Now Playing

Pride and Prejudice. To turn Jane Austen's novel into a play, writer Jon Jory chose an approach somewhat reminiscent of reader's theater. At the Denver Center, the story of the vulgar Mrs. Bennet's attempt to marry off her five daughters, and how witty, spirited Elizabeth and her good-hearted sister Jane find love despite all, is told on an almost bare stage, with two-dimensional-feeling scenery. In the book, depth and context are supplied by the voice of the author-narrator, and one of its great delights is the sense that beneath the elaborate social veneer, passionate human hearts are beating. But Nisi Sturges, who plays Elizabeth, tends to be an external actress, and her Mr. Darcy has very little to do or say; he's confined to standing around watching the others, or listening while Lizzie scolds him. There's no sensuality in either portrayal, and you never feel for a minute that these two are fighting a strong attraction toward each other. The same can be said for Jane and her beloved, Bingley. Adding to the artificiality, some of the roles are double-cast — including the central part of Bingley, and it's distracting to see the same actor pop up later as Bingley's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Presented by the Denver Center Theatre Company through December 15, Stage Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 303-893-4100, www.denvercenter.org. Reviewed December 6.

Starship Troy: Fame. By 8 p.m. the place is jammed. The audience looks young, some as young as high--schoolers, others in college; there are couples, gay and straight, and a scattering of older folk. Starship Troy is one of Buntport's informal efforts to create cheap, fun, accessible theater. It is a dramatized cartoon, each episode lasting about 45 minutes. The premise: A dump truck orbits space on a mission to clean things up. Its addled crew includes all the usual Buntport suspects: Erik Edborg, who for some reason has dryer-duct tubing sticking out of his front and who cuddles a white stuffed animal; cynical Hannah Duggan; Erin Rollman as an expressionless android (watching Rollman trying to remain expressionless is a comic feast); half-ape Brian Colonna; and Evan Weissman as something, well, something epicene and highly sexualized. An audience member volunteers as Ensign McCoy, who — in a tribute to South Park's Kenny, and perhaps to the Goon Show's Bluebottle before him ("You have deaded me again!") — gets killed in every show. This is throwaway theater in the best sense. If a line thuds to earth, no matter; it's gone as soon as it's said. If a piece of business is pure brilliance — too bad! It'll never be seen again, either. But what the hell, there's always another episode. Presented by Buntport Theater every Tuesday and Wednesday through May, 717 Lipan Street, 720-946-1388, www.buntport.com. Reviewed November 15.

White Christmas. This production has its origins in Irving Berlin's patriotic music, post-World War II euphoria, and a cultural-artistic worldview that saw all military officers as bluff, benign father figures, and postulated that most of life's problems could be fixed by putting on a show in the barn. The 1954 film, despite Irving Berlin's wonderful songs and the star power of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Allen and Rosemary Clooney, is almost unwatchable today. This script is by Paul Blake of the St. Louis Municipal Opera and — surprisingly — David Ives, author of the verbally dexterous, hyper-clever set of one-acts called All in the Timing. Although the script tightens the movie's plot a bit, it remains silly and insubstantial: A couple of cynical song-and-dance guys fall in love with a pair of singing sisters; misunderstandings ensue and get resolved; everyone comes together at the end to help the men's beloved onetime Army commander, who's trying without success to keep a Vermont inn solvent, despite an unseasonal shortage of snow. This production is glitzy and practiced, and it doesn't achieve its desired effect until the end of the first act, when the cast joins forces for "Blue Skies," one of the most exuberant songs in the universe. Act two begins on an equal high with "I Love a Piano" — another breathtaking number, beautifully choreographed by Patti Colombo, in which male and female tappers join forces in a joyful and prolonged celebration of music and dance. If you're willing to put the reasoning part of your brain to sleep for a couple of hours and indulge in pink-tinged Christmas nostalgia, this is the show for you. Presented by the Denver Center Theatre Company and Denver Center Attractions through December 30, Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 303-893-4100, www.denvercenter.org. Reviewed December 6.