“Night Lights Denver,” a vibrant new feature of downtown’s night-life, is alternately playful, beautiful, weird and wonderful. It is undeniably eye-catching. And it’s free. The public art taking over one side of the D&F Tower, an experimental effort of the Denver Theatre District, is funded by outdoor advertising elsewhere in the 16-block district. It’s a […]

Joanne Ostrow
Special to The Colorado Sun
Email: ostrowjoanne@gmail.com Twitter: @joanneostrow
David Byrne is building a neuroscience-powered hall of mirrors somewhere in Denver
Talking Heads’ frontman David Byrne has been interested in the intersection of art and science for years. When he’s not debuting a Broadway show, launching an online magazine or creating a show about Joan of Arc or Imelda Marcos, he’s exploring how neuroscience plays with our perceptions. “Theater of the Mind,” to have its world […]
“A Doll’s House” times two: DCPA Theatre Company experiments with epic-length production
I attended the double-header of “A Doll’s House” and “A Doll’s House Part 2” on Saturday. That meant strapping in for Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 classic when the sun was still shining, taking a dinner break after the 2-hour, 10-minute play (plus a 15-minute intermission), then returning to the theater for Lucas Hnath’s clever 2017 sequel […]
Oliver Herring: From MOMA, the Guggenheim and the Hirshhorn to … Auraria?
A renowned artist who has exhibited at great art institutions around the world has set up shop at the tiny Emmanuel Gallery on the University of Colorado’s Auraria campus in downtown Denver. Oliver Herring, born in Heidelberg, Germany, and now based in Brooklyn, has been feted in New York at the Museum of Modern Art […]
Colorado theater companies use drama and satire to confront racism without flinching
America is in the midst of a cultural reckoning. The unhealed scar that is the country’s history of slavery is taking the stage, literally, in drama and satire and challenging audiences in new ways. On Broadway, the provocative new “Slave Play” is expected to be the buzzed-about show of the Fall. Opening in October, the […]
From “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” to a comic book baron: Denver’s scene is a lesson in drag diversity
For Denver native Yvie Oddly, winner of this season’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” June has been a trans-Atlantic drag race. Pride Month has seen her triumphing on VH-1, performing in Denver, then London, with a brief stop back in Denver to “swap out my bags,” before heading to New York’s World Pride festival this weekend. For […]
A Colorado filmmaker’s camera is rolling as women of color fight for a voice in Denver politics
The local version of “Knock Down the House,” the progressive political film making waves nationally, is currently in the works in a Stapleton living room. If you’re aware of “Knock Down the House,” the documentary directed by Rachel Lears, you know it tracked four progressive female candidates running for Congress in the 2018 midterms. The […]
From Tinkertoys to avocado greens: Denver Art Museum show presents play as a serious form of inspiration
You can almost hear vintage America breathing a sigh of relief — the midcentury modern design exhibition at the Denver Museum of Art celebrates a time of post-War optimism, rejuvenation and experimentation. Architects and designers led the country in a giant exhale, welcoming a bright (if sometimes avocado-green) future in everything from decor to advertising, […]
An intimate improv rendezvous with an actor? A new Denver interactive performance draws you out — if you let it
Depending how far into it you let yourself fall, the Denver Center’s Off-Center production “Between Us” can be quite disorienting. If you are curious, I suggest falling all the way. Buy a ticket, await a text from your “guide” or your “date” or your “bartender” telling you when and where in downtown Denver to meet. […]
“It’s succeeded beyond our expectations”: Adam Lerner, MCA Denver’s chief animator, is leaving at a high point
When he leaves his post as head of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver in June after an acclaimed 10-year run, Adam Lerner will not be involved in the search for his successor, will not accept any sort of emeritus role if offered, and hopes to be merely a donating patron. Won’t he at least […]