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Best Exploratory Theater

Off-Center

Off-Center's Charlie Miller likes to explore the boundaries of theater. What happens if you do site-specific work? Throw out the conventional stage and the fourth wall? Create immersive pieces in which audience members become part of the action? Three years ago, he staged Sweet & Lucky in a RiNo warehouse; last year it was The Wild Party at the Hangar at Stanley Marketplace. These entertainments were a lot of fun and gave theater a new dimension, but they were also lush and hugely expensive to stage. Then came Bite-Size, five ten-minute plays by local authors in separate areas of BookBar, staged for a relatively bite-sized cost. This year Miller has a new Off-Center project, with an entirely different concept. If regular theater strikes you as too conventional or formal, prepare to be thrown off-center.

Best Escape Room

Puzzah!

While most escape-room companies tend to cater to one type of player, and few deliver an experience that appeals to almost everyone, Puzzah is the exception to the rule. Novices will appreciate Puzzah's adaptive clue system that quickly learns their puzzle-solving pace and delivers automated clues to keep them on track. Experienced players will delight in Puzzah's unique and challenging puzzles, as well as the potential to unlock bonus puzzles if they progress through the game quickly. And since every booking is private at Puzzah, no one ever has to worry about playing with strangers. It's no puzzle why Puzzah is growing, with a third spot opening soon in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Readers' Choice: Denver Escape Room

Best Escape Room for Horror Fans

Q the Live Escape Experience

All of the games at both Q the Live Escape Experience locations have a spooky slant and incorporate live acting in a way that will make you feel like you're in a fright flick. Horror fans will be particularly pleased by "The Conjuror" in Loveland, which runs for seventy minutes and includes a short theatrical performance before the game begins. Area Q, also in Loveland, is less intense, but offers ample opportunity to engage with the security guard who makes his rounds every ten minutes — a truly immersive escape-room experience you won't find anywhere else.

Best Escape Room for Families

Golden Puzzle Room

Looking for a fun night out for the family? Golden Puzzle Room is the answer. This venue caters to all ages, not just those over twelve, at relatively family-friendly prices. While "First Mission" is designed for children between six and twelve, the whole family can be put to work solving the mysteries of either of the spacious, well-lit escape rooms, and advanced puzzlers can even request their games be set up for maximum difficulty. There's a party room that you can book for snacking and socializing between games, with a screen where you can watch the other half of your group struggle to escape.

Best Place to Get Roasted

Comedy Works

Comedians and crowd members alike should toughen up before venturing into the roasty waters of Thick Skin, a gauntlet of burns, belly laughs and bad tattoos. Essentially the bullying older brother of the weekly New Talent Nights at Comedy Works, this show invites club-approved comics and aspiring locals to compete for the attentions of a restive audience and a cash prize. Co-hosted by Mike Stanley and a rotating coterie of Comedy Works pros, the evening abounds with comedic mayhem and culminates with the shame showdown of the bad tattoo contest. No matter which comedians' names get drawn from the "fuck it bucket," Thick Skin is a homegrown success story for the venerated comedy club.

Best Comedy Show Revival

The Grawlix at the Bug Theatre

Longtime Denver comedy fans no longer have to content themselves with fond memories, for the Grawlix three have come home to the Bug Theatre. A highlight in the halcyon days before the standup trio of Ben Roy, Andrew Orvedahl and Adam Cayton-Holland headed west for production of their TruTV series, Those Who Can't, each Grawlix show promised top-notch lineups and a fresh batch of material from each host. But now the Grawlix has renewed its dedication to the scene with presentations of up-and-coming local comics along with late-night and Comedy Central-accredited headliners. While fatherhood, busy touring schedules,and waging an enthusiastic social-media campaign for a fourth season of Those Who Can't keep the boys busy these days, at one show each month, it'll feel just like the good old days.

Best Comedy Night

Boulder Comedy Show at Bohemian Biergarten

Producing a Sunday comedy show is an uphill battle — particularly during Broncos season — and yet the Boulder Comedy Show at the Bohemian Biergarten has proved an unlikely and enduring success. Established in 2013 by prodigal comedian Brent Gill (who currently resides in Los Angeles), the night evolved from a well-meaning experiment into a Flatirons phenomenon, where crowds eventually grew large enough to necessitate a second round of performances. While Geoff Tice typically handles hosting duties these days, the show's tradition of fine homegrown openers and television-anointed headliners continues. Guffaw the night away between mouthfuls of schnitzel and pilsner at one of Colorado comedy's best bets for laughs.

Readers' Choice: Chain Reaction Brewing

Best Open Mic Night — Comedy

The Black Buzzard

Carnefix Photography

Watching comedy at an open-mic night is a lot like thrift-store shopping: You may have to wade through some sad garbage, but the unexpected treasures you'll find somehow make the entire experience worthwhile. Curious giggle thrifters need look no further than the subterranean venue beneath LoDo's Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, home of the Black Buzzard open mic every Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. Hosted by Comedy Works regular Janae Burris, the show is a gathering place for Denver comedians of all experience levels, as well as a buffoon buffet for the audience. Wash your giggles down with craft beer and Cajun-inspired cuisine while continuing your search for the jokes you didn't know you wanted.

Readers' Choice: Freak Train at the Bug Theatre

Best New Venue

10 Mile Music Hall

Jenise Jensen

When it came time to open 10 Mile Music Hall in downtown Frisco, owners Todd Altschuler and Keegan Casey, who ran the Barkley Ballroom in Frisco for more than five years, didn't waste any time booking the joint with big acts like Leftover Salmon, which played the 750-capacity venue for its grand opening last Halloween. Since then, the venue has established itself as one of the finest in the state as it hosts a variety of local and national acts, mostly playing bluegrass, electronica and funk. And while 10 Mile is farther than that from the Mile High City, the venue hopes to bring in Denver audiences looking to add live music to their mountain adventures.

Readers' Choice: Temple Nightclub

Best New Club

Rock Steady

When Cold Crush closed in late 2017, RiNo lost one of its great hip-hop spots. But it didn't take long for owner Brian Mathenge to start another project. He teamed up with Curtis Club owner Scott Bagus to turn that space into a new restaurant/nightlife concept called Rock Steady. The spot, named after the original New York breakdancing crew, opened last summer. While not a reincarnation of Cold Crush, Rock Steady retains some of the place's vibe with its weekly and monthly DJ nights.

Readers' Choice: Yeah Baby

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