Denver Center, Firehouse, Arvada Center lead Colorado companies in a wildly unpredictable year celebrating Colorado theater

The Colorado Theatre Guild’s wildly unpredictable Henry Awards promise to be even more wild and unpredictable than ever when the advocacy group’s 20th annual celebration of achievements in the Colorado theater year are doled out on July 20 at the Arvada Center.

Few could have predicted that, in a sensational year for Colorado musicals, the two most honored tuners of the year (by far) would turn out to be the Lone Tree Arts Center’s “Nice Work if You Can Get It” (with a jaw-dropping 17 nominations) and Stage of Life Theatre Company of Carbondale’s “Cabaret” (with 10).

The question on everyone’s minds with the release of this year’s nominations is surely: “Wait. What is the Stage of Life Theatre Company?

Here to help.

SoL (that stood for something else when I was a kid!) was founded in 2012 to provide an affordable performance and education space for children in the Roaring Fork Valley. It exists to present, according to its mission statement, “the most professional children’s theater possible.” 

Now, “Cabaret,” you might be thinking, is decidedly not a children’s musical. This special staging reunited industry professionals who have been part of the SoL family since childhood.

The two most honored plays of the statewide theater year are “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” staged by the Denver Center’s cabaret division (11 nominations), and little Firehouse Theater Company’s “Alabama Story” (10). Firehouse operates out of the Colorado Free University on the former Lowry Air Force Base. Next was Curious Theatre’s lovely generational family drama “Birthday Candles” with five.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” is a screwball musical comedy set in 1927 that features a silly gangster story set to songs by George and Ira Gershwin. It was excellently staged, but its 17 nominations stand out like a blinking neon sign against more substantive efforts like the Arvada Center’s “Come from Away” (5), the Denver Center’s “Next to Normal” (4) and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s surprisingly awesome “Jagged Little Pill” (3). Those who followed the story of Sasquatch Productions’ “Shrek” at Parker’s PACE Center likely will be delighted to learn that it has secured one of the Henrys’ six nominations for outstanding musical. Public outrage over the staging’s inclusion of two rainbow flags during the climactic song erupted into a “Bonfire of the Vanities” dumpster fire that threatened to close the show early.

“Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” was perhaps the sleeper hit of the year. The Denver Center tends to mount one homegrown, long-running show each year in its cabaret Galleria Theatre. This one was a fast-paced, 90-minute gender-bending spoof that endeavored to mash up Bram Stoker’s gothic classic with the comedic absurdity of Monty Python and Mel Brooks. It ran for more than five months. Every member of the cast was nominated in an individual acting category.

In December, the Denver Gazette’s True West Awards (which endeavored to celebrate good stories from the year over naming competitive winners) singled out married couple Marco and Adriane Robinson, who in “Dracula” were being romantically paired for the third time in 2025 alone. Henry Award judges clearly took note of that adorableness as well. The spouses were nominated for their performances in both “Nice Work” and “Dracula,” accounting for four household nominations.

In terms of nominations, the most honored companies of the year are the Denver Center for the Performing Arts with 26 (15 for the Denver Center Theatre Company and 11 for its separate cabaret division); Lone Tree (with 17), Firehouse (14), Arvada Center (12) and SoL (10). 

Last year, the Guild made a history-making change by morphing all 16 of its previous individual actor categories into eight groups of larger, genderless “outstanding performer” supercategories. That means there are no “outstanding actor” or “actress” categories anymore. And that changed the awards game forever. 

Each category has been expanded from the traditional five nominees to 10, with the top two vote-getters (and ties) both receiving awards – regardless of gender. The intent, the Guild has stated, is to acknowledge openly nonbinary performers who do not define themselves as either male actors or female actresses.

Frankly, no one had a clue how that would all play out when the 2025 nominees were announced. Turned out, about 60% of that nominee pool identified as men. This year, the split is much closer, with 51.3% believed to identify as male.  

This year, six of the 10 actors nominated as outstanding featured actors in a musical performed together in “Nice Work if You Can Get it.”

Now might be a good time good time to point out that key to best understanding the Henry Award nominations is to understand who’s not listed – and why. The nominee field consists only of those companies that are both members of the Colorado Theatre Guild and choose to be considered. 

