The Avenue Theater, located at 417 E. 17th Avenue in Downtown

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

"Can redevelopment help preserve a neighborhood’s soul?"
''Denver Post''. Retrieved 2018-03-26. has been a producing

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, and

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

as well as

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

for years. It is home to the World Humor Organization (WHO) and Chicken Lips Entertainment

History

Early years

Robert Wells founded the Avenue Theater in 1985. At that time the theater was located at East 17th & Vine, 17 blocks east of the current location. Wells ran the theater for its first seven years.

Changing Hands

In 1992, John Ashton became the owner. He ran it for 9 years until, in 2001, the original Avenue Theater was closed. After its closing, Ashton spent the next two years finding a location and rebuilding the Avenue Theater. In spring of 2003, Ashton re-opened the Avenue Theater with business partner Robert Roehl. In 2005, the pair sold the theater back to original owner Robert Wells and his business partner, Dave Johnson, who turned the theater into a non-profit, 501(c)(3). In 2011, they hired a new Director of Operations, Colin Elliott. Late in 2012, Johnson stepped down as executive director, and Nuri Heckler was appointed. These three, along with volunteers, interns, staff members, and artistic contributors, maintain the artistic mission of the theater.

Radio Avenue

Every month, Wells and Johnson write a comical

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

show entitled Radio Avenue. It is broadcast on

KGNU KGNU (1390 AM) & KGNU-FM (88.5 FM) are a pair of community radio stations licensed to Denver and Boulder, Colorado respectively. KGNU is owned by Boulder Community Broadcast Association, Inc. History KFML 1390 AM was first licensed on April 4, ...

on the first Monday of each month at 8:00 pm ( Mountain Time) and is recorded the day before during a live performance at the Avenue. Because of its improv comedy nature, Radio Avenue is recorded live to a free audience.

List of Shows

2005

*Parallel Lives *

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

The Fourth Wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

* The Syringa Tree *Tribal Tales Of Africa *Murder Most Fowl

2006

* The Smell of the Kill *Destination Dinosaurs *

Beyond Therapy ''Beyond Therapy'' is a play by Christopher Durang. Synopsis This farcical comedy focuses on Prudence and Bruce, two Manhattanites who are seeking stable romantic relationships with the help of their psychiatrists, each of whom suggests their p ...

*Tales Of An Englishman ''(Produced by A.C.E. Comedy)'' *The A.C.E. Show ''(Co-produced by A.C.E. Comedy & Avenue Theater)'' *Miscast ''(Produced by Next Stage Theatre Company)'' *Some Unfortunate Hour ''(Produced by The Other Theatre Company)'' *Denver Improv Festival ''(Produced by The GroupMind Foundation)'' *BFE, The Town That Christmas Forgot ''(Co-produced by Rattlebrain Theater & Avenue Theater)'' *Murder Most Fowl

2007

*Murder Most Fowl *Destination Dinosaurs *The Man Himself/Conviction ''(Co-produced by Ami Dayan & Avenue Theater)'' *Right On America! ''(Produced by Elgin Kelley)'' *Girls Only ''(Co-produced by A.C.E. Comedy & Avenue Theater)'' *Ben Franklin ''(Produced by Venture West)'' * Dog Sees God *

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change ''I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'' is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts. It is the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical.Gans, Andrew"I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change Ends NYC Run ...

*When Animals Improv * The Bible: The Complete Word Of God (Abridged) *Denver Improv Festival ''(Produced by The GroupMind Foundation)''

2008

*Girls Only ''(Co-produced by A.C.E. Comedy & Avenue Theater)'' * Oleanna *Almost Denver: The Songs and Failures of Jim Aurora *Free Gas: Chicken Lips Gives It To America

2009

*That Woman Show *Vagina Monologues *60 Minutes: The Musical *Die! Mommy Die! *Santa's Big Red Sack *What the Dickens?!

2010

*Secrets of a Soccer Mom *The Booty Guard *Hedwig and the Angry Inch *The Love List *VOX Phamalia: Triage *Santa's Big Red Sack

2011

*The Goode Body *The B-Team *Hedwig and the Angry Inch *Breach *Completely Hollywood (Abridged) *VOX Phamalia: Quadrapalooza *Rattlebrain ''(Special Event, Original One-Man Sketch Comedy Show)'' *Santa's Big Red Sack

2012

*Santa's Big Red Sack *Scriptprov *Murder Most Fowl *Love Child *Dave Shirley's Rattlebrain *String of Pearls

Awards

2006 Denver Post Ovation Awards (6 Nominations, 2 Wins)

*Best Actor in a Children's Play: Chris Boeckx (''Destination Dinosaurs'') - WINNER *Best Children's Play: ''Destination Dinosaurs'' *Best Sound Design: Dave Johnson (''

'') *Best Actress in a Comic Role: Megan Van DeHay ('' The Smell of the Kill'') *Best Actor in a Comic Role: Kevin Hart (''

'') *Special Achievement Video Design: Brian Freeland (''Destination Dinosaurs'') - WINNER

2006 Marlowe Awards (10 Wins)

*Best Production of a Play, Comedy: ''

'' - WINNER *Best Director, Comedy: Bob Wells (''

'') - WINNER *Best Actor, Comedy: Kevin Hart (''

'') - WINNER *Best Actress, Comedy: Megan Van DeHay ('' The Smell of the Kill'') - WINNER *Best Supporting Actor, Comedy: Josh Hartwell (''

'') - WINNER *Best Supporting Actress, Comedy: LuAnn Buckstein (''

'') - WINNER *Best Actor, Children's Show: Chris Boeckx (''Destination Dinosaurs'') - WINNER *Best Children's Show: ''Destination Dinosaurs'' - WINNER *Best Videography: Brian Freeland (''Destination Dinosaurs'') - WINNER *Best New Musical: ''BFE: The Town Christmas Forgot'' - WINNER

References

External links

Official Avenue Theater Website
{{Denver Theatres in Denver