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BACK TO THE FUTURE – Book by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis; Music and Lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard; Directed by John Rando; Music Direction by Matt Doebler; Choreography by Chris Bailey.  Presented by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Broadway (Buell Theatre, 14^th and Curtis, Denver) through February 9.  Tickets available at 303-893-4100. 

When I saw ANASTASIA months ago on its tour through Denver, I thought I had seen the best that could have been done with projections.  When the ghost dancers appeared floating above the heads of Anastasia as she remembered the ball she had attended earlier, I thought I had seen it all.  You’re not going to get any better than that.  Boy, was I wrong.  BACK TO THE FUTURE literally took us into the future of the technical skills of theatre designers. 

The projection work and special effects of this production shakes you in your chair when they fire up the car; makes you dizzy with the speed as they move through space to the future; creates a lightning storm so realistic, people were ducking; moves between Doc climbing the stairs to the top of the Library and Marty flying down Main Street trying to get home at the same time; and allows the smoothest, quietest scene changes that slid between locations quickly and flawlessly.  It was amazingly fun to see a favorite movie come delightfully to life. 

Because of the two era’s explored in the script – 1985 and 1955 – the music is a lot of good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll, my kind of music.  The songs capture the best of both decades, occasionally throwing in a ballad for good measure.  “It Works” demonstrates Doc’s excitement at discovering his flux capacitor does what he wanted it to do.  Marty encourages his future father with “Put Your Mind to It.” Doc has a touching solo when he sings about the innovators who came before him and the ones who will come after him in a lovely ballad called “For the Dreamers.”  We’re also treated to the “MUST” song when Marty rocks out at the high school prom with “Johnny B. Goode.” 

Three characters propel the story (both past and present) forward.  Doc Brown (played in the movie by Christopher Lloyd) is brought to stage life by the brilliant Don Stephenson who took some of Lloyd’s idiosyncrasies and added his own touch of wacko to them.  He is a firebrand, a philosopher, a caring father figure, a fast-talking crazy man who likes to dance and be surrounded by pretty girls.  He is aided in his goals of time travel by Marty McFly, a teenager who feels he has no future so going back to the past is no big deal.  Caden Brauch gives him a sweet personality on a quest and doing what needs to be done to save Doc from plutonium poisoning and get home.  His comic relationship with his mother-to-be is both funny and cringe-worthy. His machinations to get his future parents together for a fateful kiss leads to some of the best scenes.  He sings and dances like a rock star – a musical entertainer with his own path to the future.  Another standout was Mike Bindeman as George McFly, Marty’s milquetoast father.  He developed this way of moving that seemed a spin-off from Monty’s Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks on steroids.  He can’t just take a step; he has to stretch his lanky legs to the inth degree and lead with his elbows.  When he finally does stand up for himself, the entire audience exploded with applause. 

The ensemble of players rolled with ease between the characters that filled out the story.  The pit orchestra provided a larger-than-life sound in support of the singers and dancers. Everything about this production was flawless.  And SO MUCH FUN.  I’d say this was one not to miss.  It will be hard for local theatres to ever come close to producing this tech heavy show – so this may be your only chance to see it until it rolls through again on tour. 

A little local trivia – Caden Brauch who played Marty – had an earlier season in the Colorado summer theatre in Pagosa Springs. He went from playing Joe Pesci in JERSEY BOYS to Marty McFly on tour. Even better, he’s leaving the tour to reprise the role in the London West End long-running version. Here’s one dreamer whose dream came true. 

A WOW factor of 10!! 

GHOST QUARTET – Music, Lyrics and Text by Dave Malloy; Directed by Amanda Berg Wilson; Music Direction by Jeejay Maccariella.  Produced by The Catamounts (presented at the Dairy Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder) through February 8^th.  Tickets available at TheDairy.org. 

I have been mentally comparing this production with the lively amazing presentation of NATASHA, PIERRE, AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 in my mind ever since I saw it and just noticed in tiny print on the front of the program that both scripts were created by the same composer.  Mr. Malloy seems to have been writing random songs for some time and somehow found a way to connect them all in a rambling and rambunctious set of stories about a family through several generations and centuries.  What a treat this was!  You never know what you’re going to get from a Catamounts production, but you can always count on it being different, unusual, thoughtful, and professionally put together.  This show is no different. 

