Performing Arts

Sasha and the Squids present Burlesque at Telluride's Opera House

kicker: Program follows course at Ah Haa

Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts promoted the class this way:

"Join artistic director Sasha Cucciniello of SquidShow Theatre and Melissa Sumpter of Durango’s Salt Fire Circus, as they take you on a three-week journey into the world of burlesque dancing and performance. At the close of the class, students will be given the opportunity to show off their skills during a live variety show on the stage of the Sheridan Opera House!"

Their time is now. On March 25, 8 p.m., at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House, Sasha and SquidShow Theatre present an evening of burlesque, which includes "boylesque," boys doing burlesque. Sasha promises an evening that is at once "daring, sexy and scandalous." And Sasha always delivers the goods.

Roxbury Latin Glee Club to perform at Telluride's Opera House, 3/17

[click "Play" to listen to Susan's conversation with Rob Opdyke and Connor Evans]   No blarney. For family entertainment at its finest, on St. Patrick's Day, Thursday, March 17, the Roxbury Latin Glee Club is scheduled to perform in concert at...

Telluride Playwrights Festival announces summer program

The Telluride Playwrights Festival spilled out of the pen of Telluride local Jennie Franks, founder of Sparky Productions. While writing one of her own plays, Jennie realized playwrights like herself need to hear their words spoken out loud during the evolving process of refining a script. The Telluride Playwrights Festival has little to do with splashy productions and everything to do with theatre basics: speaking words that tell a story. The event is, in effect, a laboratory setting for actors, playwrights and directors and a vehicle for exploring ideas, issues and our own humanity through theatre. Plays germinated at the Telluride Playwrights Festival are now blossoming all over the country in major markets with full productions.

Now in its fifth year, the Playwrights Festival continues to expand upon its collaborative mission, bringing a full production of a new dark comedy by William Missouri Downs. "Forgiving John Lennon" is part of the University of Wyoming’s Summer Theatre Program. This timely, shattering comedy explores a clash of cultures in a world where, as Lennon says “nothing to kill or die for” might not be so easily imagined. As with all Telluride Playwright Festival productions, feedback from the audience after the performance is a valued next step towards a polished finished project.

Telluride Rep celebrates 20th anniversary at Ah Haa Saturday nite

[click "Play" to hear Susan's rap with Suzan Beraza and Dylan Brooks]

The Telluride Repertory Theatre celebrates its 20+ anniversary in style. The non-profit is throwing with a gala dinner party on Saturday, March 12, 7 – 10 p.m., at the Ah Haa School for the Arts. The event includes a champagne reception, a four-course dinner prepared by Mountain Top Catering and a wine pairing featuring the Durango Wine Experience. The entertainment, "The Best of the REP Musical Revue," includes performances by former REP stars, among them, REP co-founders Suzan Beraza and Angela Watkins.

The history of the Telluride Repertory Theatre Company dates back to when co-founder Suzan Beraza,  now of "Bag It" fame, found a brochure about a ski resort in a box canyon with a little theater. The ambitious young actress with a yen to ski sent a resume and an 8 X 10 glossy, waited and heard nothing. Suzan was none too concerned about the dead silence: life is oh so hectic on the boards. It was not until she arrived in town that Suzan discovered the dirty little secret behind Telluride's "theatre": The Nugget was a film house. Bummer. Acting was all Suzan knew how to do.

Celebrate Mardi Gras with Telluride's Joint Point

In Telluride, we save the parades and picnics for the Fourth of July. Locally Mardi Gras, March 8, is all about the music. Music and the traditional baubles and beads. (We love bling.) 

The music is thanks to the historic Sheridan Opera House, where local jam band, Joint Point, performs at a special Mardi Gras concert starting at 9 p.m.