Author: By John Moore Special to The Denver Gazette
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Composer Danny Elfman brings Hollywood touch to Colorado Symphony
There’s a great new podcast called “Let’s Talk to Lucy’’ that unearths short celebrity radio conversations hosted by TV star Lucille Ball back in the early 1960s. In one episode, Lucy asks Oscar-winning composer Ernest Gold (“Exodus”) about the prevailing snobbery in serious music circles at the time against the Hollywood composer. Gold confirms Lucy’s…
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Closing of Denver’s Breakfast King is a loss of Americana
Throughout our disparate American lives, we share one commonality that seems to cross all socio-economic lines: No matter our politics, professions or personal positions on the polarizing issue of mayo as an appropriate dipping sauce for french fries (pro!), we all seem to seek out comfort … and comfort food … in the unique coziness…
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Teen actor believes “The Future is Bright”
Urban rampages. Winter wildfires. Surging variants. Betty White’s death. There’s just not a lot to feel hopeful about as we flip the calendar to 2022. You’ve heard the joke: 2021 and 2022 are sitting in a bar when 2021 brags, “I was the worst year ever!” 2022 just laughs and says … “Hold my beer!”…
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Denver’s place in the story of “Tender Bar”
“The Tender Bar” is a story very much of its time and place. When author J.R. Moehringer writes, “I learned what it means to be a man in a Cadillac going 90 miles an hour on the Long Island Expressway,” you can almost hear the Springsteen cranking out of the console as he’s tearing up…
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Surge hits arts community in wallet — and in heart
The rapid rise in COVID-19 positivity over the past week is knocking the flattened performing-arts industry right back to the canvas before it even had a fighting chance to get back on its knees. But the emotional impact might turn out to be even worse than the economic impact, Arvada Center CEO Philip Sneed said…
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COVID-19 performing an unwelcome encore
Remember this time a year ago, when we were all saying … “If we can just make it through 2020 … ” ? Crossing that finish line was somehow going to make us all feel just a bit better about things. A year later, there is no such naivete about flipping the calendar to 2022. The…
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COVID-19 cancels “Elf” musical at Arvada Center
The Arvada Center has canceled the final nine performances of its holiday musical “Elf” after three members of the fully vaccinated creative team, including the lead actor, tested positive for COVID-19, Director of Communications Marcus Turner confirmed today. All of those performances were essentially sold out, which means the Arvada Center will lose out on…
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“Lion King” completes pandemic circle of life
The performing arts never went away during the pandemic shutdown — not fully, anyway. Resilient dancers took to rooftops, theater companies to golf courses and bands to the internet. Still, the arts were never going to feel “all the way back” in a city like Denver until the big dogs at the Denver Center for…
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A Colorado Life: For mathematician, life always added up
Craig Williamson was known for his curiosity, his kindness and his childlike belief that, at the end of the day, humanity is actually pretty great. He was the kind of man who would spend 10 hours in a museum when most people might leave after two. Who made his entire joyful career in a numbers-crunching…
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Loss of Sondheim echoes through arts community
It was evident within the first few missing beats of his heart and his music that the death of composer Stephen Sondheim was going to impact the performing-arts community, and its audiences, harder than most. Everyone, it seems, has a Sondheim story to tell. Yet everyone seems to be struggling with how to put the…