Arts news: Rateliffe on Kimmel; local pens Julia Roberts movie; reaction critical of decision to end DCPA’s Off-Center programming

Award-winning actor Jeff Daniels is best known for his roles in the Colorado-made film Dumb and Dumber and the lauded HBO series The Newsroom, but he has carved out an additional, full life as the founder of the non-profit Purple Rose Theatre Company in his home state of Michigan.

And Golden’s Miners Alley Performing Arts Center is becoming something of a partnering theater company. The two troupes have a shared sensibility favoring fresh, handcrafted productions rooted in America’s heartland.  

Last year, Miners Alley staged the sleeper comedy hit “A Jukebox for the Algonquin,” which is only the most recent Purple story Rose it has staged. Next up is “Diva Royale,” which not only began life at the Purple Rose in 2018 – it is written by Daniels himself.

“Diva Royale” is a gentle farce about three Midwestern stay-at-home moms who take a spontaneous trip to New York City to see Celine Dion in concert. (What could possibly go wrong?) It stars a powerhouse trio of Emily Paton Davies, Amy Arpan and Lisa DeCaro.

Daniels himself sent a personal video message wishing the Miners Alley team a happy opening. “Audiences loved it (here), and I am sure Colorado audiences are going to love it, too,” Daniels said. “This is the fifth production Miners Alley has done of a Purple Rose play, and I am thrilled they are doing it. I hope there are many more.”

It’s now playing through Nov. 9 at 1100 Miners Alley in Golden. Tickets at https://minersalley.com.

Off-Center’s demise seems … off-center

Reaction to the Denver Center’s decision to end its Off-Center (adventurous) programming spans from sadness to outright anger. Most are having difficulty reconciling how the DCPA can look boldly into the future without its boldest programming initiative. “Seems shortsighted,” was a common reader response.

Emily Tarquin, who co-founded Off-Center with Charlie Miller in 2010 and last month was named Managing Director of the Actors Theatre of Louisville, called the news “sadly predictable. Science that your brain can’t hold both curiosity and fear simultaneously. And we need more curiosity.”

Other reactions:

• “How disappointing,” wrote former Theatre Aspen Executive Artistic Director Paige Price. “Theatermakers from all over looked to Off-Center as a beacon of innovation and a source of fresh experiences.”

• “Off-Center was really what Denver theater was known for around the country in the last several years,” wrote former Curious Theatre Managing Director Katie Maltais. “What a void.”

Rateliffe’s national birthday party

Nathaniel Rateliffe and The Night Sweats performed “Get Used to the Night” on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel: Live!” Monday, one day before Rateliff turned 47. The song was watched by an estimated 1.6 million, not including online viewers. The next night, Denver School of the Arts grad Justine Lupe (“Nobody Wants This”) appeared on the show.

Julia Roberts’ Colorado connection

The new Julia Roberts movie will be released in theaters on Oct 17, and it is written by Denver School of the Arts alumna Nora Garrett. It’s called “After the Hunt,” and it also features Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny and Ayo Edebiri. Roberts has said the reason the film was able to assemble such an all-star cast is because Garrett wrote characters worthy of an all-star cast.

“After the Hunt” is a psychological thriller that follows a college professor (Roberts) caught in between a sexual abuse accusation involving one of her students (Edebiri, of “The Bear”), and a colleague (Garfield). The director is Luca Guadagnino.

Tom Hanks has a Colorado castmate

Jamie Ann Romero, a graduate of Chatfield High School in Littleton and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, is about to perform in an Off-Broadway play starring, ho, hum: Tom Hanks and Kelli O’Hara. “This World of Tomorrow,” opening Oct. 30 in New York City, is the story of a disenchanted scientist from the future who travels back in time to the 1939 New York World’s Fair, which revives his dream of what the future could be. The director is another bigshot: Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (“A Raisin in the Sun”). The play is co-written by Hanks, based on his own short stories. Romero plays two characters: “ELMA” (External Learning Machine Associate) and Sylvia. Runs through Dec. 21 at The Shed, 545 West 30th St. …

The national touring production of “Shucked” is playing through Oct. 19 at the Buell Theatre, and the cast includes Denver School of the Arts grad Ryan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald previously played Neil Sedaka in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and was in the ensemble of “Cinderella,” both at the Arvada Center, in 2023.

“Shucked” was an underdog breakout hit on Broadway in 2023. It’s a pun-filled musical comedy about a small town’s fight to preserve its corn-based livelihood. Of his first opportunity to perform in a musical on the Buell Theatre stage, Fitzgerald told CBS Denver: “It’s gonna be “amaizing” to be on that stage after seeing so many shows there.” Tickets at denvercenter.org …

Veteran Denver film actor Marty Lindsey wrapped shooting last week in New Mexico on an upcoming film called “Coyote.” It stars Mel Gibson and Esai Morales in the story of an ex-smuggler on a quest for redemption who aids a mother and daughter through some perilous borderlands.

Make way for Boulder Roots

There has been a lot of talk this year about music festivals coming to an end in Denver. But a major new one called Boulder Roots Music Fest will feature more than 800 musicians on 15 stages over three days coming up Oct. 17-19. What’s crazy about that is when the fest was first announced, it was going to be ”only” 400 artists across 10 stages – so that’s how big it has grown just in the planning stages.

“This is the start of a decades-long music tradition in Boulder,” said Executive Director Dave Kennedy. “Our goal is to make this the Bolder Boulder of music festivals.” 

Headliners include the Yonder Mountain String Band, Andy Frasco and the U.N., Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and the North Mississippi Allstars. Game on. Passes at rootsmusicproject.org …

Elsewhere, some big show announcements: Seth Meyers, May 8 at the Paramount Theatre; “Dancing with the Stars: Live!” April 12 at the Bellco Theatre; “Samantha Bee: How to Survive Menopause,” March 5 at the University of Denver’s Newman Center. All go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.

Dancer in the dark

I had to ask AI if John Summit is indeed a global dance star and it told me he has more than a billion streams, so that would be a yes. Summit will perform at Folsom Field in Boulder on Oct. 18 in what will be the largest headlining show of his career. Also on the lineup: Tchami, Max Styler, Roddy Lima and B/AN/K. Tickets: cubuffs.evenue.net.

Remembrances

Christin Mason Martin, who founded a small local company called Invictus Theatre, will be celebrated at 6 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora. Martin, a local director, producer, designer and actor for more than 20 years, died Sept. 14 from a heart condition. She was 48. Martin founded Invictus in 2018 with the premise that theater should not only be good, but accessible to anyone who wants to experience it …

Meanwhile, friends will gather at 11 a.m. Friday (Oct. 17) to remember Ronnie Lee White, who died Aug. 21 at age 77. Lee was a longtime legacy stagehand for the Denver Center Theatre Company. He did all things in the former Space (now Kilstrom) Theatre, and was beloved by fellow tech folks. “He was a loveable grumpy guff of an old stagehand,” said his friend, DCTC Production Manager Matthew Campbell. “And he had a true love of sandwiches.” The gathering is at Danny Ray’s Food and Spirits, 11353 W. Colfax Ave., in Lakewood.

And finally …

The governor’s office has opened nominations for the next Poet Laureate of Colorado, a daunting position to fill in the wake of the July 14 death from cancer of predecessor Andrea Gibson. The Poet Laureate serves as the state’s ambassador for poetry, engaging with Colorado communities, conducting readings and workshops, and inspiring a love for the art form. The deadline for nominations is Oct. 27. Check out the eligibility criteria at coloradohumanities.org.