This weekend we will be at the Denver Dance Festival promoting In the Heights, which will play The Buell Theatre April 28-May 9. The Denver Dance Festival is a three-day dance festival held annually in Denver featuring live performances from some of Denver’s best dance talent. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to reach out to a community that may not know that not all musicals are jazz hands and kick lines. 

 

In The Heights tells the story of a vibrant community in Manhattan’s Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

 

Propelled by the rhythms of hip hop and Latin music – uncommon sounds in musical theatre – In The Heights ’ invigorating beat belies a musical steeped in Broadway tradition.  Plus it won four Tony Awards in 2008 for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Orchestration and, more importantly for this weekend, BEST CHOREOGRAPHY! Catch a glimpse of the dancing in this video of the song “96,000″:

 

We took some time to chat with Denver Dance Festival’s creators and directors Sarah Schachterle and Ken Jiminez about the Denver Dance Festival (DDF) and how it connects with In The Heights.

 

Denver Center: What made you start DDF?

 

Sarah & Ken: We wanted to display the talent of Colorado choreographers and dance companies and give them an avenue to unite with other artists and expose the greater community to the abundance of talent in the area. We wanted to gain recognition and popularity in dance within Colorado and to be known throughout the country as an up and coming prestigious dance festival offering a world-class dance experience. We wanted to include the most accomplished local and national dance talent in the festival, exposing the Colorado community to an even greater dimension of dance entertainment.

 

DC: Exposing them to a greater dimension of dance entertainment, that’s great and much like what we are trying to do with In The Heights! Tell us about some of the crews and companies performing.

 

S&K: We have everything from breakdancing to swingdancers. A couple of our groups were accepted on  MTV’s hit show “America’s Best Dance Crew” and we have guest performers from New York City whose main performer and choreographer, “Stretch,” has choreographed for Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and won awards for his choreography for Will Smith. In addition to these acts there is Salsa dancing, jazz, contemporary, and more. There will definitely be something for everyone.

 

DC: Many people don’t know how rich with culture the dance scene is here in Colorado. What would you say to help educate folks about it?

 

S&K: We would say to look into it! There is more than meets the eye. These days there are countless ways to get information…take the time to look it up. You will be amazed at all the culture Denver has to offer – a hint – some of the most interesting things are somewhat “underground” and spend their time and energy on product not advertising or decorating, so you may need to do some digging!

Here’s a video preview of the Denver Dance Festival:

Popularity: 5% [?]

By Heidi Bosk, DCPA employee

 

My first Broadway show was Phantom of the Opera. I was probably no more than 10 or 11 years old and I went with my dad who remains to be my theatre “date” after more than a decade later. Coming down to the Denver Performing Arts Complex was a REALLY big deal for me as a little patron, which is why Kids Night on Broadway is such a fantastic program.

 

Let me introduce myself. My name is Heidi and, in addition to other activities I coordinate around The Denver Center, I plan our local efforts for Kids Night on Broadway (aka KNOB). One of the best parts of my job hands down!  So what is KNOB? It is a national audience development program of The Broadway League that basically excites little patrons (kids under 18 years old) and brings families together at the theatre. On a local level here in Denver we take the family friendly touring shows and create a one night event with activities and discounts.  It just so happens we have two coming up!

 

You may already know but the world’s most famous nanny is here in Denver and, with the help of KOSI 101, we are having Kids Night On Broadway for the March 10 performance of Mary Poppins. People that purchase a full price adult ticket can get a child’s ticket for free. There will be activities in the Buell lobby from 6-7:30pm including autograph signing by the actors playing Jane and Michael Banks from 6-6:20pm, coloring, photos by McBoat Photography with official Mary Poppins umbrellas, Hammond’s Candies and official Kids Night On Broadway giveaways. Plus you can take your ticket into Rock Bottom downtown where kids eat free with the purchase of an entrée.

