Also see Atlanta (click here), Charlotte (click here), Denver (click here), Los Angeles (click here) or San Francisco (click here).
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Please submit tips for Blitz Theatre-Going in your favorite city. Email the tips to info@playsondvd.com. PlaysOnDVD will be pleased to credit your submissions with a byline.
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Step 1: Pick A Play In Denver
Go to www.westword.com, select “Culture” from the left menu, then scroll down to “Events Search” at the bottom right of the page. Do a search there on “theatre.” This will give you current and past articles on plays in Denver. You probably have to go to each Theatre’s site for times and locations. Denver has a remarkable Center for the Performing Arts. At least 4 events were available on the last Tuesday night I was there. Go to www.denvercenter.org if you just want to see what is happening there. Print out a couple of choices and make sure to pick up the addresses of the Theatres as well as the Curtain Times.
Step 2: Book Your Return For The Next Day
You will leave the Theatre at around 10:30PM or so. This is probably too late even for a red-eye flight. (At least it should be!) If you need 8 hours sleep, select a flight the next day that lets you get up around 7AM. If your work ethic requires a good business reason for returning the next day, see Step 5. :-)
Step 3: Getting To The Theatre
Your play will probably be at a Theatre somewhere in downtown Denver. Fortunately, I have found getting into downtown Denver is not very difficult even near rush hour since you are moving against the prevailing traffic. Use www.mapquest.com/directions/ or maps.yahoo.com/dd to get driving directions from your last meeting place to the Theatre’s address that you picked up from your Web search. You most probably need to go directly from your last meeting to the Theatre to guarantee that you make an 8PM or earlier curtain. Early curtain times, like 7:30PM, are common in Denver and the curtain goes up pretty much on time. Figure you will pick up a Salad or Sandwich for dinner near or at the Theatre if you do not have time for a nearby restaurant.
To get to the Center for the Performing Arts from the north, I have taken Interstate 25 South to the Speer Boulevard South Exit #212A. Take Speer to Lawrence Street. Take a left on Lawrence. A right a little more than a block later onto 14th Street followed by the next right on Araphoe Street leads to the Center’s Parking Lot (left side of the one-way Araphoe Street). Although parking there is a bit costly, the street side parking meters and competing parking lots are not much less.
Step 4: Print Out All Of Your Theatre-Related Information
When your last meeting ends, your time to actually hit the show will probably be tight. There will be no time to diddle with a computer. Have every thing you need to Blitz the Theatre on paper.
Step 5: Buy The Tickets At The Box Office Just Before The Show
Let us face it; you are seldom certain that you are going to make the show at all. Your last meeting could run late or an important business contact could ask you to dinner at the last minute. So, if you wait to buy your ticket until you make it to the Theatre, you can bail out of your Theatre Blitz anytime with no waste of money. Even Shows that are “sold out” frequently have a single seat available just before the show begins, especially midweek. So, your likelihood of getting a seat just before curtain is high. If you like, have an alternative play picked out nearby as a backup plan. At the Center for Performing Arts, tickets bought at the respective Box Office one hour or less before Performance are sometimes available at a reduced rate.
Enjoy The Show!
