NOTE: At the start of each month, the DCPA NewsCenter offers an updated list of upcoming theatre openings, spotlighting work being presented on stages statewide. Companies are encouraged to submit listings and production photos at least two weeks in advance to the DCPA NewsCenter at jmoore@dcpa.org.

Five intriguing titles for April:

The Nether. The new Benchmark Theatre debuts March 31 with the regional premiere of Jennifer Haley’s serpentine crime drama at Buntport Theater. This haunting sci-fi thriller is described as a virtual wonderland where one can simply log in, choose an identity and indulge your every desire. But when a young detective uncovers a disturbing brand of entertainment in this world, she triggers an interrogation into the darker corners of the imagination. The cast features Haley Johnson, Jim Hunt, Marc Stith, Cameron Varner and Ella Madison. Directed by Rachel Bouchard. Performances 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays through April 23 at 717 Lipan St. Tickets at the door or online at benchmarktheatre.com.

The Gun Show. Playwright EM Lewis takes aim at her own relationship with firearms in And Toto Too Productions’ 12th-season opener at The Commons on Champa, a newly available performing space at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. From a farming community in rural Oregon to the big cities of Los Angeles and New York, The Gun Show features one actor (Mark Collins) sharing Lewis’ unique, middle-ground perspective on the issue with her true stories about America’s favorite and perhaps most dangerous pastime. And Toto Too is Colorado’s only theatre company dedicated exclusively to women’s voices. The Commons on Champa is subsidized in part by the city’s The Next Stage NOW, a public initiative with a mission to enliven, diversify and sustain the downtown arts complex. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays from April 13-29 at 1245 Champa St., 720-583-3975 or andtototoo.org.

Waiting for Godot. When Samuel Beckett’s existential masterpiece opens April 21, the Arvada Center’s first repertory season will be in full swing, joining The Drowning Girls and Bus Stop in the studio theatre. (And Jesus Christ Superstar continues on the mainstage through April 16.) Waiting for Godot, the story of a couple of patient hobos, their hats, boots and a tree, is directed by the Denver Center’s Geoffrey Kent (An Act of God) and features DCPA Education Head of Acting Tim McCracken, Sam Gregory (A Christmas Carol), Josh Robinson and Sam Gilstrap. 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org

Building The Wall. Denver Center commissioned playwright Robert Schenkkan wrote this dystopian play as an immediate and angry response to the presidential election. In it, he imagines us six months into the Donald Trump presidency by invoking George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the Nazi regime. The play focuses on the frontman of the new administration, who loses his humanity amid chaos and martial law. His policies have  resulted in the mass roundup of millions of illegal aliens, with their incarceration overflowing into private prisons and camps reminiscent of another century. Building the Wall, Schenkkan told the DCPA NewsCenter, “is a terrifying and gripping exploration of what happens if we let fear win.” The play is being presented from April 4-19 by Denver’s Curious Theatre, featuring John Jurcheck and Brynn Tucker, at 1080 Acoma St. 303-623-0524 or curioustheatre.org

Evita. Argentina’s controversial First Lady is the subject of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s enduring musical masterpiece, which features Denver actor Lauren Shealy (DCPA’s Forbidden Broadway) in the starring role alongside Broadway actors Miles Jacoby (Che) and Jesse Sharp (Perón). As an illegitimate 15-year-old, Eva escaped her dirt-poor existence for the bright lights of Buenos Aires. Driven by ambition and blessed with charisma, she was a starlet at 22, the president’s mistress at 24, the First Lady at 27, and dead at 33. The director is Gina Rattan, who helmed the recent national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Runs April 13-29 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, just west of Interstate 25 and Lincoln Avenue, 720-509-1000 or lonetreeartscenter.org

THIS MONTH’S THEATRE OPENINGS IN COLORADO:

(Submit your listings to jmoore@dcpa.org)

CONTINUING CURRENT PRODUCTIONS:

Through March 31: Vintage Theatre Productions’ Stella & Lou

At The Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7826 or vintagetheatre.com

Through April 2: The Edge Theatre’s The Nance
1560 Teller St., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or theedgetheatre.com

Through April 2: Millibo Art Theatre’s The Crucible
1626 S. Tejon St., Colorado Springs, 719-465-6321 or themat.org

Through April 2: BiTSY Stage’s The Lass Who Went Out With The Cry Of Dawn: A Celtic Yarn
1137 S. Huron St., 720-328-5294 or bitsystage.com

Through April 8: DCPA Cabaret’s An Act of God
Galleria Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or denvercenter.org READ MORE

Through April 8: Athena Project Arts Festival’s The Wave That Set the Fire
At the Byron Theatre in Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver, 2344 E Iliff Ave., AthenaProjectFestival.org

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

Through April 9: Aurora Fox’s Chinglish
9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 303-739-1970 or aurorafox.org

Through April 9: Performance Now’s Hello, Dolly!
Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, 303-987-7845 or performancenow.org

Through April 9: The Avenue Theater’s Oddville
417 E. 17th Ave., 303-321-5925 or avenuetheater.com

Through April 15: Evergreen Players’ Enchanted April
At Center/Stage, 27608 Fireweed Drive, 303-674-4934 or evergreenplayers.com

Through April 15: Equinox Theatre Company’s Stage Kiss
At the Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., 720-984-0781 or equinoxtheatredenver.com

Through April 15: Curious Theatre’s Constellations
1080 Acoma St., 303-623-0524 or curioustheatre.org READ MORE

Through April 16: Arvada Center’s Jesus Christ Superstar
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org

Through April 30: Miners Alley Playhouse’s A Skull in Connemara
1224 Washington St., Golden, 303-935-3044 or minersalley.com READ MORE