 

The other KNOB evening is  April 1 for Cirque Dreams Illumination where kids will have the opportunity to meet members of the Broadway tour, learn and participate in skills, costumes, tricks, activities and some of the fun acrobatic antics for which Cirque Dreams is world renowned.

 

These events give families an opportunity to have fun at the theatre at an affordable price, which in turn takes those little patrons into lifelong theatre fans. Much like the spirit of Mary Poppins, it gets families out and doing activities together at the theatre. And that is why it is one of the best parts of my job. 

 

Oh, and if you are wondering how to get in on these events… for Mary Poppins you can use the promo code KNOB and for Cirque Dreams Illumination you can use the code KNOBDREAMS. Now I am off to the show, with my family of course. Hope to see you there!

Popularity: 11% [?]

By Jeff Rummer, DCPA employee

 

This morning I read the Mary Poppins article in The Denver Post and noted the ending quote from Gavin Lee the actor who plays Bert, the chimney sweep:

 

“I believe Mary Poppins, of all the Disney shows, has a bit more meat to it because this is a real story about a family that just cannot connect.  I always say it’s not a show about a flying nanny. It’s a show about this family that needs something or someone to come along and fix them, and put them back together,” Lee said. “And 40 years on, how relevant is it that today, when we have kids doing terrible things at the schools with guns, or, less important, who sit at home and watch videos all day?  This about a dad who is about to lose his job at the bank, and how cool it is that they all go out for the day together and fly a kite.”

 

For me this quote brings into focus the reason why I love Mary Poppins…there is joy in life (if you look for it) and things can be fixed.  This might seem a little too philosophical.  Especially when I think we all fell in love with the story because of the songs and the magic of a flying nanny and might not have ever thought about the deeper moral message.  That depth of message though is why MP is still relevant to me today as an adult.  You have to love Mary’s ability to be lighthearted in the face of troubles, and balance responsibility with an easy going attitude and a spoonful of sugar.

 

We are all painfully aware of the recent school shooting at Deer Creek Middle School, which just reminds us of the other troubles in our lives: broken families, unemployment and economic realities.  I think we might all secretly wish for the spring breeze blow a magical nanny into our schools, families, jobs and Washington, DC to mend all the messes and make things whole.  But the interesting thing about Mary Poppins is that she doesn’t just fix things…she teaches and empowers the Banks family, and us, to take responsibility for our own lives and to see the magic in the ordinary.

 

The world can be a better place and we have the power to make it so.  I hope that we can all rediscover the wonder of Mary Poppins and be reminded of the magic and joy of sidewalk chalk and kites.

 

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_14464675#ixzz0gfCKxT0M

 

P.S.  For those who need a little Mary Poppins in their lives, tickets are 30% off for select seats and performances.  Just enter code CHIMNEYSWEEP when ordering online  or by calling 303.893.4100.  Hurry – this offer won’t last.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Think you have to be a girl to like Legally Blonde the Musical? Think again! Chris Arneson and Kalen Leikam share their reasons why guys should see LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL here in Denver!

 

5 reasons why guys should see Legally Blonde: The Musical in Denver

By: Chris Arneson

Sure, it’s a musical. Filled with the color pink. And girl-power themes. So, why should a guy want to see it?  I’ll tell you.

 

1. Have you even seen the movie? Watch that, then tell me it’s not hilarious. Plus, you know your guilty pleasure is chick-flicks.

2. Trust me. Your girlfriend would probably flip out if YOU initiated a date to it. There’s some cred right there. It plays on Valentine’s Day, guys, in the heart of downtown Denver…and if you’re a student, tickets are only $25.

3. 4 words: “Bend and Snap” LIVE.

4. Did I mention the “Bend and Snap” is a group number? Filled with cheerleaders?

5. If you plan to go Feb. 2-4, you can get 50% off tickets when you order with the code: PINK. It’s a money-saver!

11 Reasons to See LEGALLY BLONDE!

By: Kalen Leikam

OMG guys! It is like totally my like post on Legally Blonde like from the Buell like on opening night! Eeeek!

