Comedy, Creativity and Tunes – All Weekend!
February 1, 2018
With a couple of hilarious comedy shows and a few funny plays on stage, you can keep laughing all weekend or enjoy a variety of tunes. Music makes an appearance in theatrical productions, including a play by Denver’s favorite playwright José Cruz González about an all-female mariachi band. The Colorado Symphony gets warmed up for Valentine’s day or you can explore the cosmos at the Air and Space Museum. Not even the sky’s the limit this weekend in Denver!
TODAY/TONIGHT, Thursday, February 1
VALENTINES FOR VETERANS
Who doesn’t love getting a Valentine’s Day card on that singular day to make people feel special? Create a unique valentine for the men and women who served our country in the armed forces. The library staff will deliver the notes of appreciation, compassion and encouragement to the Colorado State Veterans Home in Aurora in time for Valentine’s Day. All ages are welcome to participate!
Mission Viejo Library, 15324 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora
4:00 p.m.
Phone: 303-326-8600
Thursday-Saturday, February 1-3
AMERICAN MARIACHI
Set in Denver in the 1970s, American Mariachi is the story of two young musicians who start their own all-female mariachi band. This is no easy feat given the biases of the male-dominated music genre and the patriarchal structure inside their own families. Denver favorite playwright José Cruz González has crafted an inspiring story about families and friendships, and the transcendental power of following an unlikely dream.
As the young women in the band practice, perform and strive to earn the respect of their community, their music sparks a transformation in the lives of those around them. This exhilarating story about music’s power to heal and connect features multi-textured live mariachi music. You will want to share this passionate story with your own friends and family!
Stage Theatre/DCPA, 13th St. & Arapahoe St., Denver
Thurs.,6:30 p.m.; Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20-$65
Phone: 303-893-4100
ZOOEY’S PERFECT WEDDING
Looking for something to do? Go to Zooey’s wedding! It’s the one day that should be picture perfect—bridesmaids attending to the bride, the perfect toast at the reception, the celebration of true love—so what happens when it’s not? Zooey’s Perfect Wedding is an irresistible comedy of disasters that will have you cringing, even as you can’t wait for the next wildly funny fiasco to happen. From the brutally honest toast of a drunken uncle to friends who are too worried about their own relationship problems to help with the ensuing chaos, disaster after disaster follows Zooey down the aisle.
Space Theatre/DCPA, 13th and Arapahoe, Denver
Thurs., 6:30 p.m.; Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20-$65
Phone: 800-641-1222
Thursday-Sunday, February 1-4
BE THE ASTRONAUT!
Have you ever dreamed of rocketing through the stratosphere, headed for the stars? It’s a powerful dream shared by children and adults alike, and now you have the opportunity to discover it for yourself! Be the Astronaut is an immersive pod-based exhibit that engages you fully in its STEM-based content through technology and more traditional displays.
Someday, we are told, there may be space missions that take citizens on board, and this exhibit uses that narrative to introduce the concepts common to all space flight. Using a series of interactive games and simulations, you must succeed at each phase before advancing to the next—in the same way real astronauts must master many elements before blasting off. You will learn about the challenges and excitement of spaceflight, and then apply that knowledge as you fly spaceships, pilot landers, and drive rovers across locations such as Earth’s orbit, the Moon, Mars, Ceres and Jupiter. All spacecraft in Be the Astronaut were authentically designed with assistance and oversight from NASA’s Langley Research Facility.
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, 7711 E. Academy Blvd., Denver
Thurs.-Sat. 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Sun. 12:00-5:00 p.m.
Tickets: $8.50-$10
(303) 360-5360
BILLIE HOLIDAY TRIBUTE SHOW
Billy Holiday’s soulful legendary songs are brought back to life in this radiant tribute to the woman and her musical legacy. Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill transports you back to a night just months before Holiday’s death as she reminisces about her life’s journey. With a standout performance by Mary Louise Lee as Holiday the musical includes haunting songs like God Bless the Child, What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Strange Fruit and Taint Nobody’s Business.
Vintage Theatre Productions, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora
Thurs./Fri./Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.
Tickets: $38
Phone: 303-856-7830
Friday, February 2
THE ART OF CHROMOTOGRAPHY!
Does someone in your family love colors? Explore the art of chromatography, the process of separating color pigments, at the library. Experiment with colors and create an image, a butterfly, a colorful scene, or whatever you like, with the results.
Hoffman PC Center, 1298 Peoria St., Aurora
4:00 p.m.
303-739-1572
DENVER’S OWN IMPROV COMEDY
If you’re uber clever and cool, sit in the front row of this critically-acclaimed comedy show, live on stage at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse! The Jester’s Court is a night of comedy unlike anything you’ve seen before. Leave the kids at home and enjoy this adults’ night of uncensored live funny business with guest stars from across the country. The show is based entirely on suggestions from the audience, so even if you don’t feel all that clever and improvisational, maybe some of the spontaneity from others will rub off!
Voodoo Comedy Playhouse, 1260 22nd St., Denver
10:00 p.m.
