Let’s get the obvious over with: The early days of the Beatles, as reflected in Richard Lester’s ebullient shout of freedom A Hard Day’s Night, were all about the optimism of the early 1960s, a thrilling and energizing time when young people, and even some older ones, truly believed that…
I Hate Hamlet. I Hate Hamlet is a bit like the curate’s egg: hilariously funny in parts, and in others so idiotic that you’re embarrassed for the actors. Why is the radiant Jamie Ann Romero wasting her talents wafting about as Deirdre, a stagestruck 29-year-old virgin who’ll have sex with…
Articulated Perspectives. Summer is group-show time, and Bill Havu and Nick Ryan have put together a great exhibit that looks at artists who combine representational imagery with abstract sensibilities. The exhibit, installed on both the main level and the mezzanine, includes the work of three painters and one sculptor. As…
Here are some of the triumphant moments of recent history that make it into the climactic montage in America, the latest “America’s perfect!”/”America’s doomed!” pant load from felonious troll Dinesh D’Souza: Jackie Robinson rounding home. Elvis Presley swinging his hips. Ronald Reagan and the Berlin Wall. Boxed copies of Windows…
If a toddler tried to re-create the mystifying behavior of adults, it would look a lot like Paul Haggis’s Third Person, a drama where grownups scream and cry and kiss for reasons that are confounding even to those who understand speech. The film follows a handful of couples, or, really,…
How has there not already been a Nicolas Cage movie called Rage? That title could fit many of the Drive Angry star’s late-career time-wasters. Here it works best as an imperative rather than an announcement of theme: You may feel some anger if you pay to watch this. Or you…
Artist Nathan Abels paints light and its infinitesimal atmospheric changes, something that can’t be easy, though his facility with a brush somehow makes it appear so. And that’s just one subtle theme running through West With the Night, a show of new works that celebrates, among other things, sunrises and…
The Fourth of July is all about the bombs bursting in air and the stars and stripes forever, but it’s also about family and community and eating watermelon. Get your patriotism on a night early at the annual Independence Eve celebration in Civic Center Park, a party with fireworks that’s…
Whenever Plus Gallery artist Xi Zhang, who now lives in Milwaukee, returns to his once-adopted home of Denver, it’s reason for a celebration, and his current visit will include that and more, with both a wedding and a new solo show at Plus on the talented Chinese emigre’s agenda. The…
Tired of nostalgia, Uncle Sam and “The Star-Spangled Banner”? Check out Dark Junk Under Mile High Lights, the Itchy-O Marching Band Independence Day extravaganza in teh shadow of Sport Authority Fireld at Mile High. The 32-piece mob of drummers, exotic dancers, electro-trash musicians and even a Chinese lion entertains audiences…
Today the Fourth of July is synonymous with top-of-the-line pyrotechnic displays and big BBQ cookouts with the latest gas-grill technology. But how did we celebrate America before we could Instagram the moment? Find out at the Old Fashioned July 4th Celebration at Four Mile Historic Park, which will be hosting…
With 200 craft breweries in Colorado, it’s no surprise that out-of-state outfits want to cash in on this state’s thriving beer culture. Tonight in City Park, the Boston Beer Company will host the Samuel Adams Brew & View, where audiences can play lawn games, graze food-truck offerings and sample beers,…
Artist Eric Matelski sometimes curates shows in non-traditional spaces — bars, restaurants, even the MacSpa, a business co-owned by his wife. He also admits to having a thing for Denver history — which helps explain why Art & Writing, a show of local art he puts together for the annual…
Between the venue changes and the schedule additions, there’s a lot that’s new at Wanderlust this year — and the event has just gotten bigger and better. “As Wanderlust has grown, we found ourselves needing a bit more room to stretch in the village,” says Wanderlust co-founder Sean Hoess. Hence…
Though the heart of the annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival, now in its 24th year, is the art (this year there are 250 artists in thirteen media categories), there’s always something new to look forward to. The 2014 edition kicks off this morning with just such a novelty: Mayor Michael…
Glendale’s Infinity Park is home to the region’s burgeoning rugby scene, but in the summertime, it’s also the place to go for Monday Movie Madness, a bi-weekly outdoor family film fest. And tonight’s offering is Big, the all-ages Tom Hanks blockbuster that celebrates what’s good and not so good about…
Leave it to Warm Cookies of the Revolution to come up with a highly entertaining way to illustrate political machinations. High Stakes: Poker and Politics is “a Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament — but we’re changing a few rules,” says co-organizer Evan Weissman. “One is the initial amount of chips…
Long before Denver Comic Con packed the halls of the Colorado Convention Center with fans of comics and geek culture, a small band of artists was carving out a comics scene in town. “We used to do a little comics fanzine and did some comic cons back in the ’80s,…
History Colorado offers live-performance programming to supplement its educational offerings for a couple of reasons. “We bring in live performers to help history come to life,” says visitor-experience coordinator Alison Salutz, “as well as to showcase the amazing amount of talent we have in our state.” Salutz notes that the…
July days, with their sweltering afternoons and late evening sunsets, are filled with a kind of sun-dappled shapelessness; days once described by Ada Louise Huxtable as “jeweled balm for the battered spirit.” Balming the battered is also a standup comedian’s job description, and this month promises a healing wave of laughs washing over our arid city, featuring seasoned chortle-mongers from across the country. From one-night only theater appearances from sitcom stars to comedy nerd heroes headlining our local clubs over the weekend, battered spirits from across the spectrum of comedy fandom will have plenty of opportunities to laugh in air-conditioned comfort.
Artist House Tour Series: Featuring John Haley III of Lakewood Neighborhood
For some reason, women who desire to take care of their bodies — especially through preventative measures — are terrifying to some large corporations. Yesterday, five of the nine Supreme Court justices decided that Hobby Lobby was human and that women were not, ruling that certain kinds of companies don’t…
