The Pulitzer Prize – Substance or Shadow?

I have never bought a book, read a poem or seen a play because it was by a Pulitzer winner. — Ben Brantley, Former Theatre Critic, The New York Times As a child of the 60s, I lived through the heyday of Award shows. Family and friends would gather as if for a holiday, dressed […]

15 Years Later, Off-Center is Still Serving Up Its Tasty Recipe

Fifteen years zips by in the most confounding ways. Ask any parent buying a dress and hiring a deejay for their daughter’s Quinceañera. Or ask Charlie Miller, the Executive Director and Curator of Off-Center — celebrating its 15th anniversary — who has been doing some marveling about how its early years feel like yesterday and […]

‘Displaced but Not Erased’

In 1969, as in so much of the country, residents of the largely Latino neighborhood of Auraria were in turmoil. Many young Latinos were being shipped off to Vietnam. Civil rights movements were in full swing, including the Chicano Movement led in Denver by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, founder of the Crusade for Justice. In 1969, […]

Aurarian Learned Early the Value of Community

Frances Torres calls the first 19 years of her life, when she lived in the West Denver neighborhood of Auraria, the most developmental. Growing up in that Old Westside community as daughter of the Mayor of 9th Street shaped the value she has always placed on education, influenced her career and formed the foundation of […]

Activity Central: Disney’s The Lion King

  As one of the most beloved films and musicals of all times, Disney’s The Lion King has charmed the child in all of us. To complement our Denver engagement, Disney Theatrical Productions has provided coloring sheets, a family activity packet, a study guide, trivia, fun facts, and more. Make the most of your experience at The […]

Setting the Stage for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Longtime Denver Center Theatre Company patrons are used to being close to the action for shows in the Kilstrom Theatre — from food fights and space orbits to taking a shower and cooking in a kitchen. This 380-seat theatre-in-the-round has only seven rows, creating an intimate connection between actor and audience. In Tennessee Williams’ Cat […]

Un-shuck Your Creativity

Puns can be so corny, but a-maize-ingly they continue to pop up regularly in conversation. In fact, I just delivered three…all at the expense of Shucked, a Broadway tour about — of all things — corn. Described as a “corn-fed, corn-bred American musical,” Shucked plays the Buell Theatre Oct. 7-19, 2025. Make sure to get […]

A Conversation with Julie Taymor

Excerpted from The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway by Julie Taymor   Julie Taymor on the Challenges of Translating the Film Version to the Stage “To maintain the integrity of my own style, while incorporating it into one of the most beloved stories in recent history, was the first challenge to contemplate. With preconceptions […]

Join the Circle of Life

A Guide to the Amazing Opening Scene of The Lion King on Tour “Circle of Life,” The Lion King’s jaw-dropping, much-talked-about opening number, introduces a menagerie of animals who stride, leap, gallop and dance across the stage. A closer look reveals the creative magic at work behind this breathtaking bit of stagecraft. 1 LET’S GIVE […]

Specialty Nights Introduce Youth to Live Theatre

It is likely no surprise that the performing arts industry was reshaped by COVID. Costs continue to outpace revenue, cuts to federal funding are forcing organizations to reprioritize, and, according to Theatre Facts 2023, national attendance at theatrical productions is down 22% since 2019. As concerning as the report is, a separate report by JCA […]