This week in Colorado arts news, the Broadway spectacular, “Mean Girls the Musical,” returns to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, as does the Colorado New Play Summit.
Starting in March, the Month of Photography Festival pops up across the Front Range. And on Sunday, March 2, four films with Colorado connections vie for Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards.
Pueblo also just announced big news – come the fall of 2025, it will be home to America’s first, and only, Leonardo da Vinci Museum.
Read on for your weekly recap, plus find things to do and places to be.
Four Colorado filmmakers compete for Oscars in Sunday’s Academy Awards
The Brutalist
“The Brutalist” — a cautionary tale about the American Dream, following a Hungarian-Jewish architect as he struggles to find his way America in the wake of World War II — was nominated for Best Picture; Best Director (Brady Corbet); Best Actor (Adrien Brody); Best Supporting Actor (Guy Pearce); Best Supporting Actress (Felicity Jones); Original Screenplay; Production Design; Cinematography; Editing and Original Score.
Director Brady Corbet grew up in Glenwood Springs. He attended elementary and middle school in the Roaring Fork Valley before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.
“The Brutalist” and “Wicked” are the second-most nominated films this year, each vying for 10 awards. “Emilia Pérez” is the only film with more, at 13 nominations.
The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Fandango At Home.
The Wild Robot
“The Wild Robot” — a DreamWorks Animation feature about a robot with artificial intelligence that evolves into a compassionate and emotional steward of the animals on a desert island — was nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score (composer Kris Bowers), and Best Sound.
Chris Sanders, screenwriter and director of The Wild Robot, was raised in Colorado Springs and graduated from Arvada High School before attending Disney’s animation program at the California Institute of the Arts. He credits early explorations of the Front Range for his appreciation of nature. That appreciation can be felt in the film.
"The Wild Robot" isn’t Sanders’ first Oscars contender, either. His films The Croods (2013), How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and Lilo & Stitch (2002) were also nominated for Best Animated Feature.
The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Peacock, Google Play and YouTube.
Anuja
“Anuja” — an emotional story about a gifted 9-year-old girl who works in a New Delhi garment factory with her sister and is offered a difficult, and life-altering, opportunity to attend school — was nominated for Best Live-Action Short.
The film was directed by Adam J. Graves and produced by Suchitra Mattai, both of whom — until recently — lived in Colorado. They have since relocated to Los Angeles, but Graves commutes to continue teaching philosophy at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Mattai, who is married to Graves, is a multi-disciplinary artist. Her work has been featured in the Denver Art Museum and K Contemporary Art Gallery, as well as in museums across the country.
“Anuja” has swept all five competitions it’s been in contention for so far this year, taking home awards from the New York Shorts International Film Festival, Montclair Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival and Foyle Film Festival. It also earned a Gold List Award, which honors outstanding achievements by Asian Pacific filmmakers.
The short film is currently streaming on Netflix.
Porcelain War
“Porcelain War” — a documentary about an artistic Ukrainian couple who stay to fight, and create, in the face of Russian occupation in Ukraine — was nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
The couple featured in the film, Slava Leontyev and Anya Stasenko, have sought temporary refuge in Colorado for the past year — and were featured in a recent CPR News story. The film’s producer, Paula DuPré Pesmen, also has local ties – she’s based in Colorado and was born in Boulder.
“Porcelain War” has already won 43 awards this season, including Best Documentary Feature at the Telluride Mountainfilm Festival, the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature as well as the Audience Award for Best Feature Length Film at the Boulder International Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at Sundance Film Festival.
The film is not currently available for streaming.
Pueblo to open North America’s first and only Leonardo da Vinci Museum
Southern Colorado has gained exclusive rights to North America’s first — and only — Leonardo da Vinci Museum.
The Colorado Economic Development Commission gave final approval for the project on Feb. 20, saying a 10-year exclusivity memorandum and ongoing deal for unique U.S. premieres and permanent installations following the initial 10-year period sealed the deal.
The museum will be located on the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk in the former home of Pueblo’s Pro Bull Riders Sport Performance Center. The museum is set to open in fall 2025, following a capital campaign and renovations that include the addition of an outdoor café.