The Town Hall Arts Center pulled out of Henry Awards consideration without comment after last year’s staging of “On Your Feet!” – which means its stellar productions of “The Wiz,” “Spamalot” and “Avenue Q” were not eligible.

In an attempt to avoid any potential  perception of a conflict of interest, the Guild now asks the co-directors of its live awards show to take themselves out of consideration for individual awards. That takes Kenny Moten out of consideration for his direction of the Arvada Center’s “Frozen” and  “Come From Away,” the latter of which was (in my opinion, anyway) not only the outstanding musical of the year, but of many years.

This year’s nominations include what is believed to be the first posthumous nod in the awards’ history. Costume designer Debra Faber, who died Feb. 13, is nominated for her work on “Anastasia” at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.

This year’s multiple nominees include actors Megan Van De Hey and Jeffrey Parker, costume designer Nicole Harrison, music director David Nehls and choreographer/director Christopher Page Sanders.

For many, the Henry Awards season brings joy and validation. For others, it can be seen as a stinging, perennial rebuke. Phamaly, Denver’s disability-affirmative theater company, has not received a Henry Award nomination since 2020.

Curious, long considered the closest thing Denver has to an off-Broadway theater company, was shut out beyond “Birthday Candles,” despite a varied slate that included “Eureka Day” and “Job.” The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, which always seems be land on the snubbed side of the Henrys, received one nomination – for Karen Slack‘s performance as Caliban in “The Tempest.”

The Henrys can be nothing if not a fickle friend. Take Grand Lake’s rock-solid summer-only Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre Company, which landed three nominations in 2024, a jaw-dropping 23 in 2025, and this year – only one. The Arvada Center’s “Frozen,” which obliterated box-office records, got an icy shoulder from Henry judges.

It’s arguable that the most impactful Colorado company of the past year has been the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company, which delivered knockout after knockout with the plays “Cry It Out,” “The Thin Place,” “Brooklyn Laundry” and “Mary Jane.” And yet, just four nods. 

Boulder’s Local Theater Company? Zero. The ongoing, all-original ongoing miracle that is Buntport Theater? Zero. And if you are an immersive theater company? Nowhere to be found.

Tickets to the July 20 awards ceremony will be available later this month at arvadacenter.org

John Moore is the Denver Gazette’s Senior Arts Journalist. Email him at [email protected].

2025-26 HENRY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Outstanding play

• “Another Medea,” Bas Bleu Theatre Company
• “Cry It Out,” Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
• “Silent Sky,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” Denver Center Cabaret
• “English,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• “The Happiest Man on Earth,” Denver Center Theatre Company

Outstanding musical

• “Come From Away,” Arvada Center
• “Next to Normal,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• “Shrek the Musical,” Sasquatch Productions and Parker Arts
• “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• “Million Dollar Quartet,” Theatre Aspen

Direction of a play

• Hamid Dehghani, “English,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Tara Falk, “Silent Sky,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• Hunter Foster, “Driving Miss Daisy,” Theatre Aspen
• Gordon Greenberg, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• Christy Montour-Larson, “Birthday Candles,” Curious Theatre Company

Direction of a musical

• Kate Gleason, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Nancy Keystone, “Next to Normal,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Christopher Page-Sanders, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,
• Arvada Center
• Luke Ryan, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life (SoL) Theatre Company
• Warren Sherrill, “Assassins,” Miners Alley Performing Arts Center

Musical direction

• Jacob Carll, “Next to Normal,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• J. Chang-Tablada, “Jagged Little Pill,” Colorado Springs Fine
• Arts Center at Colorado College
• David Nehls, “Come From Away,” Arvada Center
• Alec Steinhorn, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts
• Brady Wease, “Million Dollar Quartet,” Theatre Aspen

Performance in a play, large companies

(Two recipients in each of the next eight categories)

• Vaneh Assadourian, “English,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Annie Barbour, “Brooklyn Laundry,” Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
• Gabriella Cavellero, “Birthday Candles,” Curious Theatre Company
• Bernard Dotson, “Driving Miss Daisy,” Theatre Aspen
• Jacob Dresch, “The Mousetrap,” Arvada Center
• Torsten Hillhouse, “Brooklyn Laundry,” Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
• Judy Kaye, “Driving Miss Daisy,” Theatre Aspen
• Karen Slack, “The Tempest,” Colorado Shakespeare Festival
• Kenneth Tigar, “The Happiest Man on Earth,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Andrew Uhlenhopp, “Angels in America (Part One),” Vintage Theatre

