Live theater in Colorado never has a down season. But every once in a while, a vortex of new shows opens all at the same time. Take this impressive array of titles – all but two opening within a 24-hour span next weekend:

• Curious Theatre’s “Cost of Living”: Martyna Majok’s play made history last year as the first Broadway play featuring two characters with disabilities. (Denver’s Regan Linton was an understudy). It’s now about to be staged by Denver’s Curious Theatre Company in collaboration with the disability-affirmative Phamaly Theatre Company. The play examines two relationships: One between a graduate student with cerebral palsy and his female caregiver; the other between a woman who became a quadriplegic following a car accident and her unemployed ex-husband. Directed by Phamaly artistic boss Ben Raanan. March 16-April 20 at 1080 Acoma St. curioustheatre.org

• Vintage Theatre’s “The Glass Menagerie”: In Tennessee Williams’ disturbing classic, Tom Wingfield recounts life with his timid, sickly sister and their domineering mother – a life of despair that he has left far behind. (Not even close.) If you are wondering whether you might really need to see this oft-produced dysfunctional drama again, here’s the only reason you’ll need: Emma Messenger, one of the finest Denver actors of the past decade, is playing Amanda in a way that might challenge your preconceptions about this oft-misunderstood matriarch. March 15-April 21 at 1468 Dayton St., Aurora. vintagetheatre.org

• Arvada Center’s “Noises Off”: The most celebrated modern farce ever written is very, very funny – in the right hands. And it appears to be here. Michael Frayn’s meticulously constructed three-act comedy follows the antics of an inept acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night. Everything that can go wrong does, as the actors try desperately to hang on to their lines, their sanity – and the furniture. Directed by Geoffrey Kent with a top-notch cast including Kate Gleason, Rodney Lizcano, Jenna Moll Reyes, Leslie O’Carroll, Gareth Saxe and many more. March 22-May 5 at 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. arvadacenter.org

• Town Hall Arts Center’s “Raisin”: Town Hall isn’t where you’d expect to see anything for the first time, but it is about to open the big-buzz first staging of this musical adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic play “A Raisin in the Sun.” It’s about a proud Black family’s quest for a better life in 1951 Chicago. Directed by Christopher Page-Sanders, Iliana Baron and Trent Hines. March 22-April 14 at 2450 Main St., Littleton. townhallartscenter.org

• Phamaly Theatre Company’s “Miss Holmes”: Christopher M. Walsh’s 2017 play re-examines the Victorian world of detective Holmes and Dr. Watson and the added obstacles these two iconic characters might have faced if they were … not men. (This staging is not to be confused with Kate Hamill’s “Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B” – another gender reboot that was staged last year in Boulder.) Helming this production is noted Denver theatermaker Mare Trevathan. March 23-April 7 at the Parsons Theatre, 1 E. Memorial Parkway, Northglenn. phamaly.org

• Aurora Fox’s “Gem of the Ocean”: This play, directed by the intentionally lower-cased icon donnie l. betts, launches the Aurora Fox’s commitment to stage August Wilson’s entire 10-play “American Century Cycle,” which follows the lives of Black Americans throughout each decade of the 20th century. Although “Gem of the Ocean” is one of the final plays Wilson penned, it comes first in the cycle, set in 1904. According to legend, “Gem of the Ocean” is the name of a ship that capsized in the Atlantic and rests below in a city built entirely from the bones of all Africans who did not survive passage to America. The story follows Aunt Ester, a 285-year-old “washer of souls” who represents the entire Black experience since the first slave arrived in Virginia chained to a ship’s hull. March 23-April 14 at 9900 E. Colfax Ave.  aurorafoxartscenter.org.

• Theatre Artibus’ “The Bluebird”: This bittersweet theatrical poem inspired by Charles Bukowski’s evocative ballad examines creator and performer Buba Basishvili’s own immigration story. Basishvili was born in Tbilisi, in the Republic of Georgia, under the occupation of the Soviet Red Army. His whimsical piece weaves pantomime, visual metaphor and physical comedy to explore universal immigrant themes of identity, exclusion and resilience. March 23-through April 7 at the Savoy Denver, 2700 Arapahoe St.

• Firehouse’s “Guadalupe in the Guest House”: Tony Meneses (Denver Center’s “twenty50”) introduces a man who is grieving the death of his wife alongside his equally devastated mother-in-law. Together they overcome differences in language and culture to find common ground by watching Mexican telenovas. Directed by noted Denver playwright Melissa Lucero McCarl. March 23-April 20 at the John Hand Theatre on the Lowry campus, 7653 E. 1st Place. firehousetheatercompany.com

• OpenStage’s “Big Fish”: This musical adaptation of the popular Tim Burton film tells the story of a young man determined to discover the truth behind his father’s larger-than-life fish tales about mermaids and giants. Directed by Noah Racey and starring Scott Hurst. March 23-April 20 at the Lincoln Center, 417 W Magnolia St., Fort Collins. openstage.com

Among the dozens of plays already up and running, consider Su Teatro’s “48 Hours (Cuarenta y Ocho)” recounting the still-unsolved Boulder bombings that killed six Chicano activists in 1974 (through March 23) … Buntport Theater’s 53rd collaboratively created original play, “125 NO’s,” a comedy inspired by the legend that an uncredited director of the famous flop “Desire Me” made Greer Garson do 125 takes of the word “no” (through March 23) … Miners Alley Playhouse’s “A Jukebox for the Algonquin”: A serious senior comedy about sex, drugs and rocking chairs (through April 7) … Benchmark Theater’s “You Got Older,” a tender family drama about a woman who returns home to help take care of her sick dad (through March 16).

Among musicals, lots of people are talking about the Arvada Center’s “Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812” (through March 31) and Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s Gershwin tuner “Crazy for You” (through April 7) in Johnstown. 

Orvedahl returns to ‘The Narrators’

Denver comedian Andrew Orvedahl, who in 2010 launched “The Narrators,” an award-winning live storytelling show and podcast, is returning to the program March 20 at Buntport Theater. He’s been gone for nearly a decade.

“I created ‘The Narrators’ because I’ve always loved telling stories in my stand-up – but sometimes a story just doesn’t work in that setting,” he said. “I was aware of storytelling shows, and ‘professional’ storytellers such as Utah Phillips, so I wanted a show where a few people could tell true stories around a theme.”

The first version of the show started at Paris on the Platte in downtown Denver, and was quickly a hit. It  grew and bounced around a few venues until landing in its current home at Buntport.

“When I moved to Los Angeles in 2015, I handed the show off to Ron Doyle and Erin Rollman, and I knew it was in good hands,” he said. “The show has been going strong over all my absent years, but this year I decided to return and join Ron and Erin at the helm. The break was nice to work on so many other projects and I am excited and recharged to get back into it.”

“The Narrators” is held every third Wednesday at Buntport, 717 Lipan St. This week’s theme: “IYKYK.” Info at buntport.com.