One of the most powerful moments on any Colorado stage in 2024 took place before the show started – and it wasn’t even live.

It came in the form of a pre-recorded curtain speech before the opening performance of the disability-affirmative Phamaly Theatre Company’s remarkable production of “A Chorus Line” at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

It was narrated from New York by Phamaly alumna Jenna Bainbridge, who made Broadway history in April as an ensemble cast member in the award-winning musical “Suffs.” (Bainbridge, a graduate of Castle View High School in Castle Rock and the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, became the first wheelchair user to originate a role in a new Broadway musical. Ever.)

Her message to those gathered in the Kilstrom Theatre read, in part:

“In 1989, the five founders of Phamaly wanted to kick off this amazing theater company with ‘A Chorus Line,’ but were convinced by members of the Denver theatrical community that no audience would believe that a bunch of disabled people could possibly be auditioning for a Broadway musical, and so the choice was made to switch to ‘Guys and Dolls’ for the inaugural production.

“Maybe those naysayers were right. It was 1989, after all, and the Americans with Disabilities Act hadn’t yet passed. But here’s the thing: It’s not 1989 any longer. Times have changed and this year, 2024, I became the first-ever wheelchair user to originate a role in a Broadway musical.

“So, to all those who still believe that a disabled actor can’t possibly act, sing and dance at the level of professional theater: Do us all a favor and (bleep) off.”

I’d never heard a performance begin with a louder cheer.

Bainbridge was one of at least four Colorado actors who reached the pinnacle of their profession in 2024 by making their debuts on a Broadway stage, a group that includes Barton Cowperthwaite (“The Outsiders”); Oscar Whitney Jr. (“Hell’s Kitchen”) and Benjamin Bonenfant (“Patriots”).

Bainbridge and Cowperthwaite reached even greater heights when both performed before 3.5 million viewers at the Tony Awards. Both of their shows were Best Musical nominees. “The Outsiders” won.

But while Bainbridge commanded deserved headlines this year for her history-making role in ”Suffs,” a groundbreaking musical that tells stories of the women’s suffrage movement leading to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Phamaly Artistic Director Ben Raanan says that’s not her defining characteristic.

“It’s that Jenna is one of the kindest, warmest, most loving people you will ever meet. And that, in my view, is what will continue to get Jenna cast in Broadway shows – not that she uses a wheelchair a certain percentage of the time.”

In 2024, Bainbridge also co-founded ConsultAbility, a consulting agency working to make theaters more accessible.

“I never imagined myself being on Broadway, and I’m super grateful for every day I’ve had,” she told the Denver Gazette on Thursday. “There aren’t many disabled performers who have gotten to have this experience, and I’m very excited to see what the future holds and how the industry becomes more accessible and inclusive.”

Still, I asked Raanan what message Bainbridge’s very existence on the “Suffs” stage sends to anyone who might be struggling to find their place in the world.

“Don’t let your disability define you as a performer,” he said. “Let it aid who you are as a performer.”

“Suffs” has announced a closing date of Jan. 5. And right now, Bainbridge said, “I’m savoring the month I have left on Broadway.”

Oscar Whitney Jr.

Jalyn Webb vividly recalls when Overland High School grad Oscar Whitney Jr. arrived at her vocal studio for his first vocal lesson as a student at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley back in 2017.

“He brought a song, and we sang through it, and I just remember the hairs on my neck standing up,” she said. “I looked at him and said, ‘OK, I can’t wait to see what you do on Broadway.’ And I never say that to students.

“It wasn’t just his talent. It was the drive and the passion and the raw talent and the work ethic. It was all there.”

There really is such a thing as an “It Factor,” Webb said, and Whitney had it. “He was such a uniquely good dancer and singer and actor,” she said, “but it was his willingness to work and his extraordinary talent that made it very clear this was going to happen for him.”