Tickets: $8-$10
Email: producers@jesterscourtcomedy.com
Friday-Saturday, February 2-3
JIM NORTON – KNEELING ROOM ONLY
Not afraid to tell it like it is, Jim Norton’s brand of humor can best be described as “in your face,” whether on his radio talk show or standing up on stage in a national comedy club tour. Name the headline of your choice, and this razor-sharp comedian, who also writes for Time Magazine, will have something to say about it. Norton is best known as the co-host of The Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show that can be heard every morning on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. His latest stand-up special, Mouthful of Shame, is currently streaming on Netflix, where he jolts viewers out of their complacency with his refreshingly unapologetic humor.
For this show, Comedy Works is offering a special VIP/Meet & Greet package, which includes priority entry, priority seating in rows one to five, Meet & Greet with the artist, and a photo opportunity after the show, including a signed autographed poster.
Comedy Works-Downtown, 1226 15th St., Denver
7:30 p.m. & 9:45 p.m.
Tickets: $32-$82
Phone: 303-595-3637
Friday-Sunday, February 2-4
WINTER PARK SKI TRAIN
Winter Park Resort is Colorado’s longest continually-operated ski resort featuring over 3,000 acres of award-winning terrain including groomers, terrain parks, bumps, steeps, trees, and most definitely deeps. Now you can take a train up to this ideal skiing and boarding location for a day of winter fun. Amtrak has reintroduced its route between Denver’s Union Station and Winter Park for skiers and boarders looking for a relaxed ride to the slopes in 2018. The train trip takes two hours for a full day on the snow.
Union Station, 1701 Wynkoop St., Denver
Departs: 7:00 a.m.; Returns: 4:30 p.m.
Cost: $29-$59
THE GREAT LEAP – A NEW GREAT PLAY!
It’s 1989, and Manford Lum is making a name for himself in San Francisco as a savvy basketball star on the sidewalk courts of Chinatown. When he talks his way onto a college team, he soon finds himself headed to Beijing to play in an international “friendship” game. At the time, China is in the throes of the post-Cultural Revolution era, and Manford must juggle international politics and his own personal history. Rising young dramatist Lauren Yee draws from her father’s life and short-lived basketball career to weave an unexpected and poignant story. Also grappling with their roles in the sport and their respective countries are the American coach and the Chinese coach. Tensions rise right up to the final buzzer as history collides with the action in the stadium.
Be the first among your friends to rave about this bold young playwright. Yee’s fearless, modern plays have been produced by over 15 theatre companies and lauded by many more. Most recently, her play King of the Yees won the Women’s Invitational at the Ashland New Play Festival. “A talented, smart and very funny writer…greatness surely lies ahead” (Chicago Tribune).
Ricketson Theatre/DCPA, 1400 Curtis St., Denver
Fri./Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 1:30 p.m.
Tickets: $30
Phone: 800-641-1222
RAVEL’S DAPHNIS ET CHLOÉ – THE COMPLETE BALLET!
Excerpts of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe are better known than the work as a whole, so it’s a rare treat to hear the complete ballet as the composer meant it to be! The Colorado Symphony Chorus revels in Ravel’s romantic, virtuosic story, based on a Greek drama that follows the courtship of Daphnis and Chloe through the abduction of Chloe by a band of pirates, her miraculous escape, and the passionate reunion of the lovers at daybreak in a pastoral grove sacred to the god Pan.
Also on the program are other French masters in a night of “le charme romantique,” just in time for Valentine’s Day! Be still, our hearts!
Boettcher Concert Hall/DPAC, 1000 14th St. #15, Denver
Fri./Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 1:00 p.m.
Tickets: $15-$89
Phone: 303-623-78760
SLEUTH – OPENING WEEKEND!
This classic cat-and-mouse thriller is a two-man play that will keep you guessing until the very end. When mystery writer Andrew Wyke invites his wife’s lover, Milo, to his country estate, a battle of wits quickly turns into a sinister game—or is it? Allow yourself to be transported to the land of English-murder-mysteries, and you, too, may fall under its spell! Written by Anthony Shaffer, Sleuth won the 1971 Tony Award for Best Play. Co-produced with Spotlight Theatre Company, this production is directed by Bernie Cardell and stars Mark Ribald and Brandon Palmer.
Vintage Theatre Productions, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora
Fri.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.
Tickets: $28-$32
Phone: 303-856-7830
Saturday, February 3
HARRY POTTER BOOK NIGHT
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Shop in Diagon Alley, learn all about sorting, and compete for the house cup!
Tallyn’s Reach Library, 23911 E. Arapahoe Rd., Aurora
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Phone: 303-627-3050
Choices Galore at Southshore!
You will always find something to do near the master-planned community of Southshore! In the “all-American city” of Aurora. Next time you’re near the Southlands Mall (E470 and Smoky Hill) make your way to the beautiful models from Century Communities in The Hills, Richmond American Homes and Toll Brothers in Vista Point at Southshore. Ranch and two-story models in this convenient community are priced from the upper $300s to the $700s.