Keep reading for ten of the best ticketed things to do in Denver (and online) this weekend, all worth the price of admission. But fair warning: With the current COVID spread, cancellations can come up fast — the 50 First Jokes event at the Bug has been postponed until March — so know before you go!
Spookadelia: The Curse of Novo Ita
Sunday, January 9, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and continuing through February
Spectra Art Space, 1836 South Broadway
Spookadelia, now in its fourth iteration, has been extended through February! Immerse yourself in cool at this awesome, arty experience. Timed entry tickets are $20 adult, $12 children (and it's not too spooky for them); find out more here.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Sunday, January 9, 1:30 p.m.; shows daily (except Monday) through March 6
Singleton Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex
It won’t be a short or quiet night at the Singleton Theatre when the DCPA Theatre Company production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? premieres. The Edward Albee masterwork clocks in at about three hours, which is a long time to be subjected to the rising dialectic of alcohol-fueled marital warfare that develops between longtime couple George and Martha, but it's also an education, brilliantly written and cutting to the bone. What will young guests Honey and Nick take away from the experience? What will you take away? Find details and buy tickets, $30 to $50, here.
Fireflies
Sunday, January 9, 2:30 p.m.; shows Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays (and one Monday) through February 12
Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton Street, Aurora
In the romantic comedy Fireflies, a regional premiere written by Matthew Barber and starring legendary Denver actor Deborah Persoff, a retired schoolteacher meets a drifter who fixes a hole in her roof and encourages her to break out of her respectable shell. Will she or won’t she? See the show and find out. Admission ranges from $20 to $34; get tickets here.
Marin Alsop Returns
Sunday, January 9, 2 p.m.
Boettcher Concert Hall
Marin Alsop, conductor laureate and former music director for the Colorado Symphony, returns for a program with Barber's Essay No. 2, Op. 17; Copland's Appalachian Spring: Suite; and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet: Suite. The January 7 performance is followed by a talk-back. Tickets are $15 to $89; get them here.
Our American Cousin: America Divided
Sunday, January 9, 2 p.m., with shows continuing Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through January 29. Industry Night: Monday, January 17, 8 p.m.
The Bench at 40 West, 1560 Teller Street
Theater, like most cultural concerns across the country, suffered during the dark days when COVID stole away audiences. Members of Lakewood-based Benchmark Theatre were inspired by political uprisings and movements that filtered up through that void to create their own theater works based on the most current of events. Our American Cousin: America Divided, a world premiere, is an inside job, developed as a quest for answers regarding the unsettling, Democracy-smashing events of January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. And now the company is ready to share it with an in-person audience. Find details and tickets, $15 to $30, here.
Dare to Be Sexy: A "Weird Al" Burlesque Tribute
Sunday, January 9, 7 p.m., and repeating January 16 and 23
Clocktower Cabaret, 1601 Arapahoe Street
Here’s the setup: A burlesque troupe and “Weird Al" Yankovich walk into a bar…. It actually does all come true in Dare to Be Sexy, a tribute to the song satirist delivered with a fan dance or two by the house troupe, the Clockettes. Sing along through Yankovich’s most productive decades of deconstructing pop anthems at the show, which repeats at the Clocktower on three consecutive Sundays. Admission is $40 in advance here.
Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza
Sunday, January 9, 6:30 p.m.
Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt Street
!The Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza, a popular event at the National Western Stock Show, is happily back after a COVID year off in 2021. A flashy crowd-pleaser, this event dresses up the rodeo with fancy suits decorated with silver conchos, with sidesaddle-riding ladies and Mexican dancers in full embroidered gear and flowers in their hair, mariachi music and gorgeously groomed horses. But things also get down and dirty for Mexican-style bull riding, bareback riding, trick roping and choreographed bullfights with fourth-generation charro Jerry Diaz. ¡Arriba! Tickets start at $43 here.
Know of a great event in town? We'll be updating this list through the weekend; send information to [email protected].