Through April 30: Denver Children’s Theatre’s The Jungle Book
Elaine Wolf Theatre at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center, 350 S. Dahlia St., 303-316-6360 or maccjcc.org

Through May 6: BDT Stage’s Disenchanted
5501 Arapahoe Ave., 303-449-6000 or bdtstage.com

Through May 14: Arvada Center’s Bus Stop
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org READ MORE

Through May 19: Arvada Center’s A Year With Frog and Toad
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org

Through May 21: Off-Center’s Travelers of the Lost Dimension, with A.C.E.
At the Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas St., Aurora, 303-893-4100 or denvercenter.org READ MORE

Through May 21: Arvada Center’s The Drowning Girls
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org

Through May 27: Midtown Arts Center’s Sister Act
3750 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, 970-225-2555 or midtownartscenter.com

Through June 4: Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s 42nd Street
4747 Marketplace Drive, Johnstown, 970-744-3747 or coloradocandlelight.com

ONGOING, MONTHLY or ONE-TIME PROGRAMMING:

ADAMS MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE
Ongoing productions
2406 Federal Blvd., Denver, 303-455-1848 or adamsmysteryplayhouse.com

THE ATHENA PROJECT ARTS FESTIVAL
Through April 8: World-premiere play The Wave That Set the Fire
At the Byron Theatre in the Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver, 2344 E Iliff Ave. INFO

2017 Plays In Progress Series

• April 1 at 1 p.m. and April 8 at 4 p.m.: Beating a Dead Horse by Jennifer Stafford
• April 1 at  4 p.m. and April 2 at 7 p.m.: Famous Last Words by Katherine Millett
• April 8 at 1 p.m. and April 9 at 7 p.m.: Handcrafted Healing by Nancy Beverly

At the Byron Theatre in the Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver, 2344 E Iliff Ave. ticket info

Special Table Reading

• April 2 at 9:30 a.m. and April 3 at 7 p.m.: Honor Killing by Sarah Bierstock

At the Byron Theatre in the Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver, 2344 E Iliff Ave. ticket info

BENNETT COMMUNITY CENTER
April 8-9: Vintage Theatre presents RFK – A Portrait of Robert Kennedy
Starring James O’Hagan Murphy at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, and at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 9.
1100 E. Colfax Ave., Bennett (35 miles east of Denver). 303-856-7830 or vintagetheatre.com

BUNTPORT THEATRE

• Saturday, April 8: Siren Song: A Pirate Odyssey (Monthly theatre for young audiences at 1 and 3 p.m. the second Saturday of each month, through May 13)
• Saturday, April 9: Very Short Stories: International for Stories on Stage, at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive, 303-494-0523 or storiesonstage.org
• Tuesday, April 18: The Great Debate (monthly)
• Wednesday, April 19: The Narrators (a monthly live storytelling show and podcast)
• Friday, April 28: Untitled (in the freight elevator at the Denver Art Museum, monthly)

717 Lipan St., 720-946-1388 or buntport.com

THE CLOCKTOWER CABARET

• Saturdays in April: 1980s Burlesque Tribute: Ladies of the ’80s

D&F Clocktower, 16th and Arapahoe streets, 303-293-0075 or clocktowercabaret.com

DENVER ACTORS FUND

• Sunday, April 9: Screening of the film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, with live pre-screening entertainment for the cast of the Aurora Fox’s upcoming stage production of the stage musical. Entertainment 6:30 p.m.; film at 7.

Alamo Drafthouse Littleton, 7301 S Santa Fe Drive, drafthouse.com

• Sunday, April 30: United in Love: A benefit concert starring Broadway’s Annaleigh Ashford, Andy Kelso and Mara Davi. Featuring Mary Louise Lee, Jodie Langel and Denise Gentilini. Hosted by Eden Lane and Steven J. Burge.

At the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., just west of Interstate 25 and Lincoln Avenue, 720-509-1000 or lonetreeartscenter.org READ MORE

DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

• April 1: Hal Holbrook: Mark Twain Tonight!, Buell Theatre READ MORE INFO
• April 15: Beth Malone: So Far, Galleria Theatre INFO READ MORE
• April 28 and May 12: Cult Following & SCRIPTprov™, Jones Theatre INFO
• April 29 and May 13: Cult Following: Rated G, Jones Theatre INFO

Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or denvercenter.org

LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER: BOULDER

• Saturday, April 29: Giving Motherhood a Microphone
  

One-day live staged-reading event where local writers share their stories of motherhood. At Unity of Boulder, 2855 Folsom, Boulder, listentoyourmothershow

LONE TREE ARTS CENTER

• Sunday, April 30: United in Love: A concert benefiting the Denver Actors Fund

Starring BROADWAY’S Annaleigh Ashford, Andy Kelso and Mara Davi. Featuring Mary Louise Lee, Jodie Langel and Denise Gentilini. Hosted by Eden Lane and Steven J. Burge.
10075 Commons St., just west of Interstate 25 and Lincoln Avenue, 720-509-1000 or lonetreeartscenter.org

PHAMALY THEATRE COMPANY

• April 1-2: James and the Giant Peach

At The Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7826 or the dairy.org

THE SOURCE THEATRE COMPANY

• Every third Monday: Monday! Monday! Monday! Cabaret

At Su Teatro Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive, 720-238-1323 or thesourcedenver.org

STORIES ON STAGE

• Saturday, April 9: Very Short Stories: International

Flash fiction from around the world. Stories will be performed by Erin Rollman, Hannah Duggan, Erik Edborg and Brian Colonna of Buntport Theatre.
1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive, 303-494-0523 or storiesonstage.org

SU TEATRO

• April 18- 29: Wordfest

Su Teatro’s third annual festival of readings of new work, presentations and performances
721 Santa Fe Drive, 303-296-0219 or su teatro’s home page