Whitney, who appeared as the donkey in the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s “Shrek” in 2021 before venturing out into the larger world, plays an ensemble member in “Hell’s Kitchen,” Alicia Keys’ love story between a mother and daughter. He’s also covering for four roles.

“Working with this team and cast is truly a dream come true,” Whitney said.

Barton Cowperthwaite

At this time last year, we were giving Denver School of the Arts grad and classically trained ballet dancer Barton Cowperthwaite a True West Award for grace under extreme pressure. Doctors discovered a tumor the size of a lemon in Cowperthwaite’s brain. Ten days later, it was removed. Three months after that, Cowperthwaite was making his Broadway debut as an ensemble player in “The Outsiders,“ the 2024 Tony Award-winning Best Musical based on both the classic S.E. Hinton novel and the Francis Ford Coppola film.

“I’m grateful to be alive, I’m grateful for the support, and I’m grateful to be working in a show that feels like fate carried me to it,” Cowperthwaite wrote on his Instagram page. “Life is a gift.”

His mom, Laura Cowperthwaite, told The Denver Gazette: “2024 was a wild ride for our family after the brain tumor diagnosis. Watching Barton work through his treatment, start rehearsals, open the show, win four Tony Awards … the joy, pride and relief at seeing him continue to return to himself and perform has been the journey of a lifetime.”

Benjamin Bonenfant

Benjamin Bonenfant, a graduate of St. Mary’s High School and the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, was tapped last summer to join the cast of a runaway hit British play called “Patriots,” which looks at Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, as it made its high-profile transfer to Broadway.

Bonenfant, who has Colorado credits with the DCPA Theatre Company, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Springs Theatreworks, Curious Theatre, Local Theater Company and many more, was cast to understudy a whopping 10 roles for “Patriots.” That means memorizing just about the entire script – with little expectation of making his actual Broadway debut because the play, starring the esteemed Michael Stuhlbarg (with Will Keen as Putin), was limited to just 16 weeks.

But, huzzah, Bonenfant was called into action for three of the final performances and is now forever enshrined in the Broadway registry, with many more credits sure to come. At the time, I asked Bonenfant for a full report, and, true to his character, he mostly expressed concern for his ill castmate. But by all reports, it all went smoothly. “I am glad it gave me a chance to earn my paycheck,” he modestly said.

Making the experience all the more special: Bonenfant’s wife, Denver’s own Jamie Ann Romero, was simultaneously understudying a two-actor off-Broadway play called “N/A.” Romero had made her Broadway debut in much the same fashion in August 2023 as an understudy to Laura Bell Bundy in “The Cottage.”

As Sinatra sang: “Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you.”

Note: The True West Awards, now in their 24th year, began as the Denver Post Ovation Awards in 2001. Denver Gazette Senior Arts Journalist John Moore celebrates the Colorado theater community by revisiting 30 good stories from the past year without categories or nominations.

Unsung hero of the day

Parker Arts is an unusual arts organization because it determines the theater season for the city-owned Pace Center, then takes bids from local companies that want to produce those titles. Whoever “wins” inherits a full-time staff of in-house, city-employed designers and technicians who must be flexible and capable of working with all sorts of different personalities (including those who rent the smaller Schoolhouse Theater and Discovery Park).

Roderick Tyson Borden, stage technician for Parker Arts since 2015, is considered the gift that comes along with landing any PACE Center show. One that comes all but wrapped up in a bow.

“Roderick manages, organizes and builds everything at Parker Arts,” said Nancy Begley, co-founder of Veritas Productions, which just staged “Nunsense” at the PACE Center. “He loads everything in and out, and is a dream to collaborate with.”

Adds Allie Alexander: “Roderick knows just about everything and deals with issues like they’re nothing.” That’s a sentiment thirded by Sara Stokes Crowe. “This man is incredibly talented, kind and professional,” she said.

“Thanks to the efforts of Roderick and Parker Arts’ talented staff of stagehands, our residents and visitors are able to see exceptional performances right here in our community,” the city of Parker offered in its own statement.