The show must go on! While several theater companies have had to postpone openings because of cast members with COVID, the curtain is going up on other performances around town.
And there's plenty more to see and do in Denver today. See our list of free events here, and keep reading for others that are worth the price of admission.
The Culture Museum
Sunday, January 23, noon to 7 p.m.
1421 26th Street
Charlie Billingsley, who curated the Museum for Black Girls, is back with a selfie exhibition celebrating Black girl magic. This new immersive pop-up art museum celebrating moments in Black culture will be open weekends, and tickets are $22; get them here.
The LOVEstock Show
Sunday, January 23, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary, 8640 Dahlia Street, Henderson
Founder and director Andrea Davis of Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary created a place that is the antithesis of the Stock Show, where at-risk farm animals are cuddled instead of bought and sold. To make her point, she’s hosting the LOVEstock Show, an open-farm alternative event to the rodeo not far from the National Western Complex. Meet the family, including 23 species of livestock, ducks, turkeys and chickens, and learn their stories for a $10 donation per person at the gate, cash or Venmo. Learn more here.
National Western Stock Show Pro Rodeo Finals
Sunday, January 23, 2 p.m.
Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt Street
To each his own: Some folks can’t wait to see the Pro Rodeo, an intrinsic part of the Stock Show that will close the whole thing down until next year. The rodeo’s top athletes, who’ve worked their way up to the final, will be competing in barrel racing, bronc riding, steer wrestling and mutton bustin’ events for big prizes, while rodeo clown Justin Rumford and the world-famous Westernaires provide the sideshows. You only live once. Tickets range from $48 to $91 here.
Dare to Be Sexy: A "Weird Al" Burlesque Tribute
Sunday, January 23, 7 p.m.
Clocktower Cabaret, 1601 Arapahoe Street
Here’s the setup: A burlesque troupe and “Weird Al" Yankovich walk into a bar…. It actually does all come true in Dare to Be Sexy, a tribute to the song satirist delivered with a fan dance or two by the house troupe, the Clockettes. Sing along through Yankovich’s most productive decades of deconstructing pop anthems at this final performance in a trio of Sunday shows at the Clocktower. Admission is $40 in advance here.
Wheat Ridge Theatre Company: Sordid Lives
Sunday, January 23, 2:30 p.m.
John Hand Theatre, 7653 East First Place, Lowry
It’s been a movie and then a television series, but Sordid Lives, by Del Shores, first carved out its campy, cultish LGBTQ fan base on the stage. The Wheat Ridge Theatre Company is mounting a live revival of the play — which is peopled with a whole small town’s worth of trailer trash, drunks, drag queens and other unforgettable Texas characters — for a three-week run. It's just the thing to raise you out of those winter doldrums; admission is $28 online at TicketSpice.
Ongoing:
Our American Cousin: America Divided
Through January 29, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Bench at 40 West, 1560 Teller Street
Theater, like most cultural concerns across the country, suffered during the dark days when COVID stole away audiences. Members of Lakewood-based Benchmark Theatre were inspired by political uprisings and movements that filtered up through that void to create their own theater works based on the most current of events. Our American Cousin: America Divided, a world premiere, is an inside job, developed as a quest for answers regarding the unsettling, Democracy-smashing events of January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Find details and tickets, $15 to $30, here.
The Sound Inside
Through February 12, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m.
Curious Theatre Company, 1080 Acoma Street
Curious Theatre Company forges ahead with Adam Rapp’s drama The Sound Inside, which received six Tony Award nominations in 2020, including Best Play. The story is about creative-writing professor Bella and the brilliant but unhinged student Christopher whom she mentors; the members of this academic odd couple grow close while struggling with their own demons, and that tale is as much about writing as it is about life. There's a teen discussion after the production Friday, January 22. Learn more and get tickets, ranging from $20 to $50, here.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Through March 6, daily (except Monday)
Singleton Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex
The Denver Center production of the Edward Albee masterwork clocks in at about three hours, which is a long time to be subjected to the rising dialectic of alcohol-fueled marital warfare that develops between longtime couple George and Martha, but it's also an education, brilliantly written and cutting to the bone. What will young guests Honey and Nick take away from the experience? What will you take away? Find details and buy tickets, $30 to $50, here.
Fireflies
Through February 12,
Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton Street, Aurora
In the romantic comedy Fireflies, a regional premiere written by Matthew Barber and starring legendary Denver actor Deborah Persoff, a retired schoolteacher meets a drifter who fixes a hole in her roof and encourages her to break out of her respectable shell. Will she or won’t she? See the show and find out. Admission ranges from $20 to $34; get tickets here.
Spookadelia: The Curse of Novo Ita
Through February, Thursdays through Sundays
Spectra Art Space, 1836 South Broadway
Spookadelia, now in its fourth iteration, has been extended through February! Immerse yourself in cool at this awesome, arty experience. Timed entry tickets are $20 adult, $12 children (and it's not too spooky for them); find out more here.
Winter Fest
Daily through February 27
Gaylord Rockies, 6700 North Gaylord Rockies Boulevard, Aurora
Need a break? The Gaylord is hosting Winter Fest, with family-friendly activities ranging from tubing and ice skating to a Jack Frost-themed scavenger hunt and miniature golf. Packages available, or pay by activity; find out more here.
Know of a great event in Denver? We'll be updating this list through the weekend; send information to [email protected].