played in support of Denver’s… Continue reading Video: Churchill, Barcelona and Navy at the Bluebird Theater

Video: A rocking Curtain Call for Aurora Fox’s ‘Picasso’

Benjamin Cowhick and Jack Wefso in "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." Photo courtesy Aurora Fox.

Not every Curtain Call is as fun as this one for “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” presented by Ashton Entertainment at the Aurora Fox Theatre. Performers include Johnny Barber, Eric Mather, Benjamin Cowhick, Steef Sealy, Tupper Cullum, Jack Wefso, Kurt Brighton and Talia Liccardello. Info:  Through Oct. 14. Info: 303-739-1970 or aurorafoxartscenter.org. Video by John… Continue reading Video: A rocking Curtain Call for Aurora Fox’s ‘Picasso’