Denver Theater Reviews

TREASURE ISLAND at the Aurora Fox will make you a Jolly Roger
by Chris Arneson - May 15, 2023

There have been countless adaptations of the classic adventure novel Treasure Island for film and TV, but it's not too often you find a stage musical of it. While the Aurora Fox is hosting the show's Colorado premiere, this musical production of Treasure Island made its world premiere a decade ago a...

Review: THE COLOR PURPLE Is Excellently Black at DCPA Theatre Company
by Jon Bee - April 18, 2023

What did our critic think of THE COLOR PURPLE at DCPA Theatre Company?...

Review: The Heavyweights Present a Plus-Size 'Putnam'
by Chris Arneson - April 06, 2023

The musical's heart gets a little lost in the camp of everything. There's already the added layer of adults playing children -- but when there's 3 guys bouncing between multiple roles, sometimes the same character would be played by multiple people in a single song. Just watching it was exhausting. ...

Review: National Tour of 1776 Proves that a Woman's Place is in the House of Representatives
by Jon Bee - March 28, 2023

What did our critic think of 1776 at DCPA?...

Review: TICK, TICK... BOOM! Blows it Out of the Water at Vintage Theatre
by Jon Bee - March 28, 2023

What did our critic think of TICK, TICK... BOOM! at Vintage Theatre? Jonathan Larson is one of those artists who, because they died young (and infamously), will live on through their treasured work. Rent, of course, is the big one for him. Though his lesser known work, Tick, Tick... Boom! ...

Review: National Tour of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Establishes a New 'Tradition' at DCPA
by Jon Bee - March 16, 2023

What did our critic think of NATIONAL TOUR OF FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at DCPA? The summer after high school, I was in a local community theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof. Though the show was already an established classic, I generally remember that summer as one where I watched the other 'sons' ...

Review: HOTTER THAN EGYPT at DCPA Theatre Company
by Jon Bee - March 08, 2023

What did our critic think of HOTTER THAN EGYPT at DCPA Theatre Company? Some say the world will end in fire - they must not be familiar with husbands who can be as cold as ice. Such is the case in DCPA's latest local production, Hotter than Egypt....

Review: LAUGHS IN SPANISH at DCPA is a New Classic in World Premiere Production
by Jon Bee - February 15, 2023

What did our critic think of LAUGHS IN SPANISH at DCPA Theatre Company? Theatre is often boiled down into two things: comedy and tragedy. From there, the seeds take root and bloom into a plethora of unique stories. However, I often find the greatest stories capture both elements and therefore are th...

Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD At The Buell Theatre Hurts as Much as it Heals
by Chris Arneson - January 30, 2023

Directed by Bartlett Sher, the characters are fleshed out, a little more flawed than I remember. The children are played by adults, narrated with more self-awareness. It doesn't feel like nearly 3 hours of theatre....

Review: It's Grool. It's Fetch. It's Mean Girls the Musical.
by Chris Arneson - December 22, 2022

What did our critic think of MEAN GIRLS at DCPA?It's easy to be a bit of a mean girl when it comes to cult movies being adapted into musicals. They happen too often, and sometimes they're tragic.  Thankfully, not Mean Girls....

Review: Town Hall's NEWSIES is Striking
by Chris Arneson - December 16, 2022

If you're a millenial like me, Newsies is one of those musicals that made you waita pretty long time for a stage adaptation...but man was it worth it. ...

Review: National Tour Revival Of MY FAIR LADY at DCPA
by Jon Bee - December 14, 2022

What did our critic think of MY FAIR LADY at DCPA?...

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Remains a Splendidly Festive Tradition
by Chris Arneson - December 09, 2022

It just doesn't feel like the holidays until you've watched a greedy old man get spooked into being nice by a few ghosts. ...

Review: AN EVENING WITH BERNADETTE PETERS at Colorado Symphony
by Jon Bee - November 23, 2022

What did our critic think of AN EVENING WITH BERNADETTE PETERS at Colorado Symphony?...

Review: BUDDY, THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY at BDT Stage
by Jon Bee - November 15, 2022

What did our critic think of BUDDY, THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY at BDT Stage?...

Review: PETER AND THE STARCATCHER at Cherry Creek
by Chris Arneson - November 11, 2022

What did our critic think of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER at Cherry Creek?...

Review: AIN'T TOO PROUD, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS at DCPA
by Jon Bee - November 03, 2022

What did our critic think of AIN'T TOO PROUD, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS at DCPA? It's been said that people love nostalgia. There are certainly examples that reflect various time periods in our history but I would argue that last 10 years has seen the biggest increase in 'homage art.' M...

Review: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at DCPA is Everything You Need
by Jon Bee - October 21, 2022

What did our critic think of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at DCPA?...

Review: COME FROM AWAY Reminds You of the Good in People
by Chris Arneson - October 10, 2022

You probably remember a few random details of your life on the day of the September 11th attacks. Not just what you saw on the television--but who was with you, where you were, how you felt. On that day, 38 airplanes were redirected to a small Canadian town--Gander, Newfoundland--the site of a large...

Review: PRETTY WOMAN, THE MUSICAL at Denver Center for the Performing Arts
by Jon Bee - September 27, 2022

What did our critic think of PRETTY WOMAN, THE MUSICAL at Denver Center for the Performing Arts? Listen, If Julia Roberts is involved, I'm involved. But what in the world is Pretty Woman, The Musical? Having say through the show recently I can honestly say it felt like a fever dream with tits, ass, ...

Review: Run, Don't Walk, to See THE CHINESE LADY at Denver Center for the Performing Arts
by Jon Bee - September 26, 2022

What did our critic think of THE CHINESE LADY at Denver Center for the Performing Arts? Picture it: New York City, 1834. Afong Moy has been taken from her home in Guangzhou and brought to America by Nathaniel and Frederick Carne. She is put on display and becomes known as 'The Chinese Lady' - all at...

Review: INTO THE WOODS at Arvada Center is Nice - Not Good, Not Bad - Just Nice.
by Jon Bee - September 22, 2022

What did our critic think of INTO THE WOODS at Arvada Center?...

Review: It's Not Hell, It's HADESTOWN
by Chris Arneson - September 07, 2022

What did our critic think of HADESTOWN? It's essentially the retelling of the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. Narrated by Hermes--played by a terrifically charismatic Levi Kreiss, who infuses the role with bit of his Tony-winning performance of Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet... ...

Review: Kristin Chenoweth in Concert at Colorado Symphony
by Jon Bee - August 15, 2022

If you want to view paradise, go see Kristin Chenoweth in concert. In her recent engagement with the Colorado Symphony, the legendary good witch cast a captivating spell over the audience from the moment she took the stage of Denver's own Boettcher Hall. ...

Review: Immerse Yourself in FROM ON HIGH's Office Cult(ure)
by Chris Arneson - June 27, 2022

What did our critic think? If you've ever worked in an office, you know the corporate culture can start to feel a little culty. That's the premise behind OddKnock's production of From On High, an immersive experience set in RiNO's IMAC building....