Fairly Contrived

Josh Hartwell worked in two movie theaters growing up, so you can bet that his new play, Contrived Ending, will channel the ups and downs of cleaning candy wrappers and more in a venue for the arts. "It's about a character who has gone off to film school, and then it didn't work out," Hartwell says. "He drops out, and he comes back to this town that he lives in and ends up working at the movie theater where other people he knew in high school are still working, and what that does to his ego.

"But it's really about movies," Hartwell continues, "about movie fans and about living your life in the present, the way it is, or being wrapped up too much in fantasy."

Directed by Jim Hunt and starring Rhonda Lee Brown, Jeremy Make, Westworder Stephen J. Burge, Matt Mueller, Paul Page and Jamie Ann Romero, Contrived Ending features a cast and crew that's "just first-choice," according to Hartwell. "It's been so easy to watch, so amazing to watch. I frequently forget that I wrote it because of what a great job these people are doing with my words." The play opens tonight at 8 p.m. at Buntport Theater, 717 Lipan Street, and runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through March 15. Tickets are $18, $16 for students and seniors, and two-for-one on Thursdays. Call 303-601-2640.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: Feb. 15. Continues through March 15, 2008