The bereaved Colorado-based instrumental jam band Lotus will return to the stage on April 21-22 as a way of both honoring and helping the devastated family of a fallen member.

The bodies of percussionist Chuck Morris, 47, and his 20-year-old son, Charley, were found in Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark., on April 9, nearly a month after they had gone missing on a kayak adventure in the Ozarks.

Tickets for the benefit concerts at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium are on sale for $50-$79.75 for one show or $90 for a two-night pass at ticketmaster.com. Promoter Live Nation has waived fees so that “the majority of proceeds” will go to the Morris family.

Lotus is made up of guitarist Tim Palmieri, drummer Mike Greenfield, bass guitarist Jesse Miller and Luke Miller on guitar and keys.

A long list of friends and collaborators are expected to join them for the Fillmore concerts, including Jeff Franca of Thievery Corporation, Allen Aucoin of Disco Biscuits, Dave Watts of The Motet and Jeff Lloyd of Heavy Pets.

An astonishing $207,827 has been raised for Chuck’s wife, Jenny Thompson, and their daughter, Amelia, through a GoFundMe campaign. More than 3,100 individuals have contributed.

“My beautiful boy will be forever missed,” Thompson posted to the page. “His light, beauty, wit and intellect will reside in my heart forever. Thank you for the love and support. Amelia and I feel it every day.”

Lotus, which started in 1999 in Indiana, combines electronica and jam music. The band opened the 2021 concert season at Red Rocks and released its latest album, “Bloom and Recede,” in August 2022.

Denver to launch ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ Broadway tour

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ long-established rep for landing the premieres of big Broadway national tours has been reaffirmed with news that “Kimberly Akimbo,” which the show calls “the most critically acclaimed new musical of the Broadway season,” will launch at the Denver Performing Arts Complex in September 2024. That makes Denver the first of 60 scheduled cities.

It’s considered a feather in the cap to land a national tour debut because the creative team will be here preparing the traveling production not only for Denver audiences but for all eventualities in every city to follow. Team members typically spend months here, which itself is a huge economic boost to downtown. But mostly it’s acknowledgement that Denver has the facilities and experience to meet the challenge. 

Theater fans are likely familiar with David Lindsay-Abaire’s oft-staged 2000 play about a lonely teenage girl with a disease that causes her to age rapidly inside the frail body of an elderly woman. It has since been adapted into a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori (“Fun Home”). “Kimberly Akimbo” opened on Broadway in November, with Tony Award winner Victoria Clark in the title role of the girl who is forced to navigate family dysfunction, her first crush … and possible felony charges. Not to mention that pesky genetic condition.

“Kimberly Akimbo,” which will be included in the Denver Center’s 2024-25 subscription season, joins an impressive list of previous Denver “gets,” including “The Lion King,” “If/Then,” “Pippin” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”

“‘Kimberly Akimbo’ is smart, contemporary musical theater with lots of laughs and an original, heartfelt story,” said Denver Center Broadway Executive Director John Ekeberg.

But the only way for audiences to guarantee a shot at the best seats for “Kimberly Akimbo” in the 2024-25 season is to buy a 2023-24 Broadway season subscription – and then re-up for 2024-25 when the time comes. You can thank “Hamilton” for creating this new model of enticing audiences to become subscribers – and stay that way.

Springs Ensemble Theatre forced out

Springs Ensemble Theatre is being forced out of its home of 13 years by “ballooning” rent, company president Matt Radcliffe says. Bittersweet plans are underway to move from the company’s longtime home at 1903 E. Cache La Poudre St. in Colorado Springs and into the Fifty-Niner – a hidden speakeasy in the back of The Dice Guys Game Store in Old Colorado City. The move will require some reconfiguration of that space. “We will need funds to accomplish this move successfully,” Radcliffe said.

Beginning in 2010 with “The Smell of the Kill,” SET has staged 75 productions and created inestimable performance and employment opportunities for artists from the Pikes Peak region, Radcliffe said.

“This abrupt change comes as a surprise to us,” he said. “We have always paid our rent on time and never missed a payment, even during the darkest times of the pandemic. This is another example of the unfortunate local and national trend of rising inflation and rental rates choking artists out of their community.”

Radcliffe is determined to open in Colorado City by the fall. In the meantime, he’s looking for a new location to stage Mart Crowley’s gay classic “The Boys in the Band” from June 1-18 during Pride month.

Denver offers incentive to local arts groups

Denver Arts & Venues will use federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to offer $800,000 worth of discounts to anyone (organizations or individuals) who hold performances or events in a city-run facility between this June 1 and the end of 2024. At least 20% of that funding, or $160,000, will be reserved for orgs or individuals with annual revenues of $1 million or less during 2021, said Executive Director Ginger White.

The idea is to make space for live music, visual arts, dance, film, theater, educational activities and more, White said. City-owned venues include Red Rocks, the Denver Coliseum, Colorado Convention Center, McNichols Civic Center Building, the Studio Loft above the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and, once it is refurbished and reopened, the theater at Loretto Heights. Applications will be accepted through June 1.

Colorado doc to air Saturday

Colorado Humanities’ documentary film “The Five States of Colorado” will air at 7 p.m. Saturday (April 15) on KTVD Channel 20. It’s an updated take on Colorado filmmaker Jim Havey’s seminal 1989 doc of the same name that illustrated how Colorado evolved into a population as diverse as the land itself – five distinct regions, each with its own history, geography and economy.  This new film, narrated by Colorado Theatre Guild Lifetime Achievement actor and director Billie McBride, “will help stimulate education and community conversations about our state for years to come,“ said Colorado Humanities Executive Director Maggie Coval.

Miners Alley hires Heather Beasley

Heather Beasley, longtime associate artistic director of the transitioning Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado in Boulder, has been named Education Director at Miners Alley Playhouse in Golden, succeeding Rory Pierce. BETC, founded 17 years ago by departing married couple Rebecca Remaly and Stephen Weitz, will be led by Jessica Robblee and Mark Ragan after the season ends with the current play, ‘Eden Prairie 1971.’

And finally …

If you are a musical theater fan, and you are not watching “Schmigadoon!” and “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV+, seriously … what are you even doing with your life?