The 88: Denver's last drive-in revs up for one final summer | Arts news

We all got “reeled” in on this one.  

Denver’s last drive-in, like that popular Monty Python film character, is not dead yet.

The 88 Drive-In, which “closed for good” last September after 51 years in Commerce City, delivered film fans a surprise non-ending Monday, when it rather casually announced the unexpected start of its 2024 summer season. 

Without further comment, drive-in officials posted to Facebook: “Spring is just around the corner! Are you ready for the 2024 movie season? Leave us a comment on what movie's (sic) you are looking forward to this year.”

(Two cents: Just show “Caddyshack,” and I’m there.)

A wave of nostalgia swept over Old Denver lovers last June when the family that has operated “The 88” since 1976 asked Commerce City officials to rezone their lot to allow a warehouse to replace the drive-in. But, as is often the case with redevelopment projects, the new owner – First Industrial Realty Trust – isn’t quite ready to demo, so the theater has been given a one-year stay of execution.

Which will make attending a drive-in already with one foot in the grave an intriguing entertainment prospect. By the end of last August, the crumbling drive-in was well into a footrace with the Grim Reaper. Fully half of the parking area was submerged in pools of standing water. Rather than fix it, the western half of the lot was simply cordoned off with police caution tape. At the end of the night, a voice rang out over the car stereo like the voice of God:

“For those of you who are leaving, please be sure to exit to your right because, as you know … the left side of our drive-in is a lake.”

So, if you really want one last last night at the drive-in this coming summer … bring waders!

Death of a Carbondale titan

The Colorado theater community is mourning the March 21 death of Lon Winston, who in 1995 founded the Thunder River Theatre Company in Carbondale.

Winston was a theatermaker for 60 years, and “he leaves a legacy that will forever resonate in the hearts of the many generations of students and audiences who have been fortunate enough to be in his sphere,” said Artistic Director Missy Moore. “It was his innovative spirit, artistic excellence and downright tenacity that shaped our organization's identity, and inspired countless artists and audiences alike.”

Winston made national news in 2003 when he took on the National Endowment for the Arts, publicly criticizing its $17 million initiative to allow six of the nation's top theater companies to tour their professional Shakespearean productions to more than 100 small and midsize cities in all 50 states.

The idea of a federal agency throwing such a large sum at the nation's biggest theater companies didn’t sit well with Winston when smaller-fry companies are constantly scrounging for financial support. He penned a letter that was widely distributed and sparked a national debate arguing that a far better use of the NEA's $17 million would have been to give it directly to local and regional companies who could make a more lasting impact in their own communities.

"There are so many small not-for-profit professional theater companies that would love to have a little of that money to continue the good work that they are doing for their communities," Winston told me back then.

Winston directed more than 60 productions at Thunder River. Under his leadership, Thunder River was named Colorado's outstanding regional theater company of 2012 by the Colorado Theatre Guild. His final show was “A View from the Bridge” in February 2020. (He played Alfieri, the all-knowing narrator.) A celebration of life will be held at the theater on May 4.

Denver actors in sanguine films

Two Denver actors spotted in blood-soaked new films include Ilasiea Gray (most recently seen in Curious Theatre Company’s “The Minutes”) as Pearl in “Bleeding Love,” a film starring Ewen and real-life daughter Clara McGregor (who wrote the script) about a father who takes his estranged daughter on a road trip in an effort to get her out of trouble. (Now on Prime Video.) …

And Orion Carrington, recently seen in Benchmark Theatre’s world-premiere play “You Got Older,” has a big role as a befuddled FBI agent in the dark new Kristen Stewart drama “Love Lies Bleeding,” about a gym manager (Stewart) who falls for an itinerant bodybuilder (Katy O'Brian) who is passing through town on her way to Las Vegas.

Denver announces Arts & Culture Fund

Denver awards grants to 27 art projects and events to boost downtown

One of Mayor Mike Johnston’s goals is to turn downtown Denver into a place where people want…

Denver’s Department of Arts & Venues has announced the new “DAV Arts & Culture Fund,” supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The fund will provide up to $15,000 to support new or existing programs that involve at least one of seven cultural buzz-phrases – integration, amplification, accessibility, lifelong learning, local talent, economic vitality or collective leadership – that, in their own ways, “strengthen Denver’s vibrancy.”

Including the NEA match, the fund will be initially seeded with about $161,000, according to Denver Arts & Venues’ Amber Fochi. Executive Director Gretchen Hollrah said the NEA partnership “will support Denver’s creative community and improve access to arts and culture.”

Performative-oriented proposals, which can be either independent or collaborative, will be accepted now through April 30. Arts & Venues will conduct a virtual introduction to the fund from 1-2 p.m. April 4. Register on Eventbrite. More info at artsandvenuesdenver.com.

Broadway, babies!

We’re getting closer to four successive Broadway debuts for Colorado actors. Jenna Bainbridge, once a longtime performer with Denver’s disability-affirmative Phamaly Theatre Company, technically made her Broadway debut on Monday, when the new Broadway musical “Suffs” – short for “Suffragist” – opened for previews at the Music Box Theatre. That makes Bainbridge the first wheelchair user to originate a role in a Broadway musical – ever. The official opening night is April 18.

“I can’t believe the day has arrived,” Bainbridge, a graduate of Castle View High School in Castle Rock and the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, wrote on her Instagram page. “I have wanted to be on Broadway ever since I was a little girl, but to be honest I never really saw a path for me – especially not a wheelchair-accessible path. And now I wish more than anything that the little girl I was could see the woman I am today. I want her to see that all the fighting and hoping and striving that she will go through will, in fact, be worth it. That she will get to blaze that path for future generations of disabled performers. That she will get to do her dream job.”

Likewise, Denver School of the Arts grad Barton Cowperthwaite made his Broadway debut when “The Outsiders” had its first preview performance on March 16. The musical, produced by Angelina Jolie, officially opens April 11 at the Jacobs Theatre.

Aurora’s Oscar Whitney Jr., a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, will make his Broadway debut Thursday (March 28) when Alicia Keys’ “Hell's Kitchen” opens for previews. Opening night is April 22 at the Shubert Theatre.

And Benjamin Bonenfant, a graduate of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, is an understudy for the London transfer of a play called “Patriots,” which has its first performance April 1 at the Barrymore Theatre. He’ll go into the Broadway record books when the play opens April 22 whether or not he ever gets a chance to perform in the limited, 12-week engagement.

And finally …

There are concert announcements, and there are concert announcements. Rick Springfield (“Jessie’s Girl”) will headline “Raise the Ruff,” a benefit for Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary in Douglas County. Any pet org whose motto is “We’re here for the good days. The bad days. The last days.” has my heart. The concert is Aug. 29 at Mission Ballroom. Info at psds.org.