Bustin' At the Seams

Reyna Von Vett didn’t have to look far for inspiration for her brand-new show, Leadville or Bust! She lives in Curtis Park, and “got to talking to some of the members of the Curtis Park community. I was chatting with Ken Miller, who lives right around the corner, and we were talking about his strange little music collection. I came over one day, and he played me these funny, bawdy, naughty songs.”

So Von Vett mailed some of the music to a former co-worker, Wendell Vaughn, who is currently on tour with MAMMA MIA! She missed working with her co-stars from The Taffetas (who, as the Hell’s Belles, are now playing parts in Leadville or Bust!), so she also asked Vaughn to add backups to the songs. “And it started coming back to me with three-part harmony, four-part harmony in sections — everything that’s started with this show started with this little seed of an idea, and through my friends and contacts, it’s gotten bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s turned into this all-singing, all-dancing, four-part extravaganza.”

Von Vett plays the madam in this painstakingly researched tale of a turn-of-the-century dance hall. “It’s going to be clean, dirty fun,” she explains. “I’m keeping it on the decent side of indecent.”

Catch the premiere of Leadville or Bust! tonight at 7:30 p.m.; the show plays Tuesdays and Wednesdays through August 13 at Crossroads Theater, 2590 Washington Street; tickets are $19. Call 303-832-0929 or visit www.denvercrossroads.com or www.leadvilleorbust.com. Read our blog on the production here.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: July 22. Continues through Aug. 13, 2008