Performance in a play, small companies

• Jysten Atom, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Jeffrey Bigger, “Another Medea,” Bas Bleu Theatre Company
• Steve Emily, “The Shark is Broken,” Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Jane Fromme, “Frozen,” Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Colin Gregory, “The Shark is Broken,” Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Martha Harman, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Kevin Hart, “The Last Yiddish Speaker,” Theatre Or
• Elicia Hesslegrave, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Kenya Mahogany Fashaw, “White,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Jeffrey Parker, “Frankenstein,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts

Performance in a musical, large companies

• Trevor Brown, “The Wild Party,” Thingamajig Theatre Company
• Randy Chalmers, “Come From Away,” Arvada Center
• Paige Daigle, “Guys and Dolls,” Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
• Brandon Lopez, “On Your Feet!” Town Hall Arts Center
• Adriane Leigh Robinson, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Marco Alberto Robinson, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Monet Sabel, “Jagged Little Pill,” Colorado Springs Fine Arts
• Center at Colorado College
• Katie Stone, “Anastasia,” Candlelight Dinner Playhouse
• Essence Anisa Tyler, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,” Arvada Center
• Megan Van De Hey, “Come From Away,” Arvada Center

Performance in a musical, small companies

• Adam Brett, Cabaret, “Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Patric Case, “Bonnie & Clyde,” Bright Heart Stages
• Maura Fawley, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Lindsey Falduto, “The Bridges of Madison County,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts
• Jazz Mueller, “Bonnie & Clyde,” Bright Heart Stages
• Jennasea Pierce, “Bonnie & Clyde,” Bright Heart Stages
• Jeremy Rill, “The Bridges of Madison County,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts
• Amelia Rose, “Bonnie & Clyde,” Bright Heart Stages
• Anne Terze-Schwarz, “Miss Manhattan, 19K Productions and CenterStage Theatre Company
• Megan Van De Hey, “Miss Manhattan, 19K Productions and CenterStage Theatre Company

Featured performance in a play, large companies

• Noelia Antweiler, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” Miners Alley Performing Arts Center
• Kate Berry, “Silent Sky,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• Zach Kononov, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• Brian Landis Folkins, “Birthday Candles,” Curious Theatre Company
• Rodney Lizcano, “Birthday Candles,” Curious Theatre Company
• Leslie O’Carroll, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• Jessica Robblee, Brooklyn Laundry, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
• Adriane Leigh Robinson, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• Marco Alberto Robinson, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• Sean Scrutchins, Dracula: “A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret

Featured performance in a play, small companies

• Solomon Abell, “The Last Yiddish Speaker,” Theatre Or
• James Burns, “The Cottage,” OpenStage Theatre
• Mary Campbell, “Let Nothing You Dismay,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Steve Emily, “Frozen,” Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Matt Hindmarch, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Jeff Jesmer, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Dia Kline, “The Last Yiddish Speaker,” Theatre Or
• Cal Meakins, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Molly McGuire, “The Cottage,” OpenStage Theatre
• Veronica Straight-Lingo, “Let Nothing You Dismay,” Firehouse Theatre Company

Featured performance in a musical, large companies

• Elise Daniels, “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Brian Davis, “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Jennifer DeDominici, “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Shabazz Green, “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Fairin Moon Hightower, “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Sharon Kay-White, “Assassins,” Miners Alley Performing Arts Center
• Ellie O’Hara, “The Wild Party,” Thingamajig Theatre Company
• Tim Moore, “Something Rotten!” Thingamajig Theatre Company
• Carter Edward Smith, “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Chance Michael Wall, “Million Dollar Quartet,” Theatre Aspen
• Brady Wease, “Million Dollar Quartet,” Theatre Aspen

