ONSTAGE
Forbidden Broadway: Greatest Hits 7:30 p.m. on Friday & Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday, Center Stage, 27608 Fireweed Drive., Evergreen. Visit evergreenplayers.org for more information. Tickets start at $25 for adults. Rejoice, cynics everywhere. For those who just can’t quite latch on to the whole “musical” thing, the Evergreen Players are serving up a slice of theatrical satire sure to result in deprecating chortles. Featuring local juggernauts Lindsey Falduto, Shahara Rae, Rob Riney and Shane Delavan, “Forbidden Broadway: Greatest Hits” ribs, pinches and pretty much gives two simultaneous black eyes to perennial classics like “Annie”, “Wicked”, “Rent” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” Eat your hearts out, “If I were a Rich Man” haters.
“The Foreigner” This is a big one for Bernie Cardell. A mainstay of metro theater for over a decade, “The Foreigner” is Cardell’s 100th local production. Talk about a lotta memorizing. The show is set in a fishing lodge in middle-a-nowhere, Georgia and features a bashful protagonist who gets wrapped up in a whole web of weird. Tickets start at $21. Showtimes at thisisspotlight.com or by calling 720-880-8727.
“The Spitfire Grill: The Musical” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora. Tickets $28 in advance, $32 at the door, www.vintagetheatre.com or 303-856-7830. The Vintage crew, fresh off their Henry Award-nominated run of “‘Night Mother,” bring a lighter, music-filled tale of three women in a small town who cook up a plan to raffle off the only restaurant in town in order to keep the grills going. Kelly Watt, Megan Van De Hey and Anne Oberbroeckling lead this production of the James Valcq musical.
AROUND TOWN
Aurora Cultural Arts District Mural Dedication 2 p.m. July 10, 1401 Emporia St. Free. In case you didn’t already know just exactly where the Aurora Cultural Arts District is (see: a dishearteningly high number of the city’s citizens), a coalition of municipal and artistic nabobs is making knowledge of the district’s whereabouts unavoidable. The city is celebrating and officially dedicating the early finish of “Star Child” a massive, eight-story mural splashed on the side of the Fletcher Gardens apartments. Aurora commissioned Denver artists Michael Ortiz and Jonathan Lamb to design the work, which depicts the Aurora Borealis, for $25,000. If for nothing else, take the opportunity to get a summer update on what’s what with the ACAD and sip a refreshing pint at nearby Mu Brewery.
Free First Saturday at the Denver Art Museum Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., July 11, 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy., Denver. Free. Visit denverartmuseum.org for more information.
If you didn’t get to see any chemically-infused gunpowder explode across the night sky last weekend, fear not, friend. The Denver Art Museum is giving you one last chance to celebrate July 4. Because the first Saturday of the month was in fact Independence Day, the folks at the DAM postponed their regular habit of offering free admission to the world-class museum by one weekend, so vacationers could get a chance to both venture out of town for the holiday and enjoy some incredible art upon their return. And probably to give museum staff a bit of a respite as well — they’re people, too, you know.
MUSIC SCENE
Aurora Summer Concert – Buckstein 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Utah Park, 1800 Peoria St. Free. Call 303-344-1500 for more information or in case of inclement weather on the day of the show. Who knows if “Central Aurora” is actually a thing, but if it is, it’s going to be rocking thanks to the Aurora Summer Concert Series at Utah Park this Thursday. Grab your most recently polished belt buckle, felt cowboy hat and the most exotic leather boots you own because local country jammers Buckstein are heading to the city’s arguable heart. The band sounds a tad Garth Brooksy, if ole Garth drank about 10 cups of coffee and hired a fiddle player who’d had 10 more. Not afraid of jumping the lines of genre, the crew has been known to spin out their own versions of Top 40 hits from the likes of Cee Lo and Jay-Z, according to their website. So, yeah, this could be interesting.
Lake Street Dive 8 p.m. July 12, The Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave. Tickets start at $25. More information at bluebird theater.net. Sure you can try to catch Lake Street Dive when they open for the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks this Friday, but that show’s already sold out, so good luck with that, Señor StubHub. We suggest catching this Boston outfit on Sunday at the much more intimate Bluebird where they’ll be taking up the entirety of the marquis as headliners — not the footnote openers. Seriously, these guys are worth checking out — if for no other reason than to hear their funky, horn-riddle rendition of Daryl Hall & John Oates’ “Rich Girl.” Go YouTube it. But don’t come crawling to us to complain when LSD’s version — or the original for that matter — is stuck in your ahead through Labor Day.