Theatre News: Heritage Square stars' 'Miracle': Colorado Shakes posts record

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This photo was taken at closing night of the Heritage Square Music Hall in Golden on Dec. 31, 2013. Annie Dwyer, left,, and T.J. Mullin. Photo by John Moore.


The Candlelight Theatre Company in Johnstown has announced that its upcoming holiday show, Miracle on 34th Street, will feature T.J. Mullin and Annie Dwyer, who starred together for nearly two decades at the now closed Heritage Square Music Hall in Golden. This will be the first time the local mainstays have performed since the Music Hall closed on Dec. 31.

Mullin, a renowned tenor and Dwyer, a renounded stage minx, will play Kris Kringle and Doris Walker. “They are Colorado theater royalty, and we’ve got them,” the Candlelight said in making the announcement.

Miracle features a score by Meredith Willson, whose The Unsinkable Molly Brown is currently being relaunched at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts through Oct. 26. Miracle, based on the Christmas movie of the same name, plays Nov. 13-Dec. 31 at the Candlelight, located about 45 miles straight north of Denver on I-25. Call 970-744-3747 or go to www.coloradocandlelight.com

 
Other local theatre news:

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is reporting an all-time record for gross box-office receipts for its just closed 57th season. The Festival generated $831,155 in total ticket sales, surpassing the previous record by more than $30,000.

“We as a team are immensely proud of the work we did this season and the course we are on for the future as we approach our 60th season in 2017,” Producing Artistic Director Timothy Orr said in a statement.

The announcement did not include actual attendance figures. Attendance at outdoor Shakespeare festivals has declined about 60 percent over the past 20 years, according to The Institute of Outdoor Drama Reports. The Colorado Shakespeare Festival bottomed out in 2012, at 21,703. That represented a 31 percent decline over just four years. Orr served the 2013 season as interim artistic director and stemmed the fall, posting a 10.3 percent attendance increase, to 23,861.

While Orr said that while he expects to finish the season “solidly in the black,” official figures for 2014 won’t be available until the end of December. 

“The college is very happy about the outcome of last season. We’re already looking forward to next season, and beyond to the 60th anniversary,” said Steven Leigh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Orr was named permanent Artistic Director in April. The decision was the subject of controversy in Boulder because it went against the recommendation of the school’s  selection committee. But today’s news brought Orr a ringing endorsement from Leigh.

“Tim Orr’s leadership has been a key part of our success, including contributing significantly to our academic mission,” Leigh said.

The festival will announce its 2015 lineup on Nov. 2.

Started in 1958, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival has made it a priority to complete the entire Shakespeare canon for a second time by the time it celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2017.  To accomplish that, expect more “special event stagings,”  such as last summer’s Henry IV, Part 2. That rarely performed history was staged for two special  “original practices” performances — with natural lighting, minimal costuming and rehearsals, live music and cue scripts.

This week’s Running Lines audio podcast:

John Moore talks with playwrights Jeremy Palmer and Ed Mills as well as director J Murray d’Armand of Wit Theatre Company about the Denver premier of “L.A. Diner.” It is set at a little diner in 1962 Hollywood near where Marilyn Monroe is making her final film, “Something’s Got to Give.” A swath of characters mix and mingle while learning you have to be the answer to your own prayer.” Just push play.

And finally …

Miscast 2014, a benefit for the Denver Actors Fund, will be held at 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 29, at the Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave. That’s a returning tradition where local actors perform in roles they would never be cast to perform in real life. To order tickets, click here, or call 303-739-1970. To bid on fun auction items, click here.

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