Seriously though, Legally Blonde is an amazing show. The first few notes you hear really grab and pull you in. Once it has got you, the show just does not let go. And that is a good thing. Now not being the greatest of writers and America not being huge into reading, I am going to give you 11 reasons to see Legally Blonde. 11 since top ten lists are everywhere and the last point deserves to stand alone! (but it can’t because then not everyone would go see the show like they should, so I included ten other points).

1.  First, my favorite thing about the show. It is pretty darn funny. I don’t mean like the funny that just a few of you think is funny, but genuinely funny. You cannot help but laugh at thing like the bend or snap or Elle’s insults hurled toward Vivienne!
2.  OMG! I totally will be like dropping things, bending and snapping, and just like always like talking like this for like a few days! OMG!
3.  Live animals in a show always melt your heart. The dogs are soooo adorable. And I am a dude. Think about that.
4.  Girls: There is some man candy.
5.  Guys: The girls are definitely rockin’ it.
6.  UPS will never be the same again!
7.  Every show has its defining note. Now Elle can sing, and so she does. But the defining note goes to Vivienne! She has one note that blew me away and will be the note I remember from Legally Blonde. (Sorry Elle!)
8.  Technically the show has many of costume and scene changes and still it was cohesive. The piece did not feel clunky or like it ever just did not connect in a smooth way. The crowd was moved place to place and outfit to outfit seamlessly. (Ha! Like that pun?)
9.  For me, not only does a shows number have to keep me entertained, but my eyes like to be dazzled as well. As I said above, the changes in the show keep me looking from place to place. Whether it was the shoes, and not dance shoes eek, or the new scene, I was always looking at some good stuff!
10.  You keep moving, never slowing down until the curtain falls. Sure everyone will say a show has energy, yet this one really does. Elle’s attitude comes across in the score and you feel it in your heart. And in your toes. I was all jazzed and ready to go out on the town after the show, it really made me move in my seat.
11.  And finally, with all due respect to Galinda—PINK is this year’s green!

Popularity: 12% [?]

By Chris Arneson, Guilty One

 

We’ve all got our junk.

 

But while some have unhealthy obsessions with sports teams, shopping, felines and footwear, my guilty pleasure isn’t too conventional.

 

Hi, my name is Chris…and I love musical theatre.

 

Yeah, I said it. I’m a full-grown straight guy from Wyoming and nothing makes me happier than blasting a cast recording from a Broadway rock musical and simultaneously singing along in my car—something I do rather often. (My inner windshield has horrible spit-splatters to prove it.)

 

But, you see, my favorite tunes aren’t really your grandparents’ idea of “show tunes,” nor are they anything close to the likes of High School Musical, which I cannot tolerate. I tend to stick with an edgier vibe.

 

Ever since I obtained my driver’s license, my vehicle has been my own personal venue. As I grip my steering wheel that doubles as a drum set, my head pounds, and I can release into my own world—eyes open, of course. I’m operating an automobile.

 

This release is key to my sanity. It’s almost as if I live a double life: student-journalist by day, unstoppable leading man by…well, my own time. And the biggest contributor to my one-man show is a musical called SPRING AWAKENING.

 

This show, based off a banned play from the late 1800s, explores the lives of a bunch of German teenagers experiencing all-too-familiar angst and discovering themselves and their sexuality…accompanied by a mixture of hardcore ballads and striking lyricism written by a guy you probably haven’t heard from since the late 1990s, Duncan Sheik. (Look up “Barely Breathing.” It’s his iconic radio tune.)

 

I discovered my future obsession in January 2007 through a free iTunes Discovery Download, which I downloaded simply because it was called “The B**** of Living,” and I was intrigued. I actually thought Spring Awakening was a band.

 

In the months that followed, I obtained the entire CD and became hooked. The more I listened to each song, the more I related to every lyric…and I didn’t even know the show’s synopsis yet.