First of all, the setting.  The Scenic Designer Gleason Bauer and Prop Coordinator Linda Lea seem to have robbed the back rooms of most of the theatres along the Front Range to gather together an assembly of furniture, rugs, set pieces, and tschotske’s to create a glorious mash-up of a comfortable hoarder’s salon.  It has a wild abandonment about it that captivates and intrigues.  The audience sits on sofas, giant poufs on the floor, at cabaret tables and chairs, or pretty much wherever you like.  A hint: To see all the performance, sit in the back center or sides on the raised platforms.  The performing spaces are divided and if you’re too far front, you’ll miss some of the antics of the performers in the center.  I learned the hard way. 

Secondly, the music and stories.  It’s a convoluted set of stories that follow – more or less – the members of a family that come back together generation after generation in new personas through reincarnation.  One character explains to another “I was your sister, your lover, your daughter.”  Starting in 14^th century Persia and progressing forward in time through 17^th century Germany and Japan to 19^th century England, finally landing in modern-day New York.  It’s perhaps not as important to dwell on the details of how this is accomplished and just enjoy instead the journey and the music.  Trust that it all comes together on stage and in your mind.  You are strangely moved by these divergent stories and family myths that do not have to come to any conclusions or resolutions to be intriguing and enjoyable on every level. 

I wish the program could have included a listing of the songs; I was so intent on listening to the lyrics that I missed writing down the gist of the songs.  The melodic way they blended and weaved in and out of the stories was mesmerizing.  Some were mournful, some jaunty, some purposeful in the story of the moment, some just downright fun.  A delightful homage to the healing powers of four types of whisky comes to mind.  It had to have been “Four Roses – Maker’s Mark – Jameson’s – and (maybe) Loch Lomond” as drinks were poured into tea cups for the audience.  And some songs were just sad as the characters went through a growth of understanding and depth of recognition of the transitory nature of life.  It was easy to build sympathy for these characters on their separate journeys as they connected and then broke apart. 

Thirdly, the performers.  Jeejay Maccariella plays many of the male characters, but gender is unimportant within these stories; Courtney Navarre, Neyla Pekarek, and Maggie Tisdale share the load of seventeen story-tellers. Through solos, duets, and quartets, all the while playing instruments as they sang, their expressive voices brought you along with them through the centuries.  Even when they weren’t actively involved in a song, their expression while listening to another person singing added to the story.  Director Amanda Berg Wilson corralled the bits and pieces of this strangely wonderful find of a script into a meaningful experience. 

I’m not describing well the experience of this production.  I think that’s because everyone will take away something entirely different from the person sitting next to them based on the personal experiences they have brought into the theatre with them.  Just as most of us found NATASHA and company the liveliest production they saw last year, most of us left the theatre opening night believing this would be the most lively show they would see this year. 

A WOW factor of 9! 

HADESTOWN – Book, Lyrics and Music by Anais Mitchell; Directed and Choreographed by Grayson Allensworth and Maya Eisbart; Music Direction by Oliver Goertzel.  Produced by New Generation Productions (Presented at the Montview Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia) through January 18.  Tickets available at https://new-generation-productions.ticketleap.com/ 

A rogue band of rowdy players invaded a church last night and vowed to stay for two more days performing their tale of love and woe nearly three thousand years old before moving on.  Those wishing to hear this story of lost dreams and the power of music must move quickly to view this ragamuffin lot in their unnatural habitat.  In other words, move your butts or you’re going to miss out on an incredible theatre evening. 

The rowdy band is a group of students from the Denver School of the Arts who are happily demonstrating in this full-blown production of the rock musical HADESTOWN why they were chosen for DSA and why they will become movers and shakers in the worlds of music and theatre when they move on to college and careers.  Their origin story begins with the isolation imposed by Covid and the boredom of creative people.  The dreamers came up with the idea of forming their own theatre company since their school wasn’t allowed to – which they did and have been performing together ever since.  This is their biggest production to date.  But most have only another year in which to do more shows before they graduate and move into the next phase of their professional lives. 

HADESTOWN has both rock-out music and gentle love songs.  It tells the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, a love story doomed from the start.  Eurydice, because of hunger and doubt that her life will ever change no matter how nice Orpheus seems to be, makes a deal with the devil Hades who rules the underground kingdom where people go when they die.  Orpheus walks to Hell to rescue the woman he loves, but because of his insecurity and lack of trust, fails in the final test.  A back story explores the relationship between Hades and his wife Persephone who made a similar mistake and must work to find their own love story again. 

