It’s Groundhog Day AND the first Tuesday of February,  which means it’s time for a new episode of “10 Minutes to Curtain”!

This month, Charlie explains why he’s only had time to make 2.5 Minutes to Curtain (hint: it has to do with his work on the new production of When Tang Met Laika). Then, get an exclusive backstage tour of The Denver Center’s Space and Stage theatres, home to the world premiere productions of WHEN TANG MET LAIKA and EVENTIDE. And don’t forget to tune in next week for live video blogs from the 5th Annual Colorado New Play Summit.

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By Douglas Langworthy, Literary Manager, Denver Center Theatre Company

Philip Pleasants and Mike Hartman in Plainsong. Photo by Terry Shapiro.

Here at the Denver Center we are currently mounting EVENTIDE by Eric Schmiedl based on the novel by Kent Haruf, author of the award-winning bestseller Plainsong, which we produced in Eric Schmield’s adaptation a few years back.

What I’ve been thinking about lately is terminology—while it’s true that the events of Eventide occur chronologically after the events in Plainsong, Kent Haruf prefers the term “companion piece” to “sequel.” The term “sequel” implies that you need to have seen the first play/read the first book to fully grasp the meaning of the second and, in this case, nothing could be further from the truth. Both stories stand on their own and tell a complete narrative. Yes, some characters from Plainsong appear in Eventide, but just as Plainsong has a beginning, middle and an end, so does Eventide. It’s true that having seen one enriches the experience of seeing the other, but in truth the plays stand alone and can be seen in any order.

All this got me to thinking about other famous companion pieces of the theatre. Lillian Hellman’s two plays about the greedy Hubbard family come immediately to mind: Another Part of the Forest and The Little Foxes. Forest was written years after Foxes even though in terms of the lives of the characters it chronologically precedes it. Tony Kushner’s Angels in America is composed of two separate plays—Millennium Approaches and Perestroika—but these plays are two halves of a whole (thus the over-arching title Angels in America) and as the action is continuous, should be viewed together to get the maximum impact. The dramatic appearance of the angel at the end of Millennium Approaches heralds (so to speak) the second play, Perestroika. Then there is House and Garden by Alan Ayckbourn, two separate plays played simultaneously by the same group of actors huffing and puffing between two different theatres. These are companion pieces of a sort, as it doesn’t matter which play you see first, but to truly appreciate the skills of the playwright and his acting team you really should see the other.

So to return to Plainsong and Eventide, wouldn’t it be great to produce both companion pieces in the same season using the same actors? To set the two dramas side by side and listen to them speak to one another? To create a true Coloradan event? As both plays have large casts, it would be a costly project, and these days that’s a big hurdle to overcome, but, hey, a guy can dream, right?

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EVENTIDE, a companion piece to Plainsong which premiered at The Denver Center in 2008, starts Friday in The Stage Theatre.  The play is based on Kent Haruf’s novel about a fictional town on the eastern planes of Colorado.  This year, Eventide was selected as part of the “One Book One Broomfield” series.  Here, Broomfield Mayor Patrick Quinn welcomes Eventide author Kent Haruf to talk about his novel:

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It’s George Washington’s 251^st wedding anniversary AND the first Tuesday of January, which means it’s time for a new episode of “10 Minutes to Curtain”

The Denver Center celebrates the New Year with the opening of two world premiere productions; this month, Charlie gives you a behind-the-scenes look at both shows. Meet NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, who talks with the cast of WHEN TANG MET LAIKA about life in zero gravity, and hear from the cast and creative team of EVENTIDE as they revisit familiar characters. Then, look back on five years of the COLORADO NEW PLAY SUMMIT and don’t miss the auditions for the coveted role of Laika the dog.

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In celebration of the first rehearsal of EVENTIDE, which was yesterday, we bring you this video from the latest episode of “10 Minutes to Curtain“.   Here, Broomfield Mayor Patrick Quinn welcomes Eventide author Kent Haruf to talk about his novel as part of the “One Book One Broomfield” series.

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It’s World AIDS Day AND the first Tuesday of December, which means it’s time for a new episode of “10 Minutes to Curtain”!

 
With Thanksgiving past and the holiday season upon us, one thing is certain at The Denver Center: A CHRISTMAS CAROL is up and running. Charlie goes backstage to talk with some actors about the real drama in the production, then climbs up to the catwalks to give you an exclusive birds-eye-view of the complicated scene changes in ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR. Then, join Ann Kron for a tour of her living room on the WELL set and learn about the upcoming world premiere productions of EVENTIDE and WHEN TANG MET LAIKA.

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