Apparition. The brand-new Gallery Severn, which is owned by art collector and retired executive Andy Dodd, aims to be what he has called a “launch pad” for emerging artists. This specialty in fresh faces instantly makes the place interesting. Also interesting is Dodd’s decision to feature only one artist at…
Dear God, but I am sick of Death of a Salesman, which I’ve now had to see three times in the past year. Despite the play’s ahead-of-its-time dramatic devices and portentous poeticizing, it continues to strike me as an endlessly protracted whine. And a verbose and dated whine, at that…
I’m sitting at a small table at Boulder’s Dinner Theatre with my friend Robin Haig. A one-time dancer with the Royal Ballet, Robin has just retired from the University of Colorado Dance Department and is talking about Margot Fonteyn and the Bumptious Colonial, a one-woman show she plans to take…
Chess. The Cold War serves as a frame for Chess, the musical account of a match between a Russian champion, Anatoly, and his petulant American counterpart, Freddie. The action takes place in 1989, in the weeks before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Florence is Freddie’s second, coaching…
If you’ve gazed at a record player and imagined you could scratch as well as the next guy, you’re not alone. Guitars, drums, bass — all these instruments appear to require real skill or at least blisters. But who can’t drop a needle? The problem is, cutting beats and transplanting…
Fateless (THINKFilm) I’ve no patience for the Holocaust docudrama — didn’t even see Schindler’s List till years after its 1993 release, to my parents’ everlasting shame. And so it was I avoided Lajos Koltai’s acclaimed adaptation of Imre Kertész’ Nobel Prize-winning autobiographic novel; are we not already gorged on the…
The Barbie Diaries Gift Set (Family Home Entertainment) Battle in Heaven (Tartan) The Best of Rocky and Bullwinkle: Volume 1 (Sony Wonder) Big Momma’s House 2 (Fox) Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist: Season One (Paramount) The Facts of Life: The Complete First and Second Seasons (Sony) Grandma’s Boy: Unrated Edition (Fox)…
There was a time when quilts were merely humble patchwork blankets, with the sole purpose of keeping pioneers from freezing their muskets off. Eventually, the utilitarian coverlets evolved into intricate works of art. Today through Sunday, decorative quilts, clothing and other forms of textile craft are on display at the…
“People don’t have to feel like it’s all about being a good bowler,” assures Warren Sherrill, artistic director for the non-profit Paragon Theatre Company. That’s why Paragon gives prizes for Best Body Language and Whiniest Bowler at its annual Bowlathon for Paragon fundraiser. Corral your own team of four for…
Yoga is the quintessential exercise for tree-hugging, granola-munching types. But what’s the point of getting all in tune with your body and its connection to the earth if you’re doing it in a man-made room with no windows? The creators of Yoga in the Park felt you, and came up…
Indian tabla drums have delicate clay discs at the centers of their membranes that can easily be destroyed under the wrong hands. The drums — which originated in the sixth century B.C. — echo and reverberate, producing unexpectedly melodic tones far beyond basic percussion. Masters such as Zakir Hussain can…
The Denver Center Theatre is topping off its season with an all-out ode to the hat — or, more precisely, to a voluminous collection of those ornately bedecked scalp-schooners that are so integral to the African-American church-lady experience. Crowns, an adaptation by Regina Taylor from the book by Michael Cunningham…
Art, meet fashion. Fashion, meet art. Now go mingle and produce a beautiful union. That’s the idea, at least, of the second annual Shoe Ball benefiting the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver. “We see this as a crossover event between art and fashion, worlds that intersect so often,” says the museum’s…
“Our purpose is to encourage young filmmakers,” says Donna Marek, creator and founder of the Boulder Youth Film Festival and the Boulder Independent Film Festival, which share screen time today. “But we also want to encourage filmmakers of all ages.” This egalitarian approach is evident throughout the BYFF/BIFF lineup. The…
Animal lovers of Denver, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. At today’s BowWow Benefit Brunch at Sax Galleries, 3019 East Second Avenue in Cherry Creek, you can dine on delectable fare, participate in canine crafts and browse dog-inspired artwork for sale. Fork over just $20 for…
Somewhere in the world, there’s a place where neighborhood kids can go after school to create art and receive skills training as well as participate in open discussions about such looming youth issues as drugs and alcohol, a place that’s open every day during the week, is free and welcomes…
World-weary skeptics might be tempted to pass on Icíar Bollaín’s Take My Eyes the moment they learn its heroine is yet another victim of domestic violence. But that would be a mistake. The brilliant Spanish filmmaker who directed and co-wrote this harrowing look at a sick marriage has no interest…
If some religious extremists in India had gotten their way, the gorgeous fury of Deepa Mehta’s Water never would have reached the screen. As it is, these self-appointed censors shut down the production for years by staging demonstrations, torching Mehta’s sets and threatening her life. Eventually, the filmmaker moved her…
Coming closer even than Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers to resembling the Chinese cover art for an Iron Butterfly album, Chen Kaige’s The Promise is psychedelia extremis. Hardly a minute of it passes without a concentrated dose of digital frou-frou and lavish cartoon-poetic imagery: floating ocean goddesses, flying swordsmen,…
It seldom fails. Every year, just in time for the Oscar deadline, a movie is released that doesn’t necessarily have a remarkable plot or director, but does feature an aging master (or mistress) thespian from the U.K., whom one might assume is an automatic shoo-in for an award nomination, ensuring…
Let’s say you’re a teenage boy dying of cancer. A well-known charity dedicated to helping people like you offers to make your fondest wish come true — as long as it’s something realistic, as opposed to, say, finding a cure for cancer. Would you choose a VIP pass to Disneyland…
The most important thing to know about the new movie Hoot, adapted from the children’s book by Carl Hiaasen, is that it’s co-produced by Jimmy Buffett, who also appears in a small role and provides new music for the soundtrack. Middle-aged drunks and boat owners might possibly rejoice at the…
