What do drag queens, Shakespearean kings and a roller-skating Greek muse have in common? You can catch them all onstage this summer across Colorado.
Whether you’re looking to catch Broadway-caliber performances in the mountains, witness a play produced in under 24 hours or wander through Arvada sipping wine while watching micro-theater in shop windows, there’s a festival here with your name on it. So grab your calendar and maybe a few snacks for the road because these festivals are worth the drive.
Below, we round up Colorado’s must-see summer theater festivals, organized alphabetically so you can plan your theatrical road trip from A to Z.
24 Hour Play Festival
Friday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.
Curious Theatre Company, 1080 Acoma Street
Curious Theatre Company’s 24 Hour Play Festival is adrenaline-fueled theatrical magic. Over the course of just one day playwrights, directors and actors create six brand-new plays from scratch. This heart-pounding event features a who’s who of Denver theater talent, including the company's artistic director, Jada Suzanne Dixon, playwright Josh Hartwell and actors Brian Landis Folkins and Sheryl McCallum, to name a few. Expect emotional highs, belly laughs and a few chaotic surprises. Bonus: this whirlwind evening also serves as a major fundraiser for one of Denver’s boldest theaters.
And Toto Too Play Crawl
Wednesday, June 18, 5:30 p.m.
Silver Vines Winery, 7509 Grandview Avenue, Arvada
Equal parts progressive theater and bar crawl, this one-of-a-kind event from And Toto too Theatre Company returns to Olde Town Arvada with ten micro-plays by Colorado women playwrights. Presented inside local businesses and paired with drinks and a silent auction, it's grassroots theater at its most fun and feminist. Catch the 13th annual Play Crawl on June 20 and prepare to walk, laugh, and think your way through a powerful night of performance.
Central City Opera
Saturday, June 28, through Sunday, August 3
Central City Opera House, 124 Eureka Street, Central City
Perched high in the mountains, Central City Opera offers a summer of high notes — both literal and metaphorical. Founded in 1932, this festival brings world-class productions to its historic 550-seat opera house, complete with velvet seats and gold-leaf flourishes. Its 2025 lineup includes the riotous comedy The Barber of Seville, the moving new opera The Knock and the Broadway-style romp Once Upon a Mattress. Whether you’re an opera aficionado or a first-timer, the mix of old and new makes this one of the most magical tickets in the state.
Colorado New Play Festival
Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14
Bud Werner Memorial Library, 1289 Lincoln Avenue, Steamboat Springs
Set in the postcard-perfect town of Steamboat Springs, the Colorado New Play Festival is where tomorrow’s plays get their start. For more than two decades, it’s hosted playwrights, actors and directors for a week of intensive development that ends with public readings of fresh new works. This year’s lineup includes plays by nationally acclaimed writers like Noah Diaz, Lauren Gunderson and Carey Perloff, exploring everything from family drama to Shakespeare’s love life.
Colorado Shakespeare Festival
Saturday, June 7, through Sunday, August 10
Roe Green Theatre, University Theatre Building, 1414 Central Campus Mall, Boulder
Since 1958, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival has made Shakespeare come alive for Colorado audiences. This year, the Bard’s words echo indoors as CSF temporarily relocates to the newly refurbished Roe Green Theatre while the iconic Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre undergoes renovations. The 2025 lineup is a study in power and morality, with The Tempest, Richard II and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus all taking the stage. Double-header Sundays let true fans binge two plays in one day. It's a cerebral and spellbinding way to spend a summer weekend in Boulder — complete with mountain views and iambic pentameter.
Creede Repertory Theatre
Saturday, May 24, through Saturday, September 30
Mainstage Theatre, 124 Main Street, Creede and Ruth Humphreys Brown Theatre, 120 Main Street, Creede
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, Creede Repertory Theatre is pulling out all the stops in 2025. The season includes roller-skating fantasy Xanadu, Hitchcockian comedy The 39 Steps, Lauren Gunderson’s moving drama Silent Sky, the enduring musical The Fantasticks and improv favorite Boomtown! Artistic Director Emily Van Fleet’s first season promises a blend of spectacle and soul, including a special 60th anniversary concert and gala. Creede may be small, but its theater punches way above its weight, drawing audiences from across the country for mountain magic and Broadway-quality productions.
Denver Fringe Festival
Wednesday, June 4, through Sunday, June 8
Aurora and Denver
Forget velvet seats and stuffy formality — the Denver Fringe Festival is gloriously unfiltered. Returning for its sixth year over twenty venues in the RiNo Art District, this is where you’ll find clowns, drag queens, immersive art and experimental shows that defy description. The 2025 festival boasts over 75 original productions and 200+ performances, plus a family-friendly KidsFringe, street shows and pop-up performances. It’s Denver’s most unpredictable arts experience, and every ticket supports independent artists.
