Randy Harrison as the Emcee and the 2016 national touring cast of Roundabout Theatre Company’s ‘Cabaret.’ Photo by Joan Marcus.

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

Seven recommended shows to watch in September:

In Final Fight of the Freedom Fighter, Theo Wilson plays the charismatic leader of a new human-rights movement who wrestles with his soul to do the right thing. Playwright Jeff Campbell and director donnie l. betts have interwoven the wisdom of Audre Lorde, Howard Zinn, Sitting Bull and Cesar Chavez into a dialogue about contemporary American concerns. Plays Sept. 2-10 at the Aurora Fox Arts Center. Call 303-739-1970 or go to the aurora fox’s home page.

Boulder’s The Catmounts open their 2016-17 season with the political comedy The Taming, written by Lauren Gunderson (whose The Book of Will gets its world premiere at the DCPA next January.) In The Taming, a Miss America contestant has political aspirations to match her pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the U.S. government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator’s aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough – and a bleeding-heart liberal blogger. This is the first production since The Catamounts’ pledge to produce at least one play per season by a female, LGBTQ or non-white playwright. Directed by Edith Weiss. Plays Sept. 16-Oct. 8 in the newly remodeled Carsen Theater at the Dairy Arts Center.

Water by the Spoonful, the second chapter in Pulitzer-winner Quiara Alegría Hudes’ trilogy that follows a haunted Puerto Rican soldier from North Philadelphia to Iraq and back, opens Sept. 3 and runs through Oct. 15 at 1080 Acoma St. In a far corner of the internet, the soldier’s mother leads a chat room for recovering drug addicts. From behind their screens, these individuals forge a bond as strong as blood. Off the computer, however, the mother’s real-life family is falling apart. Her son has returned from Iraq both physically and emotionally broken, and the family’s matriarch is dying of cancer. The accomplished cast includes DCPA masters graduate Gabriella Cavellero, Abner Genece, Damon Guerrasio, William Hahn, GerRee Hinshaw, Thony Mena and DCPA Teaching Artist Jenna Moll Reyes.

Tartuffe marks the launch of the Arvada Center’s new resident theatre company from Sept. 30-Nov. 6 in the studio theatre. Moliere’s famous farce, directed by Lynne Collins, mercilessly and mirthfully skewers hypocrites and the fools who believe in them. The all-star local cast includes DCPA favorites Sam Gregory and Leslie O’Carroll (A Christmas Carol); Michael Morgan, Sean Scrutchins, Emily Van Fleet, Kate Gleason, Anthony Adu, Josh Robinson and DCPA Teaching Artist and Cult Following improv-comedy expert Jessica Austgen. This production includes a delicious casting twist. O’Carroll will miss the final two weeks of performances to begin her latest turn as Mrs. Fezziwig at the DCPA. At that point, her big-shot husband Steve Wilson (Producing Artistic Director of the Mizel Arts and Culture Center and also a graduate of the DCPA’s National Theatre Conservatory), will take over O’Carroll’s role as Madame Pernelle – which ought to be tons of fun. 

In Off-Center‘s one-night-only This is Modern Art, a special collaboration with Kevin Coval and Idris Goodwin, graffiti artists set out to make their voices heard and alter the way people view the world. This performed reading includes a DJ and spoken-word poetry on Sept. 15 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, located on the corner of 15th and Delgany streets.

Last week, the Denver Actors Fund passed the $50,000 mark in funds distributed to Colorado artists in situational medical need. The non-profit’s major annual fundraiser is Miscast, where some of the local theatre community’s top performers sing songs and act out scenes they would never … ever! … get cast to perform on any legitimate stage. (Check the lineup here.) The Sept. 26 party, hosted by Damon Guerrasio and Eric Mather, will include audience games and prizes valued at more than $1,200. At the Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 W. Main St., Littleton, 303-794-2787 or townhallartscenter.org

And here’s a shout-out to the courageous who dare to present a new and unknown play during the biggest and busiest month of the new theatre season. The oddly titled dark comedy theMumblings tells of the marriage between a gay children’s performer and a straight anthropologist. Accomplished area actors Lauren Bahlman and Matthew Blood-Smyth play the couple as well as the many characters in their lives. New York playwright Dan Kitrosser’s story deals with the vitality of self-love, non-traditional marriage and overcoming fear in the wake of sexual assault. Plays Sept. 24-Oct. 8 at The Bakery, 2132 Market St.

