It's one thing to give a sentimental nod to an esteemed veteran who for nearly fifty years has earned his living as an actor while instructing generations of up-and-comers. More than a first-rate performer and teacher, however, Tony Church consistently tries to embrace each new role as an opportunity to further his command of the craft. And throughout his nine years with the Denver Center Theatre Company, he's triumphed in

that pursuit. This past season, the former Royal Shakespearean lent insight to the role of Camillo in The Winter's Tale and delightfully ambled through the part of Johnnypateenmike in The Cripple of Inishmaan. But it was his tour de force in Give 'em a Bit of Mystery: Shakespeare and the Old Tradition that epitomized his uncanny ability to forge new magic out of old. The one-man show reawakened the ghosts of Shakespearean acting while fixing Church's place in a proud tradition of consummate -- and always gracious -- skill.