Durango PlayFest
Tuesday, June 24, through Sunday, June 29
Durango Arts Center, 802 East 2nd Avenue, Durango
Now in its seventh year, Durango PlayFest provides a creative incubator for new plays in the scenic Four Corners region. This year’s selections include works by Ian August, married couple Lucy Wright and William Missouri Downs, Bill Capossere and Andrea Aptecker. With top-tier talent and a focus on community feedback, PlayFest is a can’t-miss destination for theater lovers who want a first look at what’s next.
Little Theatre of the Rockies
Thursday, June 5, through Sunday, July 27
University of Northern Colorado, 501 20th Street, Greeley
The oldest summer stock company west of the Mississippi, Little Theatre of the Rockies continues to impress in its 91st season. Run by the University of Northern Colorado, this festival is a great way to see emerging talent in polished productions. In 2025, it offers a playful peek into musical creation with [title of show], a heartfelt WWII correspondence in Dear Jack, Dear Louise and the hilarious spelling showdown of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
Friday, June 6, through Sunday, October 5
800 Grand Avenue, Grand Lake
If you’ve never watched a Broadway musical in the heart of the Rockies, you’re missing out. Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, based in picturesque Grand Lake, brings crowd-pleasing hits to a state-of-the-art theater. Its current lineup includes Frozen, Guys and Dolls, Footloose, Nunsense and a splashy fundraising cabaret featuring the full company and a sixteen-piece orchestra. It’s wholesome, high-energy fun with a view that’ll knock your hiking boots off.
Theatre Aspen
Thursday, June 12, through Sunday, August 23
Hurst Theatre, 470 Rio Grande Place, Aspen
This festival proves that world-class theater doesn’t have to be confined to big cities or the indoors. Staged in a stunning open-air tent nestled beside the Roaring Fork River, Theatre Aspen presents shows in a setting so beautiful, it sometimes upstages the actors. This year’s lineup includes the soulful Southern journey of Driving Miss Daisy, the ABBA-fueled fun of Mamma Mia! and the legendary jam session of Million Dollar Quartet. It’s high-altitude theater that never compromises on quality.
Whether you’re looking to catch Broadway-caliber performances in the mountains, witness a play produced in under 24 hours or wander through Arvada sipping wine while watching micro-theater in shop windows, there’s a festival here with your name on it. So grab your calendar and maybe a few snacks for the road because these festivals are worth the drive.
Below, we round up Colorado’s must-see summer theater festivals, organized alphabetically so you can plan your theatrical road trip from A to Z.
24 Hour Play Festival
Friday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.
Curious Theatre Company, 1080 Acoma Street
Curious Theatre Company’s 24 Hour Play Festival is adrenaline-fueled theatrical magic. Over the course of just one day playwrights, directors and actors create six brand-new plays from scratch. This heart-pounding event features a who’s who of Denver theater talent, including the company's artistic director, Jada Suzanne Dixon, playwright Josh Hartwell and actors Brian Landis Folkins and Sheryl McCallum, to name a few. Expect emotional highs, belly laughs and a few chaotic surprises. Bonus: this whirlwind evening also serves as a major fundraiser for one of Denver’s boldest theaters.
And Toto Too Play Crawl
Wednesday, June 18, 5:30 p.m.
Silver Vines Winery, 7509 Grandview Avenue, Arvada
Equal parts progressive theater and bar crawl, this one-of-a-kind event from And Toto too Theatre Company returns to Olde Town Arvada with ten micro-plays by Colorado women playwrights. Presented inside local businesses and paired with drinks and a silent auction, it's grassroots theater at its most fun and feminist. Catch the 13th annual Play Crawl on June 20 and prepare to walk, laugh, and think your way through a powerful night of performance.
Central City Opera
Saturday, June 28, through Sunday, August 3
Central City Opera House, 124 Eureka Street, Central City
Perched high in the mountains, Central City Opera offers a summer of high notes — both literal and metaphorical. Founded in 1932, this festival brings world-class productions to its historic 550-seat opera house, complete with velvet seats and gold-leaf flourishes. Its 2025 lineup includes the riotous comedy The Barber of Seville, the moving new opera The Knock and the Broadway-style romp Once Upon a Mattress. Whether you’re an opera aficionado or a first-timer, the mix of old and new makes this one of the most magical tickets in the state.