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are more theatre openings in Setember than there are days in the month. Here are all your options in one handy list:  

THIS MONTH’S THEATRE OPENINGS IN COLORADO:

(Submit your listings to jmoore@dcpa.org)

Sept. 1-11, 2016 Upstart Crow’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-442-1415 or theupstartcrow.org

Sept. 2-24, 2016: Buntport Theater’s Middle Aged People Sitting in Boxes (pictured right)
717 Lipan St., 720-946-1388 or buntport.com

Sept. 2-10: Aurora Fox’s Final Fight of the Freedom Fighter
9900 E. Colfax Ave., 303-739-1970 or aurorafoxartscenter.org

Sept. 2-24: The Avenue Theater’s The Money Shot
417 E. 17th Ave., 303-321-5925 or avenuetheater.com

Sept. 2-Nov. 5: Midtown Arts Center’s Motones vs. Jerseys
3750 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, 970-225-2555 or midtownartscenter.com

Sept. 2-Oct. 1: Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre’s Million Dollar Quartet
800 Grand Ave, Grand Lake, 970-627-3421 or rockymountainrep.com

Sept. 2-24: Thin Air Theatre Company’s The Foreigner
139 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, 719-689-3247 or thinairtheatre.com

Sept. 3-Oct. 15: Curious Theatre’s Water by the Spoonful
1080 Acoma St., 303-623-0524 or curioustheatre.org

Sept. 4-26: The Bug Theatre’s Miss Witherspoon
3654 Navajo St., 303-477-9984 or bugtheatre.info

Sept. 8-Oct. 1: OpenStage Theatre Company’s La Bête
Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins, 970-484-5237 or openstagetheatre.org

Sept. 9-Oct. 2: Arvada Center’s Sister Act
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org

Sept. 9-Oct. 9, 2016: Town Hall Arts Center’s Once Upon a Mattress
2450 W. Main St., Littleton, 303-794-2787 or townhallartscenter.org

Sept. 9-Nov. 12: BDT Stage’s Mid-Life 2! (#WhatDidIComeInHereFor)
5501 Arapahoe Ave., 303-449-6000 or bdtstage.com

Sept. 9-Oct. 16: Miners Alley Playhouse’s God of Carnage
1224 Washington St., Golden, 303-935-3044 or minersalley.com

Sept. 9-24:  Funky Little Theater Company’s Trash
2109 Templeton Gap Road, Colorado Springs, 719-425-9509 or funkylittletheater.org

Sept 9-25: Performance Now’s Bye Bye Birdie
Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, 303-987-7845 or performancenow.org

Sept. 9-25: StageDoor Theatre’s Steel Magnolias
25797 Conifer Road, Conifer, 303-838-0809 or stagedoortheatre.org  

Sept. 10-25: TheatreWorks’ Constellations
3955 Regent Circle, Colorado Springs, 719-255-3232 or theatreworkscs.org

Sept. 16-Oct. 16: DCPA Theatre Company’s The Glass Menagerie
Ricketson Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or denvercenter.org

Sept. 16-Oct. 8: Catamount Theatre ‘s The Taming
At the Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7826, 720-468-0487 or thecatamounts.org

Sept. 16-Oct. 9: Evergreen Chorale’s My Fair Lady (pictured right)
At Center/Stage, 27608 Fireweed Drive, 303-674-4002 or evergreenchorale.org

Sept. 16-Oct. 16: Germinal Stage-Denver’s The Tracks Home
At the 73rd Avenue Playhouse, 7287 Lowell Blvd., 303-455-7108 or germinalstage.com

Sept. 16-Oct. 30: Vintage Theatre’s Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, The Musical
1468 Dayton St., Aurora, 303-839-1361 or vintagetheatre.com

Sept. 16-Oct. 23: Vintage Theatre’s The Oldest Boy (with Theatre Esprit Asia)
1468 Dayton St., Aurora, 303-839-1361 or vintagetheatre.com

Sept. 16-25: Longmont Theatre Company’s I Ought To Be In Pictures
513 Main St., Longmont, 303-772-5200 or longmonttheatre.org

Sept. 16-Oct 1: Millibo Arts Theatre’s Oddville: Happiness Comes in a Cardboard Box
1626 S. Tejon St. Colorado Springs, 719-465-6321 or themat.org

Sept. 17-Oct. 16, 2016: BiTSY Stage’s The Fortune Teller’s Fortune: A Tale From Nicaragua
1137 S. Huron St. Denver, 720-328-5294 or bitsystage.com (Admission is free)

Sept. 22–Nov. 13, 2016: Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s Evita
4747 Marketplace Drive, Johnstown, 970) 744-3747 or coloradocandlelight.com

Sept. 23-Oct. 9: Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s Ripcord
Grace Gamm Theater at the Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7826 or betc.org

Sept. 23-Oct. 2: square product theatre company and CU Theatre & Dance’s 44 Plays for 44 Presidents
University Theatre, University of Colorado-Boulder campus, 303-492-8008 or colorado.edu

Sept. 23-Oct. 16: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s Shear Madness
30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, 719-634-5581 or csfineartscenter.org

Sept. 24-Oct. 8: Wide Eyed West’s theMumblings
At The Bakery, 2132 Market St., wideeyedproductions.com

Sept. 24-Oct. 16: Bas Bleu’s The Blue Flower
401 Pine St., Fort Collins, 970-498-8949 or basbleu.org

Sept. 27-Oct 9, 2016: Roundabout Theatre Company’s Cabaret 
Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or denvercenter.org

Sept. 30-Oct. 30: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, 719-634-5581 or csfineartscenter.org

Sept. 30-Nov. 6: Arvada Center’s Tartuffe
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org

