A Tribute to Oscar Brown Jr. presented by Gift of Jazz
📅 Jun 14, 2026, 2:00 PM
📍 The Savoy Denver, Denver, CO
Gift of Jazz, a Denver nonprofit preserving jazz heritage since 1995, brings together film, live music, and spoken word for a full afternoon honoring Oscar Brown Jr., the Chicago-born singer-songwriter and civil rights activist whose 1960 debut Sin & Soul fused jazz with unflinching social commentary. The day opens with a screening of Emmy award-winning filmmaker donnie l. betts's documentary "Music Is My Life, Politics My Mistress: The Story of Oscar Brown Jr." followed by a Q&A with the director, whose film aired on PBS stations nationwide and now streams on Kweli TV. That evening, the Bob Schlesinger Quartet plays Brown's music live, with vocalist Erica Brown on vocals and spoken word by Jeff Campbell, the hip hop artist and activist whose work was itself the subject of an Emmy-winning betts film. The event is free and takes place at The Savoy Denver.
Rent - Vail Valley Theatre Company
📅 Jun 18, 2026, 7:00 PM
📍 Grand Hyatt Vail, Vail, CO
Vail Valley Theatre Company, a not-for-profit company founded in 1987, brings the full production of Rent to the Grand Hyatt Vail for four nights this June. The cast includes Anders Willis as Roger, Landan Berlof as Angel, Nick Larkins as Mark, and Julie Block Hodgson as Maureen, among others, all drawn from the local Vail Valley theatre community. Rehearsal footage shows a full ensemble working through the score and choreography together, the kind of community production that has anchored VVTC's season programming for nearly four decades.
The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare in the Wild
📅 Aug 14, 2026, 7:00 PM
📍 deKoevend Park at Goodson Rec Center, Centennial, CO
Shakespeare in the Wild brings its fifth season to deKoevend Park in Centennial, performing The Comedy of Errors across three weekends in August. The company stages professional Shakespeare outdoors and entirely free to the public, building a temporary stage under the trees each summer. This production is directed by Aaron Vega in a physical theatre style rooted in commedia, clowning, and mask work, with a cast of nine professional actors playing Shakespeare's cascading farce of mistaken identities. Bring a picnic blanket and a camp chair; sunsets are part of the show.
Theater Shows in Colorado: what to expect
You'll find theater shows in Colorado hosted by the people who actually live and perform here. They're local artists and creators, not touring acts or tourist-trap packages. Every listing on this page is a real event you can show up to, run by someone rooted in the Colorado scene.
Upcoming listings include "A Tribute to Oscar Brown Jr. presented by Gift of Jazz" and "Rent - Vail Valley Theatre Company", and the lineup refreshes as creators post new dates, so it's worth checking back for what's on this week and next.
Browse the events above for dates and details, then book directly with the host. Finding theater shows in Colorado should feel like getting a tip from a local, because that's exactly where these listings come from.