 

You know how addictions go. Something in those tunes gave me a high, and I was constantly searching the Internet for a fix…whether it was finally discovering the storyline through its Wikipedia page, or searching nightly for hours for clips of anything related to Spring Awakening.

 

The songs were on a constant loop in my car, and I never grew tired of them.

 

I became a guru. I even obtained leather high-top sneakers exactly like the ones worn on stage by the lead character, Melchior, that were oddly enough from a line by rapper Snoop Dogg called “Doggy Biscuitz.”

 

Finally, after more than a year of feeding my obsession through late-night lurking and sporadic show-related purchases, I made it to New York City to see Spring Awakening, still with some of the original cast, live at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in the summer of 2008.

 

My family even stayed in the hotel next door. I literally could have slept on the roof of the theatre if our windows opened more.

 

But I didn’t just see the show. I experienced twice in one week…front row center and what’s called “stage seating,” where audience members actually sit on each side of the stage alongside cast members and fellow fans in wooden chairs from the show, and the rest of the audience gets basically to watch you watch the show…not bad for $50.

 

These two nights in June were one of the pinnacles of my teenage years. As an actor, I had never been so completely mesmerized and blown away by a performance before, watching a cast of people my age leap around a stage in turn-of-the-century German attire shouting, “Totally f*****!” among neon lights and brick walls. I can still visualize sitting on stage while the spotlight simultaneously hit me and the character Moritz as he rocked out with a microphone stand—an act my driver’s seat knew all too well.

 

It was funny to think, just months before I’d seen that same guy getting killed by an arrow on “Lost” as Karl, and now we were feet away from each other.

 

That’s why nothing can top the theatre. I even got to meet the cast and get my Playbill autographed at the stage door after the show, where I was referred to as “the savior with the silver Sharpie,” because I planned ahead and knew the Playbill was mostly black.

 

But even after experiencing Spring Awakening live, my obsession didn’t dwindle. The songs were still my daily vehicular release, and I bore a striking resemblance to Moritz on Halloween.

 

However, in January, just day before I write this, Spring Awakening closed after nearly 900 performances. Embarrassingly enough, it was really tough for me to get through. This show that had helped me through so many tough times and gave me a much-needed release wouldn’t be awaiting my return to Manhattan.

 

I found snippets of the closing night curtain call and speeches as well as pictures of set pieces piled onto the sidewalks of 49^th Street. My wooden stage seat was piled amid others in a truck bed, awaiting shipment away from the Eugene O’Neill.

 

No one really understood my loss, either. Sure, I have some friends who know the show, but they were connected to it as I was. They hadn’t experienced the raw intensity of “The Song of Purple Summer” live, nor had they rocked out to the songs as much.

  

Spring Awakening was a huge part of me for two years, and without it I’m missing an integral piece of myself that wearing a wristband with the show’s logo just can’t replace.

 

And until the national tour makes its way to Denver in December, at least I’ll have my cast recording to rock out to in traffic.

Popularity: 65% [?]

By Emily Edwards, Audience Development Intern

 

Since the age of nine The Denver Center for the Performing Arts has thrilled me with its theatrical performances. Luckily I grew up with parents who shared with me their interest in the theatre.  One of the first shows I remember seeing here was Cats. The lights, music, and amazingly cat like furry leotards remain vivid in my memory. Fortunately CATS  will be coming back to The Denver Center for a limited time in January 2010.

 

This experience early on in life has kept me coming back for more. I have enjoyed various other performances through Denver Center Attractions, and over the last couple years I have become more familiar with the Denver Center Theatre Company and the quality work they provide for the community. One perk of being a student in Denver is the student rush ticket price of just $10 available an hour before these shows with a student ID. I most recently joined other students taking advantage of this offer for The Voysey Inheritance and on Halloween will be joining other 20 and 30 somethings for a Denver Center Fourth Wall event centered on A Raisin in the Sun.

 

I would like to say that I have come to know about all of these events by way of my own exploration, but being an intern in the marketing department at the DCPA has certainly helped. I encourage you to take the initiative and browse the website to find out about all the present and upcoming shows and events.  You don’t want to miss out!