Sept. 30-Oct. 16: Inspire Creative & Parker Arts Monty Python’s Spamalot
At the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, Parker 303-805-6800 or parkerarts.org

Sept. 30-Oct. 30: Thin Air Theatre Company’s Cripple Creep Show
139 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, 719-689-3247 or thinairtheatre.com

Sept. 30-Oct. 15, 2016: Thunder River Theatre Company’s Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
67 Promenade, Carbondale, 970-963-8200 or thunderrivertheatre.com

CONTINUING CURRENT PRODUCTIONS:

Through Sept. 2: Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre’s Almost Maine
Famous Performing Arts Center, 131 W Main St., Trinidad, 719-846-4765 or scrtheatre.com

Through Sept 3: Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre’s Little Women
Famous Performing Arts Center, 131 W Main St., Trinidad, 719-846-4765 or scrtheatre.com

Through Sept. 3: BDT Stage’s Footloose
5501 Arapahoe Ave., 303-449-6000 or bdtstage.com

Through Sept. 3: Equinox Theatre Company’s The Toxic Avenger: The Musical
At the Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., 720-984-0781 or equinoxtheatredenver.com

Through Sept. 4: Germinal Stage-Denvers The Road to Mecca
At the 73rd Avenue Playhouse, 7287 Lowell Blvd., 303-455-7108 or germinalstage.com

Through Sept. 4: Vintage Theatre ‘s Frankie and Johnnie in the Claire de Lune (pictured right)
1468 Dayton St., Aurora, 303-839-1361 or vintagetheatre.com

Through Sept. 4: Breckenridge Backstage’s Hairspray
At the Riverwalk Center, 150 W. Adams Ave., Breckenridge, 970-453-0199 or backstagetheatre.org

Through Sept. 4: Creede Repertory Theatre’s The History Room
124 Main St., Creede, 81130, 719-658-2540 or go to creederep.org

Through Sept. 11: DCPA Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera
At the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or denvercenter.org

Through Sept 11: Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s The Wizard Of Oz
4747 Marketplace Drive, Johnstown, 970-744-3747 or coloradocandlelight.com 

Through Sept. 17: Creede Repertory Theatre’s Private Lives

124 Main St., Creede, 81130, 719-658-2540 or go to creederep.org

Through Sept. 18: Lake Dillon Theatre Company’s First Date
At the Outlets at Silverthorne, 246-X Rainbow Drive, Silverthorne, 970-513-9386 or lakedillontheatre.org

Through Sept. 24: Spotlight Theatre’s Suddenly Last Summer (pictured right)
At the John Hand Theatre, 7653 E. First Place, 720-880-8727 or thisisspotlight.com

Through Sept. 25: The Edge Theatre Company’s Murder Ballad
1560 Teller St., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or theedgetheater.com

Through Oct. 2: Jesters Dinner Theatre’s Oklahoma
224 Main St., Longmont, 303-682-9980 or jesterstheatre.com

Photo credits: ‘The Taming,’ provided by The Catamounts; Leslie O’Carroll and Steve Wilson of ‘Tartuffe,’ by John Moore; Laura Chavez Slack in ‘Miscast 2015,’ by John Moore; Erin Rollman in ‘Middle Aged People Sitting in Boxes,’ provided by Buntport Theater; Colleen Lee as Eliza Doolittle in ‘My Fair Lady,’ by John Gaudreau; Kelly Uhlenhopp and Andrew Uhlenhopp in ‘Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune,’ by Christine Fisk/DenverMind Media; Maggy Stacy and James O’Hagan-Murphy in ‘Suddenly Last Summer,’ by Soular Radiant Photography.

ONGOING, MONTHLY or ONE-TIME PROGRAMMING:

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

ARVADA CENTER
Sept. 15: 40th Anniversary community celebration
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., 720-898-7200 or arvadacenter.org

BUNTPORT THEATRE

Sept. 20: Buntport’s attempt at Ted Talks
Sept. 21: The Narrators (a live storytelling show and podcast)
Sept. 26: The Great Debate: Food Court vs. People’s Court
Sept. 30: Untitled at the Denver Art Museum
717 Lipan St., 720-946-1388 or buntport.com

COLORADO SPRINGS THEATREWORKS
Sept. 18-21: TheatreWorks’ The Tempest, a concert reading with Tina Packer
3955 Regent Circle, Colorado Springs, 719-255-3232 or theatreworkscs.org

OFF-CENTER
Sept. 15: This is Modern Art, a collaboration with Kevin Coval and Idris Goodwin
At the Museum of Contemporary Art, 15th and Delgany streets
303-893-4100 or denvercenter.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
Sept. 18: Dogs vs. Cats
1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive, 303-494-0523 or storiesonstage.org
A portion of each ticket will be donated to the Denver Animal Shelter
Performers include DCPA Director of Education Allison Watrous, and actors Chip Persons and John Jurcheck

TOWN HALL ARTS CENTER
Sept. 26: Miscast 2016, a benefit for the Denver Actors Fund
2450 W. Main St., Littleton, 303-794-2787 or townhallartscenter.org