Colorado New Play Festival
Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14
Bud Werner Memorial Library, 1289 Lincoln Avenue, Steamboat Springs
Set in the postcard-perfect town of Steamboat Springs, the Colorado New Play Festival is where tomorrow’s plays get their start. For more than two decades, it’s hosted playwrights, actors and directors for a week of intensive development that ends with public readings of fresh new works. This year’s lineup includes plays by nationally acclaimed writers like Noah Diaz, Lauren Gunderson and Carey Perloff, exploring everything from family drama to Shakespeare’s love life.
Colorado Shakespeare Festival
Saturday, June 7, through Sunday, August 10
Roe Green Theatre, University Theatre Building, 1414 Central Campus Mall, Boulder
Since 1958, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival has made Shakespeare come alive for Colorado audiences. This year, the Bard’s words echo indoors as CSF temporarily relocates to the newly refurbished Roe Green Theatre while the iconic Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre undergoes renovations. The 2025 lineup is a study in power and morality, with The Tempest, Richard II and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus all taking the stage. Double-header Sundays let true fans binge two plays in one day. It's a cerebral and spellbinding way to spend a summer weekend in Boulder — complete with mountain views and iambic pentameter.
Creede Repertory Theatre
Saturday, May 24, through Saturday, September 30
Mainstage Theatre, 124 Main Street, Creede and Ruth Humphreys Brown Theatre, 120 Main Street, Creede
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, Creede Repertory Theatre is pulling out all the stops in 2025. The season includes roller-skating fantasy Xanadu, Hitchcockian comedy The 39 Steps, Lauren Gunderson’s moving drama Silent Sky, the enduring musical The Fantasticks and improv favorite Boomtown! Artistic Director Emily Van Fleet’s first season promises a blend of spectacle and soul, including a special 60th anniversary concert and gala. Creede may be small, but its theater punches way above its weight, drawing audiences from across the country for mountain magic and Broadway-quality productions.
Denver Fringe Festival
Wednesday, June 4, through Sunday, June 8
Aurora and Denver
Forget velvet seats and stuffy formality — the Denver Fringe Festival is gloriously unfiltered. Returning for its sixth year over twenty venues in the RiNo Art District, this is where you’ll find clowns, drag queens, immersive art and experimental shows that defy description. The 2025 festival boasts over 75 original productions and 200+ performances, plus a family-friendly KidsFringe, street shows and pop-up performances. It’s Denver’s most unpredictable arts experience, and every ticket supports independent artists.
Durango PlayFest
Tuesday, June 24, through Sunday, June 29
Durango Arts Center, 802 East 2nd Avenue, Durango
Now in its seventh year, Durango PlayFest provides a creative incubator for new plays in the scenic Four Corners region. This year’s selections include works by Ian August, married couple Lucy Wright and William Missouri Downs, Bill Capossere and Andrea Aptecker. With top-tier talent and a focus on community feedback, PlayFest is a can’t-miss destination for theater lovers who want a first look at what’s next.
Little Theatre of the Rockies
Thursday, June 5, through Sunday, July 27
University of Northern Colorado, 501 20th Street, Greeley
The oldest summer stock company west of the Mississippi, Little Theatre of the Rockies continues to impress in its 91st season. Run by the University of Northern Colorado, this festival is a great way to see emerging talent in polished productions. In 2025, it offers a playful peek into musical creation with [title of show], a heartfelt WWII correspondence in Dear Jack, Dear Louise and the hilarious spelling showdown of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre's 2023 production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
Courtesy of RDG Photography
Friday, June 6, through Sunday, October 5
800 Grand Avenue, Grand Lake
If you’ve never watched a Broadway musical in the heart of the Rockies, you’re missing out. Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, based in picturesque Grand Lake, brings crowd-pleasing hits to a state-of-the-art theater. Its current lineup includes Frozen, Guys and Dolls, Footloose, Nunsense and a splashy fundraising cabaret featuring the full company and a sixteen-piece orchestra. It’s wholesome, high-energy fun with a view that’ll knock your hiking boots off.
Theatre Aspen
Thursday, June 12, through Sunday, August 23
Hurst Theatre, 470 Rio Grande Place, Aspen
This festival proves that world-class theater doesn’t have to be confined to big cities or the indoors. Staged in a stunning open-air tent nestled beside the Roaring Fork River, Theatre Aspen presents shows in a setting so beautiful, it sometimes upstages the actors. This year’s lineup includes the soulful Southern journey of Driving Miss Daisy, the ABBA-fueled fun of Mamma Mia! and the legendary jam session of Million Dollar Quartet. It’s high-altitude theater that never compromises on quality.
