Highlights from Past Seasons

January 29, 2011  |  CUENTAME UN CUENTITO/TELL ME A STORY features bilingual actors/singers presenting Latin-American folk tales. The stories are interwoven with musical accompaniment, exciting percussion riffs, Spanish songs, and projections of the beautiful illustrations from some of the featured children’s books. The program is a collaboration of Stories on Stage and Modern Muse Theater.  Originally presented as a show for families, we adapted it for schools and performed it six times in the 2011-2012 school year. We expect to double that in the 2012-2013 academic year. For every program, we hand out a booklet of a Japanese folk tale written in Spanish and English that each school child takes home.

January 31, 2010  |  AUTISM CHRONICLES: THE GIFTS AND THE STRUGGLES was produced in collaboration with the Autism Society of Colorado, and their input was invaluable to creation of this show. Based on the writings of three family members of the Greenfeld family, it tells the story of living with their youngest son who is profoundly autistic. It expresses the frustrations with day-to-day life as well as the love among family members and caretakers. The cast featured Tamlyn Tomita, Jonathan Nichols, Ian Merrill Peakes, Josh Robinson and Kim Fletcher.  

March 9, 2008  |  Addiction Free: The Road From Hell was sponsored by CeDAR, the Center for Dependency, Addiction & Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado Hospital. Artistic director Norma Moore adapted the script from memoirs of recovery by Frances Kuffel (Passing for Thin), William Cope Moyers (Broken), Augusten Burroughs (Dry), Kate Braverman (Squandering the Blue), and Elizabeth Wurtzel (More . . . Now. . . Again). The program played to a sell-out crowd at the Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

 

May 19 & 20, 2006  |  Beyond the Border: El Espiritu Latino Meets the American Dream was opened by an address on immigration by Senator Ken Salazar. Musical pieces were interwoven with literature on immigration, including “We Are America,” read by former Denver mayor and U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Federico Pena. Jose Mercado directed, and Octavio Solis compiled background information. Featured performers included Gabriella Cavallero, Adriana Gaviria, Rodney Lizcano, Ada Maris, Tony Plana and Manuel Roybal, Sr., with music by Manuel Roybal, Sr., Mark Aguilar, Vincent Vigil and Alfredo Pinto.

 

February 20, 2005  |  Hattie Mae Winston adapts personal testimonies of former slaves to create The Slave Narratives: A MightY, Mighty People. The program asks the question, “In 1934, approximately 100,000 former slaves were still alive, all elders in their seventies, eighties, even nineties and beyond. How did they survive? And beyond survival, how did so many of them retain the vitality of spirit and soul to find joy in living?”

This piece was read by James Avery, Candy Brown, Keith Hatten, Terrence Riggins, Michele Shay, Kim Staunton, Marlene Warfield, Charles Weldon, John Wesley, and Hattie Mae Winston.  The program featured music by violinist Gregory Walker and an ensemble from The Spirituals Project. 

 

February 25, 2001  |  Elliott Gould reads At the Anarchists’ Convention by John Sayles.  Annette Helde and Gabriella Cavallero share the stage, as well.