Featured performance in a musical, small companies

• Taylor Barr, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Jennifer Burnett, “The Bridges of Madison County,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts
• Sarah Forman, “The Little Mermaid,” Performance Now
• Nina Gabianelli, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Vidushi Goyal, “Miss Manhattan,” 19K Productions and CenterStage Theatre Company
• Eric Heine, “Bonnie & Clyde,” Bright Heart Stages
• Sara Kitt Farrell, “The Bridges of Madison County,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts
• Jeffrey Parker, “South Pacific,” Performance Now Theatre Company
• Lars Preece, “The Bridges of Madison County,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts
• Jason Rexx, “Something Rotten!” StageDoor Theatre

Outstanding ensemble

• “Birthday Candles,” Curious Theatre Company
• “Come From Away,” Arvada Center
• “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” Miners Alley Performing Arts Center
• “The Mousetrap,” Arvada Center
• “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center

Choreography

• Jeffery Denman, “Mary Poppins, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
• Christopher Page-Sanders, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Sarah Parker, “Jagged Little Pill,” Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
• Luke Ryan, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Pia Wyatt, “The Wild Party,” Thingamajig Theatre Company

New play or musical

• “Godspeed, by Terence Anthony, Denver Center Theatre Company
• “Miss Manhattan, by Graham Fuller, Kristina Fuller, Dan Graeber and Stephanie Ronco, 19K Productions and CenterStage Theatre Company
• “Stocking Stuffers,” by Betsy Kelso and David Nehls, Miners Alley Performing Arts Center
• “H-E-Double Crooked Letter,” by Leonard Madrid, Firehouse Theatre Company
• “Cowboys and East Indians,” by Nina McConigley and Matthew Spangler, Denver Center Theatre Company

Costume design, large companies

• Madison Booth, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Kevin Copenhaver, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Deb Faber, “Anastasia,” Candlelight Dinner Playhouse
• Nicole Jescinth Smith, “Godspeed,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Hunter Kaczorowski, “Driving Miss Daisy,” Theatre Aspen
• Linda Morken, “The Mousetrap,” Arvada Center
• Tristan Raines, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret

Costume design, small companies

• Jennifer Austin Huges, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Charlotte Campbell, “The Little Mermaid,” Performance Now
• Jasper Day, The Cottage, OpenStage Theatre
• Nicole Harrison, “Frankenstein,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts
• Nicole Harrison and Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry, “42nd Street,” Performance Now
  Rachel Herring-Luna, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company

Lighting design, large companies

• Jonathan Dunkle, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Kevin Frazier, “Silent Sky,” Creede Repertory Theatre
• Charles R. MacLeod, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• Shannon McKinney, “The Mousetrap,” Arvada Center
• Paul Whitaker, “Next to Normal,” Denver Center Theatre Company

Lighting design, small companies

• Josiah Croegaert, “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol,” Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
• Sean Jeffries, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Mackenzie Lowe, “Misery,” OpenStage Theatre
• Emily Maddox, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Brett Maughan, “Frankenstein,” Platte Valley Theatre Arts

Scenic design, large companies

• Tijana Bjelajac, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• Brandon Philip Case, “K2,” Thunder River Theatre Company
• Matthew Crane, “Mary Poppins,” Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
• Brian Mallgrave, “The Mousetrap,” Arvada Center
• Kevin Nelson, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center
• Christopher L. Sheley, “The Roommate,” Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College

Scenic design, small companies

• Ivan Andrade, “The Mousetrap,” OpenStage Theatre
• Andrew Bates, “South Pacific,” Performance Now
• Jim and Carla Brookman, “The Cottage,” OpenStage Theatre
• David Cook, “The Shark is Broken,” Springs Ensemble Theatre
• Melissa McCarl, Jeff Jessmer and Megan Davis, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Kirk Slingluff, “Into the Woods,” The Arts Hub

Sound design, large companies

• Melanie Chen Cole, “English,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Victoria Deiorio, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors,” DCPA Cabaret
• John Hauser, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” Miners Alley Performing Arts Center
• Noel Nichols/Uptown Works, “Godspeed,” Denver Center Theatre Company
• Max Silverman, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Lone Tree Arts Center

Sound design, small companies

• Simon Cox, “Cabaret,” Stage of Life Theatre Company
• Madison Kuebler, “Alabama Story,” Firehouse Theatre Company
• Matthew Rogers, “Into the Woods,” The Arts Hub
• Aaron Harris Woodstein, “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol,” Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
• Victoria Villalobos, “Misery,” OpenStage Theatre