Popularity: 25% [?]

By Charlie Miller, Resident Multimedia Specialist

 

If you haven’t seen our Online Fortune Teller yet, you MUST go check it out!

 

Here’s the deal: I wanted to create something entertaining and interactive online that

would allow audiences to browse through the season’s plays and learn about the different aspects of the productions. We came up with different categories and realized it would be fun for people to choose a category and find their play from there. There are some fun interactive card tricks on YouTube and from that we decided to turn the categories into tarot-like cards, inspired by the awesome season artwork. But then who would read the cards?

 

Growing up in Denver, I saw a lot of productions at the Denver Center Theatre Company. One of my favorites was Thorton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, which was produced when I was in high school in 2002. I’ll never forget Kathleen Brady (a favorite resident actor) as the Fortune Teller in that show. When I found out the costume was still in storage and Katheen was willing to do it, all of the pieces fell into place and the online Fortune Teller was born!

 

Well, first it took many hours of planning, filming, editing, and programming. Using 181 cards in her deck, the Fortune Teller invites viewers to choose categories of plays that pique their interest. Each category leads to another set of options, and eventually the Fortune Teller predicts which of the Denver Center’s ten productions the viewer will attend. The Online Fortune Teller is comprised of 62 final videos, averaging 55 seconds each, that are linked together using 188 YouTube buttons. With dozens of categories from which to choose, there are 124 possible outcomes.

 

I am really excited about the Online Fortune Teller because it is a fun and interactive new way for audiences to explore the plays in our season. We are always trying to find new methods of engaging people, and these interactive videos are really unique. Plus, Kathleen Brady is hilarious!

 

Click here to try it out:

Popularity: 26% [?]

By Barbara Thorngren

 

FACTS, FOOD AND FAMILY. What do these three disparate subjects have to do with the theatre? I’m a tour ambassador, a volunteer who leads  BACKSTAGE TOURS at the arts complex and I was involved with all three of these topics last month. They may not sound like performing arts, but they each play a role.

 

The FACTS are what we tour ambassadors convey to our tour groups. We talk about history, how shows are put together, and how one man’s vision brought us the largest performing arts center under one roof in the country. But, believe me, it’s not boring; the stories behind our civic jewel are interesting and inspiring.

 

In August I was privileged to attend the first reading of the Denver Center Theatre Company’s first play for the 2009/10 season, THE VOYSEY INHERITANCE. That’s where the other two “F’s” come in. The tour ambassadors provide snacks for the cast, crew and other DCTC employees at each first reading. The information we learn there helps us provide insights for our tours into upcoming performances. The 1905 play, adapted by David Mamet, is as timely as anything written last year. When Phil Pleasants introduced himself, he said, “I’m playing Bernie Madoff, oops, Mr. Voysey.” Yes, it’s a play about a Ponzi scheme and how the Voysey family and friends are affected by its revelation. It’s funny and thought-provoking.

 

Now for my “oops”; I forgot one F: It’s FUN to be a DCPA volunteer.

Popularity: 15% [?]

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE recently announced that it is launching a nationwide partnership with Habitat for Humanity.  As the tour travels across the country, the cast and crew are committing to spend time helping on a Habitat build in each city they visit.  They’ll also make a donation of at least $1,500 in each city to help the work of HfH.  They started in early August with a build in the Bronx in New York City – you can see a clip of them working here.

 

LITTLE HOUSE star Melissa Gilbert noted that the message of the musical (and the books and television series that preceded it) is “the importance above all of a home and a strong family” which aligns perfectly the mission of Habitat.

 

We’re very excited to hear about this partnership, and when the show reaches Denver this December, we here at the DCPA will partner with the show and Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver to contribute to Habitat’s efforts here in our city.  This will be especially important in December – hopefully we’ll be able to help a family start a great new year in its new home.

 

Want to learn more about the new musical version of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE?  Visit its website.

Popularity: 16% [?]