The Five Best Standup Venues in Denver — 2016 Edition

Denverites have no shortage of places where they can drink drink beer and watch local comics, but for the uninitiated there’s little sense of quality control. Denver also has plenty of spaces where the efforts of skilled comedians and passionate venue owners dovetail in giggly harmony, but most shows are…

Hannibal Buress on His Tour DJ, Edinburgh and the End of “Why?”

Since inauspiciously starting out by habitually bombing at Chicago open mics (a developmental stage every comedian must endure in their own city) all the way through to the heights of his current fame, Hannibal Buress’ jokes have had a rhythm and sensibility unlike anyone else in comedy. After gaining a…

The Lucas Brothers on TV Heaven, Stoner Comedy and 4/20

Sexpot Comedy is celebrating 4/20 with a standup showcase at the Oriental Theater packed fuller than a gravity bong. Aaron Urist, David Gborie, Billy Wayne Davis, Noah Gardenswartz and Ester Steinberg will join newly-minted Sexpot host David Rodriguez in an embarrassment of comedic riches. And then there are headliners Keith…

Last Chance to Catch The Rembrandt Room, a Buntport Masterpiece

The 2016 theater season is in full swing, with some remarkable productions on local stages. Although Fade closes this weekend, you still have time to see the excellent Ideation and 10 Myths About the Application of Beauty Products. Keep reading for capsule reviews. Fade.  This ninety-minute-long, two-person play is based on…

Review: The Rembrandt Room Is a Buntport Masterpiece

Every now and then, an artist — or, in the case of Buntport Theater Company, an artists’ mind meld — seems to pass through a metaphorical doorway. For more than a decade now, Buntport has been one of the bright lights on the local theater scene. With their company-created original…

SeriesFest: Season Two Kicks Off With Sia at Red Rocks

Last year’s inaugural SeriesFest brought a week of TV-centric events to the Sie FilmCenter that celebrated the past, present and future of storytelling on the boob tube. Now get ready for season two. SeriesFest announced today that talented Grammy and Golden Globe award-winning singer/songwriter/producer Sia will kick off the second SeriesFest…

The Ten Best Comedy Events in Denver in April

Tantalized by a glimpse of spring before our sunny hopes were dashed in snowbound oblivion, soggy and shivering Denverites are in need of a laugh. Fortunately, the entertainment calendar is chockablock with chuckles this April. With comedy legends new and old headlining our clubs and theaters, local shows that celebrate partnerships…

Playbill: Three New Performances in Denver March 30-April 3

Contemporary collaborations, bittersweet comedies and big musicals all turn up this week on local stages. Here’s where to find them. 3rd Law Dance/Theater, The Elision Project Dairy Arts Center 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2 4 p.m. Sunday, April 3 Tickets: $20 to $25 303-444-7328 Computers, voice,…

A Bucket of Fools Takes Over Crossroads Theater on April 1

Crossroads Theater is in the middle of its first Last Week of Arts, which will culminate on Friday, April 1 with a special, two-part Bucket of Fools show. This will be the sixth edition of Bucket; past monthly performances have resembled variety shows with comedy bits, musical pieces and impromptu sketches as local…

A Starter Set for Boulder Arts Week, Packed With Events and Performances

The annual Boulder Arts Week unfolds in all its glory for the third time starting on Friday, March 25, and the schedule includes dance, poetry, film, theater, music, art, classes, workshops and much more. Festival founder and coordinator Emily K. Harrison has created an umbrella concept that unites these diverse disciplines…

Review: Amusing Tigers Be Still Could Use Some Fangs

When a play starts with a school principal announcing that a tiger has escaped from a local zoo and is loose in the neighborhood, and proposing a handful of fairly mild responses (a buddy system, no recess) while also stating that he himself carries a rifle, you quickly conjure up…

Playbill: Three New Shows in Metro Denver March 18-20

This week on stages in metro Denver, moments in American history will be recounted and reimagined, while opera singers and Shakespearean actors throw their lots together for a fun night of poetry and song. Here’s how to play along. Black Elk Speaks Aurora Fox Arts Center March 18 through April…

Review: Missy Moore Worth Seeing in Edge Theater’s Getting Out

Marsha Norman’s Getting Out, first produced in 1979, portrays the grim dilemma of a woman just released from prison. Arlene has been driven to her bare-bones Louisville, Kentucky, apartment by a prison guard, Benny, who actually retired from his job for the chance to be with her — though his…

Lewis Black on Bernie Sanders, Voting Rights and The Root of All Evil

Lewis Black is a thoroughly astute political satirist. Assuaging righteous outrage with laughter is every comedian’s noble goal, but Black rises above the majority of his peers (at least those without their own eponymous television programs) with his keen analysis of social ills. Star and co-creator of Comedy Central’s dearly missed…