2014 theater preview: Bold choice seeking adventerous audiences

With risk comes rewards. That adage will hold true for theatergoers in the upcoming months as some of the area’s finest theaters mount premieres of new plays and take on other heady productions.

 

 

“Painted Bread (The Story of Frida Kahlo).” The artist had a gift for painting (herself, often) and a flair for the dramatic. Reason enough for the Aurora Fox to take on this vivid exploration of Kahlo’s life and work, written by local playwright Melissa Lucero McCarl and first performed in 2003 when it won an Ovation Award. Jan. 31-Feb. 23, aurorafox.org or 303-739-1970

 

 

“Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief.” The Springs Ensemble Theatre shakes up Shakespeare with the aid of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel’s feminist upending of “Othello.” Weaker sex, indeed. Feb. 6-23, springsensembletheatre.org; 719-357-3080

 

“Jugged Rabbit Stew.” Those always-ingenious theater creators at Buntport turn the heat up with the reprise of their 2010 musical — written with Adam Stone — about a depressed magician’s bunny who leaves the act and begins acting out. Mightily. Feb. 7-March 1, buntport.com or 720-946-1388

 

“Swing!” Littleton’s Town Hall Arts Center produces consistently satisfying musical theater in a surprisingly intimate venue. This revue hits the dance floor lindyhopping, jitterbugging and boogie-woogie-ing. Don’t mean a thing? Hah! Feb. 21-March 23, townhallartscenter.com; 303-794-2787

 

 

“There is a Happiness That Morning Is.” Boulder’s Catamounts bring Mickle Maher’s comedy, set on the campus of a liberal arts college, to the right burg. William Blake has a supporting role as two professors deliver lectures on the poet the day after being seen in flagrante in hopes of saving their jobs. Oh yeah, the play is in written in pentameter. March 6-22, thecatamounts.org, 720-468-0487

 

“End of the Rainbow.” A comeback — or something far more bittersweet? The regional premiere of Peter Quilter’s musical drama finds Judy Garland reminiscing, singing her greats and hoping against hope in the months before her death in 1969. March 25-April 13, arvadacenter.org, 720-898-7200

 

“And the Sun Stood Still.” Dava Sobel is high on Hayden Planetarium director and all-around smartypants Neil deGrasse Tyson’s list of estimable science writers. And the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company has her. The fast-rising theater company will stage the world premiere of Sobel’s play about Nicolas Copernicus as the paradigm-shifter struggles with faith, family and an astronomical discovery. March 27-April 17, betc.org, 303-351-2382

 

 

“Grey Gardens.” Vintage Theatre remounts its 2011 musical with talented performers Megan Van De Hey and Deborah Persoff again in the roles of Little Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith Bouvier Beale. Jackie O’s eccentric cousins got their first close-up in Albert and David Maysles’ 1975 doc of the same name. The title comes from the ramshackle Long Island mansion they called home. April 16-May 25, vintagetheatre.com, 303-856-7830

 

 

“Venus in Fur.” This year, Karen Slack has been doing her customarily noticeable work in wonderful ensemble affairs: “Rancho Mirage” and “God of Carnage.” Little wonder Curious artistic director Chip Walton is so excited about Slack donning the role of an actress who arrives so very late to an audition and a uninterested director. She’ll pique his curiosity in David Ives’ biting comedy “Venus in Fur.” And if you’re looking for a tutorial on how Ives is performed, the smart folk at Colorado Springs’ TheatreWorks ( theatreworkscs.org) will mount the acting showcase, starting March 20. May 3-June 14, curioustheatre.org, 303-623-0524

 

“Once” and “Million Dollar Quartet.” “Once,” the Tony-winning musical based on the 2004 indie film starring musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, will strum its way into our hearts come May. So says none other than “Inside Llewyn Davis” music producer T. Bone Burnett, who said in a recent interview that the show retains its “great, great pathos.” Music to our ears. But before Guy and Girl make beautiful music together, a “Million Dollar Quartet,” opening Feb. 25, will rock the Buell with its tale of the phenomenal 1956 session of recording titans Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. “Once” plays the Buell May 6-19; “Million Dollar Quartet” plays the same theater Feb. 25-March 9. Tickets for both are available at denvercenter.org, 303-893-4100

 

Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567, lkennedy@denverpost.com, twitter.com/bylisakennedy