All You Need Is Love

Billed as a “theatrical song cycle,” Bobby Dartt’s Love Songs for Poomouse first hit the stage in a workshopped version at last summer’s Boulder International Fringe Festival, where it was feted with the Encore Award. Now it will be fully staged at Wesley Chapel on the University of Colorado’s Boulder...

By Susan Froyd

October 13, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Billed as a “theatrical song cycle,” Bobby Dartt’s Love Songs for Poomouse first hit the stage in a workshopped version at last summer’s Boulder International Fringe Festival, where it was feted with the Encore Award. Now it will be fully staged at Wesley Chapel on the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus, starting with tonight’s world-premiere performance at 8 p.m., presented by Square Product Theatre and LaLa Theater Company. And love, pure and simple — or the lack of it — is what makes Love Songs for Poomouse go ‘round, as Dartt deconstructs the theme in the most charming way, accompanying himself on guitar, maracas, sippy straws and other unknown instruments.

“Bobby is charming and funny, but in a very strange way,” says Emily K. Harrison of Square Product. “He kind of wears his heart on his sleeve.” But that’s a tactic that works: Positive feedback from the Fringe performance showed that “people found it refreshing and surprising,” she notes. “Some of the songs were really unexpected.”

See Dartt’s one-man cabaret, strings attached, tomorrow and October 21 (which will double as a singles night, with a pre-show mixer), as well as October 28 and 29; Wesley Chapel is at 1290 Folsom Street in Boulder. Admission is $10 to $12 in advance or $14 cash at the door; for tickets, go to www.squareproducttheatre.org or call 303-442-0234.
Oct. 14-15, 8 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 21, 7 & 9 p.m.; Oct. 28-29, 7 & 9 p.m., 2011

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

Contact: Susan Froyd

Follow:

Facebook: sosfrojd

Twitter: @sosfrojd