From the Archives: Recreating The Phantom

by Hal Prince The following article by director Harold Prince (1928-2019) was published in Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Applause magazine in November 1991 for the first Broadway engagement in the newly opened Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre — The Phantom of the Opera. It is republished here to commemorate the 35th anniversary of that […]

From Basketball to Broadway: Denver’s Buell Theatre Celebrates 35 Years

35 years after being the first Broadway show to christen the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre, The Phantom of the Opera returns   It started out as an addition to the 1908 Denver Municipal Auditorium and became the highest grossing theatre of its size in the nation. The former Denver Auditorium Arena (1940-1989) was added adjacent […]

Local Legends of the Pit: Jim Harvey and Art Bouton on Returning to The Phantom of the Opera

Local musicians are tapped to step into the orchestra pits of Broadway shows as they tour across the country.   A Denver Orchestra With Deep Roots  Most national Broadway tours travel with only a small core of musicians; the remaining artists are hired locally. It is a model built on trust — trust that a city will […]

5 Tips to Bring Improv-inspired Mindfulness into Your Daily Life

Mindfulness can feel intimidating. But what if presence didn’t require stillness? What if you could use improvisation to return to yourself? For Denver Center for the Performing Arts teaching artist Heather Curran, improv and mindfulness are inseparable. “Improv is the practice of presence through play,” she says. “Mindfulness and meditation can be really daunting, but […]

The (Emergent) Play’s Still the Thing

The Colorado New Play Summit at 20 What follows is an anecdote — “as told to” but hardly apocryphal. During the recently concluded Colorado New Play Summit, a group of theater-fond women, who had walked from their towering apartment building on 15th street to the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex, expressed their concern about the annual […]

5 Tips to Further At-Home Learning Using Theatre Games

Polish your acting chops with theatre-based games you can do outside of the classroom.   Acting classes might have ended, but there’s no reason you can’t continue the excitement and education at home. In fact, theatre games entertain the whole family and/or friend group, even if the others aren’t training to be a performer. Try […]

Denver Center Theatre Company Announces Full Cast and Creative Team for Rock Musical, Next to Normal

DCTC announces cast and creative team for the Tony Award-winning rock musical, Next to Normal, opening in Spring 2026. OFFICIAL TICKETS: Visit the Next to Normal show detail page for verified tickets, seat maps, and pricing. “What moves me most about Next to Normal is its unflinching honesty. This musical invites us to confront the complexities of mental […]

The Best Ways to Relax Before an Audition or Interview

From deep breaths and nutrient-dense food to arriving on time, these five tips can make that next audition or interview go smoothly.   It’s completely normal to be nervous before an audition or interview, but you don’t have to let that control the situation. In fact, calming the nerves before the big event helps tremendously, […]

Denver Mental Health Resources for Teens and Families

The article was originally published in 2022 and updated in 2026. Nearly 1.2 million adults in Colorado have a mental health condition and many don’t have access to help in their communities. Here are some local and national mental health resources. In March 2025, the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Colorado reported that 1,186,000 […]

Refreshed Legacy: The Phantom of the Opera

35 Years After Opening Denver’s Buell Theatre, The Phantom of the Opera Returns in an All-New Production Maybe you saw the original performance on Broadway. Maybe you heard the music on a cassette or CD or through streaming — ripped a track to a mixtape or playlist to sing along to in your car. Or […]