Pueblo’s Leonardo da Vinci Museum will feature interactive science exhibits and life-sized replicas based on da Vinci’s drawings and sketches. Future expansions will also include a planetarium.
“We believe this museum will be a transformative addition to the Pueblo community in the areas of STEAM education and a significant draw for visitors from across North America,” said Joe Arrigo, board chair of the Southern Colorado Science Center.
The project is funded by the Regional Tourism Act, which collects money via state sales tax increment financing. No additional city or county funds will be used to launch the project.
DCPA’s Colorado New Play Summit is back
One of Colorado’s biggest theater events of the year is coming up, with the DCPA’s New Play Summit on March 1 and 2.
At this annual event, two plays get premieres and four more are given a live reading and workshopped with the help of an audience.
The summit is a weekend-long extravaganza where attendees can get to know the featured playwrights, directors, actors and other creatives while helping to play an integral role in the future of Colorado theatre.
One of two world premieres is ”The Suffragette’s Murder” by Sandy Rustin. The story is set in 1857, following an eclectic group of tenants as they bustle about their Manhattan boarding house, arranging the final details of a clever scheme they hope to pull off in the name of the budding women’s suffrage movement. As they prepare to host an important secret gathering, they receive an unexpected visit from a constable. One of the tenants has been murdered.
The other world premiere is ”The Reservoir” by Jake Brasch, a Denver native. The play follows Josh, who comes home to Denver to get his life together as he grapples with alcoholism. On the road to recovery, he cares for his grandparents — forcing them into playing memory games and dragging them to Jazzercise classes. When Josh can no longer help his grandparents, they begin to help him. (Full disclosure: Jake Brasch is the brother of CPR reporter Sam Brasch.)
Both “The Suffragette’s Murder” and “The Reservoir” were workshopped at the 2023 New Play Summit.
The year’s featured readings include “Bogfriends” by Jose Sebastian Alberdi, “How to Conquer America: A Mostly True History of Yogurt” by David Myers, “If God Were Blue” by Carey Perloff and “Rust on Bone” by Bianca Sams.
A month-long photography festival is popping up across the Front Range
The Month of Photography Festival, a biennial celebration presented by the Colorado Photographic Arts Center, is back for its 10th year.
The Month of Photography features images by local, national and international artists in 135 events at 75 different locations, making it one of the largest photography events in the U.S.
Scores of Denver galleries and arts centers host exhibitions, as well as spaces in Lakewood, Arvada, Boulder, Fort Collins and beyond. Shows also pop up in unlikely spaces, like coffee shops.
The festival welcomes all types of photography, from analog to digital to images created with artificial intelligence.
Most events are free to attend and open to photography lovers of all ages. A digital guide of all of the exhibitions is available on the festival’s website and printed festival guides are available at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center and other participating venues.
The festival will kick things off with an opening reception at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center on Saturday, March 1, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
'Mean Girls the Musical' is back in Colorado for a limited time
The 2004 film “Mean Girls” quickly became a cult classic. It launched now-stars Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried to fame and skyrocketed Lindsay Lohan’s career to a new level.
Thirteen years later, in 2017, “Mean Girls the Musical” hit Broadway, adding musical numbers to the beloved female coming-of-age tale.
On Wednesday, Feb. 25, Mean Girls kicked off a new tour starting at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The show will be in Denver through March 2 before it heads to the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs March 3-5.
The Broadway spectacular was created by an award-winning creative team, including comedian Tina Fey (“30 Rock,” “SNL”), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin (“Legally Blonde”) and original director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw (“The Book of Mormon”).
Colorado arts & culture things to do this weekend
- Denverite Things to do in Denver this weekend
- KRCC community calendar for Southern Colorado
- CPR Classical directory of Colorado classical performance groups
- Indie 102.3 calendar
Some groups mentioned in the CO Arts Spotlight may be financial supporters of CPR News. Financial supporters have no editorial influence.
How we pick our events: CO Arts Spotlight highlights events around the state to give readers a sense of the breadth of Colorado’s arts and cultural happenings, it is not — and can not possibly be — a comprehensive list of all weekly events. Entries are not endorsements or reviews. Each week’s list is published on Thursday and is not updated.
