The night before his high-profile appearance on Sunday’s Grammy Awards, red-hot vocalist Leslie Odom Jr. was in Denver performing a wide-ranging, one-of-a-kind concert with the Colorado Symphony and conductor Christopher Dragon.

It was an unforgettable evening – and not just because Odom sang “Unforgettable,” among many other Nat King Cole standards, along with a surprising variety of jazz standards, pop songs and showtunes from the musical that put him on the pop-cultural map, “Hamilton.”

Odom honored Cole with, among others, “Mona Lisa,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” and of course “L-O-V-E,” which he sang in English, French, German and a few other languages. He also sang the classic “Smile,” which was actually written by Charlie Chaplin without lyrics in 1936, with John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons’ words not added in until 1954.

In a nod to his Oscar-nominated turn as Sam Cooke in the acclaimed film “One Night in Miami,” Odom sang both the seminal “A Change is Gonna Come” and Odom’s own Oscar-nominated song for the film, “Speak Now.”

For the Broadway fans, Odom sang “The Room Where It Happened,” “Dear Theodosia” and “Wait for It” from “Hamilton,” and he eviscerated hearts when he dedicated “Without You” from “Rent” to a friend who recently lost his partner.

The encore was Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.”

The very next night, Odom joined Rachel Zegler, Ben Platt and Cynthia Erivo to perform a medley of songs by the late Stephen Sondheim as part of the Grammys’ In Memoriam segment. Odom sang snippets of “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Send in the Clowns” from Sondheim’s musical “A Little Night Music.”

Cayton-Holland’s ‘Happy Place’ is in New York

Denver stand-up comedian Adam Cayton-Holland left his comfort zone when he published his unsentimental and heartbreaking 2018 memoir “Tragedy Plus Time” as a way of coping with his sister’s suicide, which took from him not only his earliest comedy collaborator but his best friend. Even more so when he bravely adapted the work into a one-man play called “Happy Place” as his first foray into live theater.

And by leaving that comfort zone, Cayton-Holland has since brought comfort to tens of thousands affected by suicide. Cayton-Holland won a 2019 True West Award for managing not only to help bring greater understanding to critical mental-health issues, but with some comic insight into clubbed figure skater Nancy Kerrigan as well. “People have really responded,” he said. “I think people like hearing other people just get up there and be honest, no matter how sad the story.”

Cayton-Holland has been honing the play at theaters in Denver and around the country for three years, and on Saturday, he will be introducing the piece on a very different kind of stage: At Union Hall in Brooklyn.

“It finally feels ready,” he said. “Ready for what? I’m not sure.” The goal would be a streaming special. “That’s the thing about comedy, or I guess any art form, really,” he said. “You work hard on these projects, get them into the best shape possible, and then just kind of hope someone likes it enough to put it out to a wider audience. And my show on Saturday night is a big swing in that direction for me.”

COVID strikes Arvada center again

The Arvada Center cannot catch a COVID break. For the third time since December, the Arvada Center again had to cancel performances this week after at least one positive COVID result among its artists. Three performances of “Kinky Boots” scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday were canceled, after losing two weeks of “Stick Fly” last month, and shutting down the entire production of “Elf” two weeks early in December. “Kinky Boots” is expected to resume tonight (April 7) and run through April 24.

Biome: Call for local art entries

Last week, organizers soft-launched “Biome: A Queen City Biennial” — a new festival that intends to celebrate fine art through community, inclusivity and biennial exhibition.

The guest of honor was famed Denver artist and Metropolitan State University professor Carlos Fresquez, whose original commissioned artwork “Un Abrazo” (“A Hug”) was officially christened at Grasslands, a journalism-minded marketing agency located at 100 Santa Fe Drive. The piece, which anyone is welcome to stop by and see, lines the entire, still-surviving bar at what was once a watering hole called Orlie’s.

Biome, adopting the biennial format, will offer diverse cultural programming spread over the next two years. Biome founders Ricardo Baca and Jason Diminich are planning a community mixer and a rock show in the months leading up to its official kickoff in August.

“Biome will offer a platform for creators and dreamers to bring fresh perspectives and diverse points of view to celebrate the compassion and resilience of our city,” said Diminich, who also announced an open call for local artists interested in submitting work based on the Biome theme of “Set and Setting.” Info at artbiome.com

Fresquez’s art is rooted in the Chicano movement of his youth, which includes once walking out of his middle-school class as a boy to advocate for better education for the Denver Chicano community. You can see more of his work on display at the world-premiere immigration play “Refuge,” playing through Saturday (April 9) at Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma St. Fresquez  designed the stunning mural that makes up a large part of the play’s scenic design.

As his conversation with Baca was winding down, Fresquez took a moment to address White people in attendance who may be struggling with the emerging issue of land acknowledgements and the reality that pretty much anyone living or working in Colorado is doing so on stolen land.

“You do not need to feel guilty about what happened in the past,” Fresquez said. “You did not steal this land. Illegal immigration started in 1492. You are not responsible for that. You are responsible for making sure that we do not have what we have experienced in the past ever again. Make sure you do something positive and do the right thing for the present and for the future.”

Briefly …

The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver is officially re-opening the Holiday Theater on Thursday (April 7) at 32nd Avenue and Clay Street with an evening of music, poetry and dance including performances by Grupo Tlaloc, Danza Azteca, Colorado Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre, the North High School Jazz Band, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, poet Eleanor Perry Smith and more. The Holiday will now host lectures, music, performances and more …

The pandemic-derailed Broadway revival of the classic American musical “1776” is back on for this fall. Which will mean a long-delayed but finally realized Broadway debut for Regis Jesuit High School graduate Mehry Eslaminia, who will play the roll-call secretary, named Thompson, in the reimagined production, which will include no actors identifying as men …

On Monday, Comedy Works announced six surprise shows with Dave Chappelle starting that very night and continuing through Wednesday – and they all sold out, at $156 a pop, within an hour. He’ll be back on Dec. 17 for two shows at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs…

The enduring Pen and Podium lecture series, featuring distinguished authors and hosted by Denver playwright Jeff Neuman at the University of Denver, has announced its 2022-23 season: Colm Toibin (Sept. 19), Barbara Kingsolver (Oct. 24), Elizabeth Kolbert (Feb. 13, 2023), Imbolo Mbue (March 13, 2023) and Dave Eggers (May 8, 2023). Tickets available April 15 …

Su Teatro’s 24th Xicano Independent Filmmakers Festival will be available online April 7-10. The festival focuses on independent Latino films from the U.S., Mexico and Latin America.

And finally …

Elegant actor Natalie Oliver-Atherton, who won a True West Award for her work in the Arvada Center’s ‘Trav’lin, The 1930s Harlem Musical,’ is in the running for the 46th annual Mrs. Colorado 2022 Pageant to be held at 6 p.m. Saturday (April 9) at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. According to the pageant website, “While beauty and physical fitness are key elements in the competition, Mrs. Colorado finalists are also urged to voice their opinions on marriage, community and important issues of the day. In addition the pageant now offers a new division for unmarried women, giving these ladies an opportunity to voice their passions, community focus and make a difference in their communities.” Tickets