DCPA NEWS CENTER
Enjoy the best stories and perspectives from the theatre world today.
Enjoy the best stories and perspectives from the theatre world today.
We try not to repeat ourselves from year to year at the True West Awards. But some selections, while redundant, are simply undeniable. Each year we put out a call for suggestions from the theatergoing public, and this year no one received more support than versatile actors Emma Messenger and Emily Van Fleet. Messenger was a core member of the Arvada Center’s rep company, while Van Fleet’s home base was again the Creede Repertory Theatre 250 miles southwest of Denver. But they both got around in 2018. Consider the considerable cases for each:
Emma Messenger and Sam Gregory in the Arvada Center’s ‘All My Sons.’ Matt Gale Photography
Emma Messenger:
Messenger, who has won three True West Awards and three Henry Awards since 2013, had the year of her life, finally making her overdue debuts at the Arvada Center, Curious Theatre and Denver Center – all in the same year. She landed two Henry Award nominations as Best Supporting Actress for her work as one tough nun in Agnes of God and as a flight attendant who is fired for “excess poundage” in Mud Blue Sky (for which she won). Messenger was alternately described this year as both terrifying and warmhearted in different reviews by Westword’s Juliet Wittman, who added: “Messenger is the kind of actor you can’t take your eyes off even if all she’s doing is reading a grocery list.” Her year culminated with a starring role in Curious Theatre’s The Cake, inspired by the Colorado court case of a baker who refused service to a same-sex couple. Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post called it a brave performance. “Della is a beautifully crafted character, not a simpleton, not a bigot, but a reflective and humane soul with a big heart,” Ostrow wrote. “She follows recipes as exactingly as she follows scripture. Messenger’s range is on display, hilarious to heartbreaking, in a transporting turn.”
Emma Messenger made her Denver Center debut in ‘Marginalia.’ Photo by Adams VisCom.
Critics corner:
The many faces of Emily Van Fleet as Rita in the Arvada Center’s ‘Educating Rita.’ Costume design by Nicole Watts and wig design by Danielle Nicole. Photos by McLeod9 Creative.
Cole Burden and Emily Van Fleet in the Arvada Center’s ‘Sunday in the Park with George.’ Matt Gale Photography.
Emily Van Fleet:
Van Fleet, who won a True West Award last year for her star-making turn as a self-destructive showgirl in Off-Center’s very wild The Wild Party, followed that capstone performance with one compelling role after the other in 2018, including playing both (separate) leading roles in the Arvada Center’s Sunday in the Park with George. In the first act, she played Dot, the 1880s model muse of artist George Seurat. Then she played Dot’s elderly daughter nearly a century later. And believe it or not, all the talk this summer from Creede to Denver was how Van Fleet somehow infused the Dolly Parton character from 9 to 5 with real substance. Van Fleet ended the year opposite longtime Denver Center favorite John Hutton in the Arvada Center’s superb Educating Rita, a 1980s British class comedy about a working-class hairdresser who seeks literature tutoring from a washed-up academic at a public college. Van Fleet and Hutton put on an acting clinic. Wittman called Van Fleet’s rich work “an A-plus performance of a B-level script.” Van Fleet’s Rita, she wrote, “is neither a stereotype nor a symbol. She’s funny, engaging, self-aware and, in some ways, smarter than Frank.” One of the enduring mysteries in the erratic history of the Henry Awards is how Van Fleet, one of the most consistent and acclaimed actors in Colorado, has never even snared as much as a nomination.
You will be able to find both Messenger and Van Fleet this spring in the Arvada Center’s repertory company, running Feb. 1-May 22. Van Fleet will appear as Florie Mae in the world premiere of Sin Street Social Club and as the Moor Hen in The Moors by Jen Silverman. Messenger will play Mrs. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank, Agatha in The Moors; and Angie B in Sin Street Social Club. For information, call 720-898-7200 or go to arvadacenter.org
The True West Awards, now in their 18th year, began as the Denver Post Ovation Awards in 2001. DCPA Senior Arts Journalist John Moore — along with additional voices from around the state — celebrate the entire local theatre community by recognizing 30 achievements from 2018 over 30 days, without categories or nominations. Moore was named one of the 12 most influential theater critics in the U.S. by American Theatre magazine in 2011. His daily coverage of the DCPA and the Colorado theatre community can be found at MyDenverCenter.Org
Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more.
OKWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
Terms & Conditions