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Jim Lillie

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Latest Articles

Unnatural Acts

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival fails again with As You Like It.

By Jim Lillie
Aug 2, 2001

The plot of Shakespeare's As You Like It resembles that of a summer romance movie. Unfortunately, the Disneyfied version being presented by the Colorado Shakespeare Festival cheapens the play's gentle beauty and robs the dialogue of its richness. As directed by Lynn Nichols, the show is riddled with drawn-out special...
A Commanding Performance

Joyce Castle rules the stage in the Central City Opera's Gloriana.

By Jim Lillie
Aug 2, 2001

When the Central City Opera revived Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe a few seasons back, thunderous applause and full-voiced cheers filled the tiny theater for a full five minutes as a steady barrage of flower bouquets, many hurled from the far reaches of the balcony, showered the stage...
Ladies First

A blend of Shakespeare plays makes up the bulk of Queen Margaret.

By Jim Lillie
Jul 26, 2001

Shakespearean companies have tried various approaches to producing the three parts of Henry VI, plays that are believed to have been written with the help of at least one collaborator. In 1963, Tantalus co-creators John Barton and Peter Hall combined the unwieldy trilogy with Richard III to make The Wars...
King for a Day

The CSF's King Lear averts tragedy by staying true to Shakespeare.

By Jim Lillie
Jul 19, 2001

What a difference no-nonsense direction makes. Elizabeth Huddle heeds the clues in Shakespeare's text instead of making her own mystery of them -- as have many Colorado Shakespeare Festival directors before her -- and the performers in her version of King Lear, led by guest artist Raye Birk's virtuoso turn...
A Good Time

The performers have a ball with Guys and Dolls.

By Jim Lillie
Jul 19, 2001

Looking for a Broadway musical that lets the brainwaves relax and the funnybone roam? Have a thing for exuberant dance numbers, exquisite costumes and an old-fashioned love story? Don't mind overamplified voices, stand-and-sing ballads and a steady barrage of groaners? Then hie thee hither to the Arvada Center's outdoor amphitheater,...

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