The Ten Best Comedy Events in Denver in November

This November, let us give thanks for the cornucopia of Denver comedy overflowing with imported and locally-sourced bursts of mirth. Though games of sport typically dominate the autumn entertainment landscape, stuffing comedy into the locker of obscurity like some schoolyard bully, the bounty of joke shows this month is burly…

As You Like It Closing, Tribes and The Few Keep on Trucking

The summer theater season is ending, but there are still a few shows to see this weekend. Here are capsule reviews of two productions on local stages this weekend. Relatively Speaking.  Witty, surprising dialogue as tangled and twisty and as continually knotting and unfurling as a ball of wool between…

Uncalled Four Launching Unofficial “Worst Card Game” and Own Brew

When Uncalled Four began, few people would have guessed that a bar show featuring Denver comics riffing on Cards Against Humanity-style prompts would grow into one of the scene’s most popular nights. The show, which pits comedians against one another in a race to the gutters of irreverence, has been featured…

Playbill: Three New Shows in Denver October 29-November 1

Scary stories about madness, S&M and the ghosty tales of our youth are popping up on stages all around town. ’Tis the season for indoor entertainment with maybe a touch of the spooky. Trick or treat: Here are three new shows this weekend: Equus Avenue Theater October 29, through November…

Review: Tribes Sounds Off on the Meaning of Family and Belonging

To paraphrase Tolstoy, all happy families are alike; each dysfunctional family is dysfunctional in its own way. The family at the center of Nina Raine’s Tribes is dysfunctional in a highly verbal, entertaining and also dismaying way. Father Christopher is a writer and critic whose loud carping spills over into…

Playbill: Three New Shows in Denver and Boulder for October 21-27

New productions this week include hard drama with the Boulder Ensemble Theater Company, a paranormal trip back in time with the Theater Company of Lafayette, and a cabaret-style musical at the Garner Galleria. Here’s where to grab tickets and go for a theatrical ride. BETC, The Few Dairy Center for…

Playbill: Three New Plays in Denver October 15-18

Stories about family life, the Internet and sex all take the stage this weekend in local productions, from Edge Theater’s Alan Ayckbourn comedy Woman in Mind, to a titillating installment from Denver’s dramatic reading staple, Stories on Stage. Here’s how to get all hot and bothered — or enjoy a fresh new…

Touchdowns Forever: Denver Comedy Scene Remembers Michael Carter

“I took a break from standup due to lack of skill and ability,” went a typical Michael Carter opener, “but I’ve decided that I’m not going to let that stop me.” While the archetype of the self-deprecating comic is so well-established that it’s become something of a ready-made persona, nothing…

Hip-Hop Crew The Janes Empowers Women Through Dance

Although dance is considered a feminine pursuit by many people, it’s surprising to see how much of a boy’s club dance can be. Even hip-hop, one of the freest and expressive channels of the art form, seems to have a disproportionate number of men at the helm. But the Janes,…

Review: Good on Paper a Sketchy Production of a Clever Idea

Peg is a sketch artist for the police, and her apartment is filled with charcoal portraits of criminals, both petty and murderous. As Good on Paper opens, she’s celebrating a birthday with her sister Sandy, a romance writer, and explaining the end of her latest affair: She broke up with…

The Ten Best Comedy Events in Denver in October

Although the blockbuster comedy lineup of September 2015 may be difficult to beat in terms of star-wattage, October’s offerings deliver just as many laughs per minute. Halloween giggle treats abound this month, and everyone from cinephiles to political wonks to ’90s nostalgists can find a show fancy enough to tickle. Among our to…

Playbill: Three New Shows and Performances in Denver October 2-4

Interesting surroundings link new plays and performances in Denver this weekend, from Cherry Creek Theater Company’s stage in a carpet store and Theatre Or’s run in a concert venue to Lemon Sponge Cake’s public-art dance commission in a park. Where there’s a will, there’s a way: Here are the specifics…

Review: West Side Story Transports Romeo and Juliet to NYC in the ’50s

After decades of productions of West Side Story, both professional and amateur, it’s hard to grasp how daring and original the notion of a contemporary musical based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was in the 1950s. The idea originated with director-choreographer Jerome Robbins, composer Leonard Bernstein and script writer Arthur…

Smoking Weed and Painting with Margaret Cho and Kevin Pereira

Puff, Pass, and Paint often welcomes colorful guests at the private, cannabis-meets-cocktails-and-canvas class offered every weekend. This Saturday, comedians Margaret Cho and Kevin Pereira joined in the fun while filming an episode of the new TruTV show I’m So Into that highlights — you guessed it— marijuana. Comic Cho has done…

Playbill: Three Front Range Dance Events September 24-27

Dance takes center stage — and even the silver screen — this week in Denver, with a performing-arts calendar that includes a stopover by Twyla Tharp’s golden-anniversary tour, a celebration of dance on film, and a fall premiere from Denver’s own Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. Twyla Tharp Dance: 50th Anniversary…