Reviews

Review: ‘Newsies blows the roof off’ THAC

Review: ‘Newsies blows the roof off’ THAC

OnStage Colorado gives high praise for Townhall Arts Center's 40th anniversary season production of Disney's Newsies the Musical. The show runs through December 30, and we invite you read all about it and buy tickets here. Just a few highlights from Eric Fitzgerald's review: "This production is filled with high-octane energy, notably through strong acting, singing and dancing."  "Award-winning director Steve Wilson has unleashed a wild ride through every nook and cranny of the theater. He has taken a cast of 26 — a large one for Town Hall’s stage — and filled the auditorium with energy that...

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Review: Live stage shows go different directions

By Sonya Ellingboe, Centennial Citizen Area theaters are opening again and I happily attended two performances on the weekend of Nov. 6-7 — very different, but both engaging: “American Son” by Christopher Demos-Brown at Curious Theatre in Denver and “Winter Wonderettes” by Roger Bean at Littleton Town Hall Arts Center. “American Son,” by trial lawyer/playwright Demos-Brown, played on Broadway, with Kerry Washington as the mother. It's set in the could-be-in-any-county waiting room at the Dade County, Florida, Courthouse, with chairs for those who need to wait for their time in court, an...

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Review: Have no fear! THAC delivers theatre safely

Review: Have no fear! THAC delivers theatre safely

By Addison Herron-Wheeler (OUT FRONT Magazine) We’ve now heard this a million times, but the past year-and-a-half has been incredibly tough on the theatre community. Like other entertainment industries, it was virtually destroyed by COVID, with any remaining shows moving online entirely for a livestreamed experience. Now, as the world is finally getting vaccinated and opening back up, shows are slowly returning, and one of them is Town Hall Arts Center’s You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. For those still not fully vaccinated, or just feeling a little squirmy about the idea of going back to...

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Review: ‘Peanuts’ gang takes to stage

By Sonya Ellingboe (Littleton Independent) Audience members were scattered sparsely around Town Hall Arts Center and the stage is wrapped with a plastic barrier, but it was indeed a joy to settle in for a live performance last weekend as pianist Donna Debreceni and percussionist Sean Case played the opening music for “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Littleton’s Town Hall Arts Center. Centered on stage, we see a large red doghouse as lights go up and we welcome Charles M. Schulz’s beloved crew, who first showed up in October 1950 in the syndicated comic strip, “Peanuts.” American...

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Review: You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown

By Beki Pineda YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN – Book, Music and Lyrics by Clark Gesner based on the comic strip by Charles M. Schultz; Directed by Nick Sugar. Produced by Town Hall Arts Center (2450 West Main, Littleton) through April 18. Tickets available at 303-794-2787 or townhallartscenter.org. You’re a good man, Nickie Sugar, for bringing this nostalgic valentine to childhood into our lives at a time when we all long for the “good ‘ol days.” You knew just what would make us smile, remember, and rejoice that here we are again in a live theatre watching live actors perform together in...

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Review: Lessons from a summer of outdoor theatre in the time of COVID

Review: Lessons from a summer of outdoor theatre in the time of COVID

by John Moore (Senior Arts Journalist - Arvada Center) Those companies that got out of the box deepened relationships with grateful audiences. Those that grow stagnant do so to their own peril. ...Not every live offering was so limited by crowd size. The Littleton Town Hall Arts Center had big plans to present a late-winter indoor production of the John Denver biography "Almost Heaven" on an indoor set accompanied by a provocative, original video underscore. When the shutdown ended those grand plans, Town Hall moved the production outdoors to the picturesque environs of nearby Hudson...

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Review:  ‘Almost Heaven’ lovely outdoor experience

Review: ‘Almost Heaven’ lovely outdoor experience

by John Moore (Senior Arts Journalist, Arvada Center) How a lovely outdoor musical experience grew out of necessity and innovation 'Almost Heaven' was scheduled to open inside the Town Hall Arts Center on April 3 when rehearsals were shut down by the pandemic on March 13. What a strange set of circumstances that allowed for the musical to be reimagined as an outdoor, botanic experience at sunset that perfectly matches the tenor of John Denver's music. Director Nick Sugar talks about it. What are you doing to pivot? We were shuttered during our third week of rehearsal. When I realized this...

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Review: Enjoy an outside chance for live theatre – Littleton Independent

by Sonya Ellingboe (Littleton Independent) “Almost Heaven: The Songs of John Denver” is an appropriate title for Town Hall Arts Center’s production at Hudson Gardens, running through Oct. 11. The lawn next to the blooming Rose Garden is marked with “pods” that hold a blanket or up to four chairs, inviting a relaxed audience to enjoy a LIVE performance with five singers/“Storytellers” and a four-piece band. The air is sweet and the audience happy to be there. Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., who understandably took on the stage name of John Denver, was born in New Mexico and gained international...

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Review:  ‘Almost Heaven’ a ‘glorious homage’

Review: ‘Almost Heaven’ a ‘glorious homage’

by Beki Pineda (Boulder Magazine) ALMOST HEAVEN – Songs by John Denver and others; Vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Jeff Waxman; based on an original concept from Harold Thau; Directed by Nick Sugar. Produced by Town Hall Arts Center (presented at Hudson Gardens, 6115 South Santa Fe Drive, Denver) through October 11. Tickets available at 303-794-2787 or townhallartscenter.org. As I sat on the lawn at Hudson Gardens listening to the beautiful music of John Denver soar into the summer evening, I was struck by the idea that I didn’t really know John Denver’s music. Oh, I knew all the...

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Review: ‘Barefoot in the Park’ iconic crowd-pleaser

Review: ‘Barefoot in the Park’ iconic crowd-pleaser

by Sonya Ellingboe (Littleton Independent) Lights go up on an empty apartment in an old brownstone on East 48th Street in New York City. It’s February 1963. Only the kitchen is furnished. A restless young woman enters and stuffs things into the refrigerator as she tidies up a bit. Suitcases are in the room. We meet Corie Bratter (Lynzee Jones), the somewhat ditzy resident newlywed, who has rented this chilly fifth-floor space for herself and new husband, Paul (Tim Howard), an already-a-bit-stuffy lawyer. She awaits Bloomingdales’ furniture delivery — and the next years of her life… The...

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