Chloe McLeod in Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. Photo by McLeod9 Creative

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ commitment to community performances goes back before Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, before its DCPAccess $10 ticket program, even before its founding in 1979.

In fact, the very fabric of the DCPA was rooted in community because its benefactress, the late Helen Bonfils, made it her mission.

When Miss Helen, as she was fondly called, inherited The Denver Post from her father Frederick in 1933 she began producing The Denver Post Operas in Cheeseman Park. These free public performances continued when DCPA founder Donald R. Seawell stepped in as President-then-Publisher of The Denver Post (1966 to 1981). He then extended his commitment to providing professional quality performing arts by conceiving of and creating the Denver Performing Arts Complex, which then-Mayor Bill McNichols called the “greatest gift ever given to the city of Denver.”

Fast forward to 2023, and that same commitment to community connection continues with Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. Launched as a high school program in 2015/16, the program has expanded to public performances at libraries, civic centers and parks. Held each fall and spring, DCPA Education and Community Engagement present adaptations of three Shakespearean plays in repertory — A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth.

Now in its eighth year, the program has reached more than 70,000 people in schools and public spaces. Spring performances run April 8-May 15; locations and times are noted below. Head out to your local park or community center for a lively, 90-minute performance and share Shakespeare with your neighbors…the way it was intended to be.