The Duchess of Langeais

Having returned from Africa, “held prisoner by savages for two years before fleeing,” the Marquis de Montriveau (Guillaume Depardieu) is the talk of Paris society. “How very amusing,” deadpans the unflappable Duchess of Langeais (Jeanne Balibar). “None is more dull or somber,” a friend sighs before consenting to introduce the…

Shelter

Shelter bides its time with innocuous snapshots of local SoCal color — crashing waves, crystal blue skies, natives who pronounce the “r” in Louvre — before writer-director Jonah Markowitz allows Zach (Trevor Wright), a full-time burger-flipper and nanny to his nephew, to get his queer on. Following much surfer-dude posturing…

Death by Chocolate

Reaction to the first-ever Colorado Chocolate Festival has been so over-the-top that event organizer Dana Cain has already booked the Denver Merchandise Mart, 451 East 58th Avenue, through 2011. Starting tonight at 7 p.m. and continuing tomorrow at 10 a.m., the fest includes all things sweet and sinful for people…

Silence Is Deadly

Tonight the Daydreamz Project’s performance, gallery and candlelight vigil known as Break the Silence, Stop the Violence turns five. “The whole event was birthed from expressive-arts workshops with women in a local shelter,” explains the Project’s Starr T. Hogan. “After nine months of exploring their inner voice, they said, ‘We…

Genre Benders

Babylonian magic bowls and contemporary music come together to illuminate the parallels in home life between the ancient and modern worlds at a special performance by Jewlia Eisenberg’s band, Charming Hostess. The performance marks the finale of Shema: What Jewish Culture Sounds Like, a year-long project exploring Jewish culture through…

Lost in Translations

Judy Hagler’s Translations Gallery is turning a corner — literally — by swapping locations within the ArtDistrict on Santa Fe. Troubled by the lackluster exterior of her old spot, Hagler opted for a venue with an artsier urban façade and showroom, at 855 Inca Street; she’ll celebrate the move tonight…

Scrum of the Earth

Rugby, that grandfather of American football and a great way to lose a few teeth, is enjoying something of a local renaissance, in part because of the construction of the nation’s first municipal rugby stadium in Glendale. If you’ve ever been curious about the high-speed rough-and-tumble sport, there’s never been…

Curiouser and Curiouser

Curious Theatre Company is aptly named: It keeps exploring new ways to tell stories. And the production that opens tonight in previews could be the most curious yet: Bronx playwrights Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz, who contributed a short play to Curious’s “The War Anthology” two seasons back, were commissioned…

Mile After Mile

Four Mile Historic Park is a twelve-acre piece of the Old West left intact in the middle of the city. And tonight you can experience its rustic grounds under the moonlight, with food and drink in hand, while helping preserve its unique character. The fifth annual Colorado Corks and Cuisine…

Calling All Cowgirls and Cowboys

If you want to know what Colorado and the west looks like, then head on over to the new Rockmount Ranch Wear and Liberty Boot exibit at the Denver Public Library’s central branch. The display is a fashion-lovers paradise (if only we could buy all of the beautiful boots and…

Crocs Fills the Bill

Last week, Crocs announced that it was eliminating 27 jobs, or 4 percent of its Boulder area work force, as part of a company restructuring in the wake of disappointing sales. Since the company could use some good news, here’s a Crocs fan’s response to the piece Alan Prendergast wrote…

Tonight: Recycle Runway

Recycled fashion is hot these days. Just ask local designer, Trisha Hayworth — who uses recycled vintage pieces in her clothing — or any of the Colorado State University students participating in tonight’s recycled fashion show. Student designers were asked to incorporate scrap material leftover from the construction of CSU’s…

Oh, Boy!

When Japan’s traditional Tango-no-Sekku (otherwise known as Boys’ Festival) falls each year on May 5, families hang out koi-nobori (carp banners) to symbolize longevity and perseverance, both desirable traits in sons. They also bring out the heirlooms – swords and elaborate, armored samurai dolls – and display them in their…

Sew-Sew Sample Sale

DIY fashionistas, rev up your bobbins: Wesco Fabrics, supplier to the design trade here and across the nation, is unloading a mind-boggling 25,000 yards of drapery and upholstery sample fabrics, all at a standard $3 per yard. There are jackets and handbags just waiting to be sewn from these classy…

Look of the Day – Rayann

Though fall colors are normally laid to rest when spring has sprung, sometimes Mother Nature comes down with a touch of schizophrenia and makes it snow on May 1st. When this happens, one is faced with a dilemma: Stay warm and wear fall clothes and autumn hues for unexpected weather?…

It’s a Mod, Mod World

Hey all you fans of modern furniture — while you still can’t shop conveniently at an IKEA (sadly, the closest one to Denver is in Draper, Utah which is over 400 miles away) — there are a few great sales going on right now on high-end modern designs. Beginning tomorrow,…

Iron Man

Chalk it up to personal preference, but I’ve always been fonder of those comic-book heroes who emerge by intent rather than happenstance. I mean the ones, like Batman’s Bruce Wayne, whose transformation from average Joe into masked crusader is an act of will instead of the unintended result of a…

Made of Honor

In Made of Honor, Patrick Dempsey plays a conveniently rich and willfully single serial “fornicator” slowly but surely domesticated by his unspoken love for longtime BFF Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), who’s on her way to Scotland to marry Mr. Right Now since Mr. Right’s too chickenshit to say boo before her…

When Less Is Less

When the trailer for Star Wars: Episode I first hit theaters, some fans bought tickets for the movie it was presented with, watched the trailer, and then walked out — essentially paying full price for a fraction of the final product. Superfans are happy to do that sort of thing…

Dinah Was

We walked to the front door of Shadow Theatre Company’s brand-new home in Aurora on a strip of red carpet. Inside the spacious lobby, dozens of people were chatting, smiling, sipping wine. In Denver, people aren’t much given to dressing up for a night of theater, but the crowd here…

Crimes of the Heart

Written in 1978, when the feminist movement had woken us all up to the extraordinary fact that women could, and frequently do, like each other, Crimes of the Heart is about sisterhood. Literal sisterhood, as opposed to the metaphorical kind explored in other dramas of roughly the same period, such…

Now Playing

The Baseball Show. Evil, malaprop-prone Vincent Vascombe, owner of the Beloit Bulldogs, is determined to hold on to his star player, Bill “The Bomber” Dawson. But Dawson — aided by his smart, competent fiancée, Helen — has plans for the majors, and there’s a talent scout hanging around. So Vascombe…