Jon Bee - Page 3

Seeing new musicals is something I relish. With no frame of reference, it allows me to take in every aspect of the show more profoundly. The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes at BDT Stage is the latest contemporary musical to be picked over by yours truly.

I’m all for a period piece, especially one from the 70s - see what I did there? In the world premiere of In the Upper Room by Beaufield Berry, we meet a bunch of Berrys in their family home in Omaha, Nebraska in the 1970s. A lively crew, this family is on display in a way that is relatable…and otherworldly.

I suppose it’s true you can always find our way back home, especially if home is where the heart is, as they say. For Denver’s own Dianne Reeves making her return to Boettcher Concert Hall, it feels like Dolly Levy has come back to Harmonia Gardens.

Bob Dylan is many things, among them a music icon. Though, it is often the covers of his songs that live louder. Under the baton of Steve Hackman, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra pays tribute to Dylan in a way that truly highlights the original artist.

There have been a handful of constants in my life - among them are music and Disney. I can presume I am one of many that would say the same. As a young boy, I can remember watching Fantasia and being overcome with joy as the little winged horses danced on the screen along to some of the greatest classical pieces in history. It only felt right to attend the Colorado Symphony’s latest concert in their Movie at the Symphony series, Disney’s Fantasia in Concert.

We may not have gotten snow just yet, but White Christmas at Boulder Dinner Theatre is the perfect way to catch the holiday spirit.

The classics can go a long way at Christmas. Although the story doesn’t really mention Christmas, there is something about classic musicals that still some captures the essence of festivity. In Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s latest production of The Sound of Music, the hills are anything but quiet.

The holidays always come with baggage. Winter events, gift giving, and family gatherings can quickly devolve into mayhem among the twinkling lights that line every streetlamp and window sill. Though, Arvada Center's current holiday production of Elf provides it's own sense of pandemonium.

Hip-hop meets Tchaikovsky? Sign me up! The latest stop for the Hip Hop Nutcracker was Denver’s own DCPA Buell Theater. Though it may not be the ballet you’re used to, this rendition brings classical into the contemporary space.

Coming out is hardly ever easy. The build up to the reveal, even down to the very second that the words, 'I'm gay' leave your lips can make it feel like as soon as you say it, everything that you built up in your mind will immediately come cascading down like an avalanche. Such a moment is where we find ourselves in Cherry Creek Theatre's latest production, Jest a Second.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Shakespeare plays. While studying abroad in Italy back in college, I performed a variety of Shakespeare scenes, including the infamous Queen Mab monologue. I also got the chance to visit Verona and stand atop Juliet’s balcony. So when a Shakespeare inspired improv comedy company was coming to town, I knew I had to be in the room.

History has its eyes on you - or at least according to Alexander Hamilton. American Political History has never been more important in today’s society than in the moments we collectively take together. Relationships and bonds between our friends and neighbors, or perhaps lack there of, is highlighted in our daily news. Sometimes, it is essential to not look at what is happening, but instead look back at what happened. In his first work by playwright Jonathan Shapiro, this ideal takes shape in the form of Sisters in Law, the newest show for Theatre Or.

We all have those movies that we cling to for comfort. Movies, or even musical albums, that we could watch or listen to on repeat forever. For many of my friends, Steel Magnolias provides that sense of comfort. The iconic work as both a stage production and feature film have long impacted storytelling, and this show is the latest production to grace the stage of Cherry Creek Theatre.

My senior year of high school, my final literature class book report was on Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein. Since then, I’ve read that book probably three or four times. For some reason, I always come back to the rather dark tale that inspired later projects such as the Mel Brooks comedy movie, Young Frankenstein. That movie would go on to inspire its musical version, which we find to be Vintage Theatre’s latest production.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the songs of yesteryear. Jukebox musicals usually leave me in a happy place by the time the show ends. In the case of Million Dollar Quartet at Arvada, this show left me feeling the same way I felt from the moment it started - joyful.

Let me start by saying how lovely it was to sit and enjoy live theater again after so much time away. As we all start to come out of the woodwork and step into a new world, I stand ready and exhilarated for the new renaissance of art that is headed our direction. Welcoming me to this new age was Candlelight Theatre’s staff, cast, and crew and their current production, Little Women.

We don't always get to choose our family. Often, there are at least a couple black sheep in every family. But what happens when everyone is the black sheep?

As a long time thespian, I have seen first-hand what happens when a performance does not go according to plan. In fact, it is through theater that I learned the important concept of "cope and adjust." But what happens when everything goes up in flames? Well, you cope and adjust, until the last flame burns out. Such is the case in the latest show to hit DCPA, The Play That Goes Wrong.

In Cherry Creek Theatre's current production of A Little Night Music, the talented storm the stage to produce a cohesive and clean production. 

As children grow older, it is almost a requirement to leave the world of princesses and fairies behind you. But what happens when the princesses grow up too? This is where we find them in BDT's newest staging of Disenchanted.