Video above: Jeremy Rill as Cole Porter in ‘Red Hot & Cole,’ opening Jan. 26.

Since 2010, Cherry Creek Theatre has performed in the most distinct setting of perhaps any local troupe – inside the Shaver-Ramsey Gallery surrounded by opulent, finely woven Oriental rugs more than likely worth more than the net worth of all the actors combined. But after six years and 18 productions, the company is apparently no longer feeling the (carpet) burn.

Cherry Creek opens its seventh season on Thursday with its first show as the new resident theatre company at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center. The group will perform Red Hot & Cole in the Pluss Theatre, which is the Mizel’s intimate studio theatre. The Shaver-Ramsey Gallery in Cherry Creek North served the company well, but the set and portable lights had to be taken down after every performance so the store could conduct normal business by day. A more permanent venue has been long overdue.

“To continue to provide the quality productions the theatre is known for, and to expand its artistic pursuits, additional space is required,” said Mark Rossman, who co-founded Cherry Creek Theatre with his wife, Maxine. 

Steve Wilson, Executive Artistic Director of the Mizel Arts and Culture Center, said he is overjoyed by the new partnership. “The Rossmans and Cherry Creek Theatre have been a powerful artistic presence in our area, and the MACC is delighted to bring them into our facility to assist in the continued growth of their outstanding work,” he said.

Under Artistic Producer and outgoing Colorado Theatre Guild President Pat Payne, Cherry Creek Theatre has produced an eclectic mix ranging from Proof, Doubt and Twelve Angry Men to musicals including Baby, John & Jen and several Sondheim revues.

Two huge upsides from the move: Free parking at the Mizel, and the ability to schedule more matinee performances. One downside: No Friday performances at the Mizel because of the Sabbath day of rest. Also, the move out of Cherry Creek North, given that the theatre company was specifically created in 2010 to bring live theatre to the shopping district.

“While we would have liked to remain in Cherry Creek North, current redevelopment of the area has made this impossible from a cost standpoint,” Rossman said.  

Red Hot & Cole is a two-act revue that traces Cole Porter’s career from Indiana to the world stages of New York, London, Paris and Venice, through his marriage, his friendships with contemporaries and the tragic riding accident that crippled him mid-career. The score features more than 25 Porter standards, including “Night and Day,” “Anything Goes” and “In the Still of the Night.”

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

Cherry Creek has helped make its name as a legit new company by often incorporating union actors into its productions, which is cost-prohibitive for most comparably sized small companies. The local theatre ecology is teeming with professional-caliber non-union actors. But by committing to hiring – and paying – union actors, Cherry Creek has the full pool of available talent to choose from, and Red Hot & Cole is a primary example. Among the cast of Jeremy Rill, Seth Dhonau, Damon Guerasio, Stephen Day, Matt LaFontaine, Sharon Kay White, Lauren Shealy, Shannan Steele, Susannah McLeod and Olivia James are five members of the Actors Equity union.

Those are some big names. Day starred in the Arvada Center’s La Cage Aux Folles and many others; White just won a True West Award for her work in Sister Act and others at the Arvada Center, and Steele is a very familiar face at the Denver Center, having appeared in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; The Last Five Years; My Way; Animal Crackers; Sweeney Todd, and A Christmas Carol. Likewise, Lauren Shealy has appeared at the Denver Center in Forbidden Broadway; A Christmas Carol; The Doyle and Debbie Show, and Love, Perfect, Change.

The Director is Broadway performer Piper Arpan (Spamalot) and the Music Director is Susan Draus, Music Director of the recent Broadway hit Beautiful, The Carole King Musical and creator of last summer’s interactive party Reunion ’85 at the Lone Tree Arts Center.

“This move into an actual theatre speaks volumes about the passion, commitment and drive of the Cherry Creek Theatre directors and board,” said Steele. “They are such an asset to the arts community here in Denver.”

Cherry Creek Theatre’s inaugural three-show season at the Mizel will include The Baby Dance, directed by Gavin Mayer, March 30-April 30; and Beau Jest, directed by M. Curtis Grittner, Nov. 9-Dec. 10.

Pictured above, clockwise from top left: Stephen Day, Susannah McLeod, Matt LaFontaine and Lauren Shealy.

John Moore was named one of the 12 most influential theater critics in the U.S by American Theatre Magazine in 2011. He has since taken a groundbreaking position as the Denver Center’s Senior Arts Journalist.

Red Hot and Cole: Ticket information
Who: Presented by the Cherry Creek Theatre Company
When: Jan. 26 through Feb. 19
Where: Mizel Arts and Culture Center, 350 S. Dahlia St.
Times: 8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; also 7 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 12 and 19. No Friday perfromances
Tickets $30-$35
Call 303-800-6578 or go to cherrycreektheatre.org

The exterior of the Mizel Arts and Culture Center, home of the Pluss Theatre. Photo by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.