Turns out Leslie Odom Jr. is not the only Broadway star performing a holiday show in Denver over the next 10 days. Sarah Brightman (“The Phantom of the Opera”) is bringing her “A Christmas Symphony” to the Buell Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4.

Odom (“Hamilton”) performs with the Colorado Symphony on Dec. 7 at the Boettcher Music Hall.

Brightman (who is also playing Colorado Springs on Dec. 3), is known for “Cats,” “Aspects of Love” and, most recently, for reinventing Nora Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” in Sydney. She’s billed as the world’s biggest-selling soprano. She talked about her Denver stop on a podcast episode for “I Heart Radio”:

“This tour is very personal to me,” Brightman said. “It actually started at the beginning of COVID. I went to all my musician friends, and they weren’t earning any money. Everyone was miserable. So I thought, ‘Right, I’m going to put on a Christmas show.’ I found a beautiful old church, and we put it online and everybody donated to charities and it became very, very successful. And then everyone said, ‘Look, why don’t we do it as a live tour? So that’s what I’ve done. And it’s a very personal journey for me because I love this time of year and I loved putting the music together.”

She went on to say about Colorado: “My God, you live in a beautiful place. it is truly God’s country.”

Get me my Spaghetti!

This might sound a bit anachronous, but I’m not sure if I’m more eagerly anticipating Brightman’s holiday concert or cowpunk legend Eddie Spaghetti, lead singer of the truck-drivin’ rock band Supersuckers, opening for Denver’s own Railbenders at their annual holiday show Dec. 7 at the Gothic Theatre.

“It has been over 10 years since we shared a stage with Eddie,” said Railbenders founder Jim Dalton. “It promises to be an epic reunion.”

Spaghetti is now a 10-year throat cancer survivor.

Wait, Melissa Manchester, too?

The stars keep coming. Local Broadway fans have been eagerly awaiting the Denver arrival of “Funny Girl” from Dec. 10-22. Now comes word Grammy winner Melissa Manchester will be here performing as Mrs. Brice.

“It’s truly a historic event. In 60 years, ‘Funny Girl’ has never had a national tour,” Manchester said on her website. “So being part of this is something I couldn’t pass up. Even with a new grandchild, my kids were all for it. They said, ‘Go! Don’t miss out on this.’”

Manchester has charted 19 Billboard hits over the past 50 years, most notably “Midnight Blue” and “Don’t Cry Out Loud.”

Fanny Bryce, the role made famous by Barbra Streisand, will be played by Hannah Shankman. Tickets at denvercenter.org.

… And Cynthia Erivo?!

Fresh off the release of “Wicked” (Part 1) comes word that Elphaba actor Cynthia Erivo will headline the Colorado Symphony’s 2025 gala benefit concert on May 10 at Boettcher Concert Hall. Erivo is a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning actress, singer and producer.

Fair warning: This concert will be part of Colorado Symphony’s largest annual fundraising event. Meaning: Tickets range from $83-$205. They’re on sale now at ColoradoSymphony.org.

What a Dragon

Resident Conductor Christopher Dragon has certainly added a hipness to the Colorado Symphony these past nine years, which will again be on full display for the Leslie Odom Jr. concert mentioned above.

Dragon has just been named music director of the Greensboro (N.C.) Symphony in Greensboro. But classical music is one of those wacky worlds where you can do it all, meaning Dragon intends to continue on as resident conductor for the Colorado Symphony.

“It’s an absolute honor to have been named music director for the Greensboro Symphony, and I’m so incredibly grateful for the opportunity,” said Dragon. “These last nine seasons with the Colorado Symphony have been instrumental in my development, and I look forward to working with the tremendous musicians and staff in Denver for years to come.”

Su Teatro in Los Angeles

Venerable Denver theater company Su Teatro is back after being featured for three weeks at  “Encuentro 2024,” a national theater festival that wrapped up Nov. 10 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. The fest, whose mission is to showcase the rich diversity of Latiné voices in the performing arts, invited 19 theater companies and 165 artists from across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Su Teatro performed its enduring comedy “Interview with a Mexican,” written by Producing Artistic Director Anthony J. Garcia based on the column written by Gustavo Arellano for Westword; and “Jaguar Jeopardy,” written by Lorenzo Gonzales-Fontes.

“It went well,” Garcia said. “They thought ‘Interview with a Mexican’ was very funny. There’s a scene from the movie ‘Selena’ and the actors are lip-syncing and they just loved it.”

eTown honors Engleman

Helen Forster, co-founder of the enduring Boulder radio program eTown, posted a heartfelt tribute this week to her friend and colleague Chris Engleman, who was the bass player for the eTones from the very first show more than 33 years ago until he stepped down for health reasons last year. He died last week of cancer.

“He was the best all-around bassist I’ve ever seen or had the honor to be in a band with,” Forster said. “He literally could play anything, in any style or genre, and always with deep, deep feeling.”

Engleman, Forster said, “made me feel safe and grounded and confident in a way I cannot describe. I am just crushed. (Husband) Nick (Forster) is, too.”

Farewell, Candyman

Another death that hit close to home was that of Tony Todd, who came to Denver to help launch Marcus Gardley’s new play “Black Odyssey” with the Denver Center Theatre Company back in 2013. He was known to the world as the Candyman. And he was in Oliver Stone’s “Platoon.” But he was a stage actor to the core, committing to do at least one stage play every two years. Why? “The stage is where I  started,” he told me at the time. “I grew up lower-middle class in Hartford, and theater literally saved my life when I was 14.”

Todd died Nov. 6 at his home in California. He was a great soul.

Briefly …

Mark your calendars, movie fans: “The Order,” the new Jude Law film that looks back at the rise of the supremacist group that assassinated Denver talk jock Alan Berg in 1984, finally has its theatrical release on Dec. 5. But with “Wicked” and “Gladiator 2” hogging all the screens, there are only a few cinemas scheduled to show the film, based on a book by Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn. It will be playing at the Harkins (both Arvada and Northfield) and otherwise at select AMCs, including the Cherry Creek 8, Westminster Promenade 24, Flatiron Crossing in Boulder and Arapahoe Crossing. The film was recently the centerpiece screening of the 2024 Denver Film Festival.

Wait for it …

On Sunday on these pages, the Denver Gazette will again roll out the 2024 True West Awards, which every day in December will celebrate 30 good stories from the local theater community over the past year.