This cast brings the story to life with energy and enthusiasm.  Accompanied by a seven-piece band who live on stage with the players (led by Sebastian Maa), they bring Anais’ music rolling to the rafters.  The nuances of meaning, the delicacy of the staging, and the power of the acting and singing make this a performance that will linger long after the stage goes dark.  Co-directors Grayson Allensworth and Maya Eisbart demonstrate their confidence in directing and choreographing and take the lead roles of Orpheus and Eurydice with ease.  Grayson’s young man in love is expressive and touching.  Maya’s woebegone damsel in distress is both vulnerable yet in control of her own life.  Logan Ambroccio excites playing Hades who proves to be both mysterious and needy.  He’s also not quite able to control his whimsical wife Persephone, played by Antonina Monsolino with gusto and bravado.  Under her guidance, you can picture Hell closing down for the afternoon so she can get him up top for a walk in the sunshine. 

The backup crew is equally adept at the story-telling.  The three Fates who provide good advice and warnings are given life by Shayla Miller, Cha Cha Anders, and Liya Shiferaw.  The Ensemble of singers and dancers playing workers and observers are Joshua Thomas, Zara Fetzer, Lian Vandijk, Khloe D’[Auray and Adan Swim.  Of particular note is the Narrator Hermes who introduces the events of the evening with song and fills in the blanks in the story with his observations.  Elliot Jenkins rules in this role providing comic relief in tense moments and sympathy when needed. 

The production crew has utilized all corners of the chapel in which the performance is staged, has found interesting ways to enhance the visual experience with flashlights and lanterns, and have created the well worn costumes of a traveling band of players. 

I recently heard a quote that seems to fit this group – “Creating art in this political environment is an act of radical optimism.” I would place this work side by side with any other three-year-old theatre troupe in town.  And these kids are just getting started.  Watch them make a splash in the years to come by jumping on their bandwagon and following their work now while there’s room beside the proud parents, friends, and teachers.  They are all both radical and optimistic. 

A WOW factor of 8.50!

KID DETECTIVE – Written by Weston Scott; Directed by Lexi Lazear.  Produced by Shifted Lens Theatre (presented at the Roaming Gnome at 10255 East 25^th Avenue, Aurora) through January 26.  Tickets available at ShiftedLensTheatre.com. 

Well, the Mean Girls are back in town and performing at the Roaming Gnome.  But they aren’t Katie and Regina.  They are Penny and Georgie, the teen detective and her sidekick.  They have gained a tiny bit of a reputation at school by solving mysteries about missing rats, food, notebooks, etc.  But then when all 17 of the police department’s detectives turn up dead, Penny Pepper comes to the rescue.  

But it is immediately evident that Penny is in over her head. Not only was it discovered that a lot of her school mysteries would have solved themselves given time, it was also found that a little bit of fudging and bad blood often pointed the finger at a sometimes innocent boy that they just didn’t like.  

In the adult world of politics and greed, the good people in Penny’s life become victims and the bad people become her mentors.  Penny faces a hard truth about herself and who she has become in her desire to be smarter than everyone else.  She is a changed person from the bouncy bubbly happy girl she was at the beginning to the cynical tough young adult she is at the end.  But watching the truths of her delusions come to rest is a compelling journey. 

Instead of being the young college graduate I thought Weston Scott might be, I find instead that he is a prolific playwright with a dozen scripts under his belt and a burgeoning career up and down the coast of California.  The truth remains, however, that he has not forgotten what it was like in middle school and brings those terrible memories to life with authentic characters and sharp (sometimes hurtful) humor. 

The Roaming Gnome Theatre is a little hard to find the first time you try; it’s on the corner of 25^th and Galena. But you just have to trust that there’s a theatre off the open space in the middle of the building.  It helps that they have painted the name on the outside since the last time I was there.  It’s a little (sort of) primitive space that seats about 40 people – but it’s growing bit by bit and a great place for theatres who can’t quite afford their own space yet to spread their wings and learn to fly.  Shifted Lens follows up their campy update of CRUEL INTENTIONS which re-imagined the original into a high school romp last summer.  This similar outing turns Nancy Drew on her ear and says “Screw you!”  I also have to commend whoever came up with their blood work.  It was the best I’ve seen in a long time. 

Another short run.  If you like tales that tell the truth no matter how painful and adults playing kids and nailing it, come watch the gang from Shifted Lens do their thing.  You won’t be disappointed. 

A WOW FACTOR of 8.25!!