Tag: denver center for the performing arts

Theatre Review: Waitress National Tour in Denver

~ Metacrone

Waitress the Musical

Waitress * Book by Jessie Nelson * Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles * Directed by Diane Paulus * First National Tour at the Buell Theatre, DCPA, 12/19&20/17

Waitress is one of my favorite shows of all time. I’m telling you this up front because there’s no way that this can be an unbiased review. A company would have to butcher the show very badly for me not to enjoy it. Thankfully, the first national touring company, who began this tour in Cleveland, Ohio in October, are excellent across the board, so no worries.

Waitress is the story of a young diner waitress and master pie baker named Jenna (Desi Oakley), who discovers that she’s pregnant by her abusive husband, Earl (Nick Bailey). Her best friends and coworkers, Becky (Charity Angél Dawson) and Dawn (Lenne Klingaman) rally around her while also coping with their own romantic issues. As her pregnancy continues, Jenna becomes closer to her doctor, Dr Pomatter (Bryan Fenkart) and the diner’s elderly owner, Joe (Larry Marshall). The diner’s cook and manager, Cal (Ryan G Dunkin), provides a curmudgeonly foil to the ladies, while Ogie (Jeremy Morse), Dawn’s 5 minute date, brings some lightness to the diner.

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Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women (Denver) Review

~ Metacrone

 

“Warning: This show contains feminine subject matter including teenage diaries, breast feeding, tampons, shadow puppets, pantyhose, menstrual cycles, slumber parties, menopause and maxi pads.”

Yep, this show comes with a warning label. Metamaiden and I can’t seem to escape daring female theater this fall, though Girls Only is only edgy if you get squeamish during random conversations about the topics in the warning label. Since the lone guy in the audience, who was sitting next to Metamaiden, left during intermission, I guess the label is warranted. I saw the house manager whispering in his ear before he left, probably warning him about the ramped up female content in the second half.

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Frozen the Musical in Denver: More Youtube Videos

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

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Here is the first look at the costumes for the four main characters in Frozen the Musical, reports about the show from the local Denver CBS news station, and the fourth video in DCPA’s video series, an interview with choreographer Rob Ashford.

We walked between Greg Moody, the Denver CBS TV critic, and the merch stand, as he was filming the report, when we left the theatre. We’re not in the video, though, the camera was pointed at Greg and the Frozen media backdrop. I’m surprised he didn’t show or mention the many, many adorable little girls who were dressed up, either in their Elsa dresses or their own best dresses. There were some great fashion statements going on.

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Frozen the Musical Denver Opening Night: First Impressions

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment
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Waiting for the snow show to start.

This should be obvious, but just in case, there are spoilers for the Broadway-bound Frozen stage musical ahead.

Just a few quick thoughts tonight, and some photos. Not of the show itself, of course. Disney would take this site down faster than I can type this sentence. Same for audio, only they’d threaten me even more. There should be professional photos available now that the previews have started, so I’ll post those when I find them.

The show was, as advertised, longer than the movie, with new songs and more depth added to some of the characters. Things were changed from the movie, such as the order of some events and details of how some things happen, but the story is still largely the same. The changes had mixed success, in my opinion.

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Frozen the Broadway Musical in Denver: New Youtube Interviews Plus the Official Trailer

~ Metacrone

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It’s finally here! The Frozen Broadway Musical makes its preBroadway debut in Denver on 8/17 at the Buell Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. To celebrate, the theatre is releasing a series of interviews with the cast and creatives. I’ve posted the first three, and will add more as they post them.

It’s not the dream cast that I came up with, but it looks like it’ll be amazing! We’ll be there this weekend, and will post more from Denver. Time to go pack!

 

 

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Metamaiden’s Denver Hedwig Reviews: Alone Again in Some New Wicked Little Town (AUDIO)

~ Metamaiden ~ 1 Comment

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Hedwig 12-10-16 Mat Review – EUAN AND HANNAH TIME

These were my initial thoughts after seeing Euan and Hannah the first time, with some minor edits to make it a little more coherent. (I was very excited and fangirling all over the place.) My main impression was: HANNAH. My review of the evening show is below my review of the matinee.

As soon as she came out on stage I was taken with her. She looks a LOT like Lena, more than Shannon does, and she has a catlike quality that I haven’t seen in a Yitzhak before. The way she carries herself is captivating. When she made her announcement just before the show, I loved the way she spoke. She sounded a little like she was singing even then, particularly in one little part where she almost did a little trill, of sorts. Then she started SINGING. Her voice is beautiful. It’s very clear and pleasantly high-pitched but full and husky, and the way she uses it is effortlessly smooth. The little riffs and trills she does are amazing. She tends to slide down at the ends of notes (called a glissando, I’m a huge fan). Her voice reminds me of a stream, the smooth transitions she makes from note to note.

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I Do Love a Warm Hand on My Entrance: Metacrone’s Review of Hedwig in Denver 12/10/16 (AUDIO)

~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

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First Off, Euan Morton’s Legs Go on Forever

No other Hedwig can pull off a high kick like this man. I mean, WOW. Y’all probably know I’m a Darren Criss fan, and I find it hard to resist anything Andrew Rannells or John Cameron Mitchell turn up in. But Euan has the best legs. (I’ll concede to JCM fans if anyone wants to argue with me.) Hedwig also has tattoos in this incarnation, a partial sleeve on her left arm that runs up over her pec, and several smaller ones on her right arm. (Including a zia, the sun symbol of the Zia people and New Mexico, the metawitches home state.)

But, on to more important things. Euan’s Hedwig is closer to a combination of NPH and John Cameron Mitchell in manner than any of the others. Great with the physical comedy. She’s more sad than angry, and both graceful and clumsy at the same time. She’s loose and flexible, rolling around on the stage more than any other Hedwig, I think. She rolls down the car windshield and right onto the floor at the beginning of Angy Inch. Euan’s Hedwig puts on a good face and keeps soldiering on until she. just. can’t. do. it. any. more. Then, SHE’S DONE. And she breaks down completely during Long Grift/Exquisite Corpse. She’s broken, and can’t even hold her head up.

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Official Dates for the New Frozen Musical’s Pre-Broadway Run Announced

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

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BroadwayWorld.com reports that Frozen the Musical will play at the Buell Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts for a 6 week run from August 17 through October 1, 2017. Tickets are already on sale as part of the theater’s Broadway subscription series. Subscribers will be able to order extra tickets December 12th at 10:00 AM. Single tickets won’t be on sale until Spring 2017. Anyone interested in receiving alerts about ticket sales can sign up at Denvercenter.org/Frozen.

From the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Blog:

This Broadway-bound Frozen, a full-length stage work told in two acts, is the first and only incarnation of the tale that expands upon and deepens its indelible plot and themes through new songs and story material from the film’s creators.  Like the Disney Theatrical Broadway musicals that have come before it, it is a full evening of theatre and is expected to run 2 1/2 hours.

Written by a trio of Oscar-winners, Frozen features music and lyrics by the creators of the film score Kristen Anderson-Lopez (In Transit, Up Here) and EGOT-winner Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, Up Here) and a book by Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph), the film’s screenwriter and director (with Chris Buck). Frozen won 2014 Oscars for Best Song (“Let It Go”) and Best Animated Feature.

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