The Highlander

Media Credit: Photo from operapronto.net The Elitch Theatre on 38th and Tennyson after being completed in 1891. [Click to enlarge]

Northwest Denver's historic Elitch Theatre just got a new lease on life. The Denver Post reports that the theatre, once the focal point of the old Elitch Gardens on 38th Avenue between Tennyson and Wolff, will undergo a $14.2 million facelift to both modernize and restore the 115 year old structure.

The renovated theatre will be operated by the Center for American Theatre at Historic Elitch Gardens and promises to be a bastion of performing arts right in Regis' backyard. The Center will put on "year-round music, dance and film programming as soon as this summer," according to the Post. Plays are currently scheduled to begin in 2008.

Modeled on William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, Elitch Theatre was a haunt of such stars as actress Grace Kelly, actor Robert Redford and perennial ghoul Vincent Price, among others until it was closed in 1991. Five years later when the roller coasters were boxed up and shipped downtown, the theatre was sold with the stipulation that it be preserved. There it remained collecting dust until program director Kevin Causey started the Center for American Theatre with the intention of raising enough money to one day put on shows, reports the Post.

Since then millions have been collected through local fundraising, donations and contributions from various groups including the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, the Colorado State Historic Fund and others. As reported by the Denver Post, the project is currently in line to receive $7 million in federal funding as part of Department of Interior historic building appropriation.

Clausey notes that "Because we have the legacy of 100 years of great performances sitting right here our foundation is this great theater, and besides Broadway, there is not another one like it."

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper also spoke highly of the potential of the revamped theatre, "Denver has a long, rich history in the performing arts, and the historic Elitch Theatre is one of the jewels of that history. The rebirth of the theater will honor north Denver's tradition while starting a new cultural legacy for our entire region."

The reinvigorated venue will attract local as well as national production troupes, educational opportunities and more. The Denver Post believes "The center will mount two big annual productions itself and solicit outside local theater companies, small operas and touring shows. The center also plans lecture series, a theater and dance school, after-school programs, a young playwrights series and an annual national collegiate theater competition in conjunction with the Kennedy Center in Washington."

Regis University, in conjunction with the University of Colorado, Denver University, Denver Public Schools and the Denver Arts and Technology Academy, are listed as "educational partners."

For more facts about the theatre,

check out: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_3713204

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