Cross-Cultural Spree

One thing's for sure: You can pretty much always count on Denver Chicano Renaissance man Gwylym Cano to come up with something completely different. His reputation as a filmmaker is built on the funny 1995 yarn El Corrido de Cherry Creek, but he's also made a name locally as a spoken-word poet and actor, and editor of the late comedian Don Becker's yet-to-be-released autobiography, One Hand Clapping. And through it all, a couple of things linger: A strong sense of place and a wild, black streak of humor. Originally from East L.A., Cano ended up in the Denver arts community after doing some time at Yale, where he must have picked up an affinity for the sophisticated thinking that regularly crosses paths with the power of culture in his works. Cano's new play, the dark comedy Flowers of Evil, billed as a combination of the "philosophy of Baudelaire, with film noir and Aztec legend," clearly takes a similar route: An assassin and a serial killer play chase down Highway 285 through Colorado -- and an unseen terrain of mixed metaphors.

"If you don’t usually like plays, you’ll like this play," Cano says of the production, which he'd ultimately like to take on tour in the future, actually following the course of his protagonists across the state. There's that sense of place again: "It’s what keeps me here. I'm not pretending I'm from somewhere else like some people do."

See Flowers of Evil at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, through July 3, at the Crossroads Theater at Five Points, 2590 Washington Street; admission is $15 in advance or $19 at the door. For reservations and information visit www.denvercrossroads.com or call 303-832-0929.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: June 12. Continues through July 3, 2009