ONSTAGE
All The Way Showtimes vary. Playing daily, except for Mondays. The Stage Theatre at the Denver Center for Performing Arts, 1101 13th St., Denver. Tickets start at $32. Call 800-641-1222 or visit denvercenter.org.
Sure, he’ll be beloved forever, but Walter White is so 2013. Bryan Cranston’s iconic lunatic dominated the zeitgeist for a good five-year stretch, but he maintains his status as a go-to Halloween costume. Heads up, folks — it’s 2016 and it’s time to move on from swooning over New Mexico’s most loved/hated bad boy and praise Cranston for his equally compelling work since ditching the chrome dome-goatee combination. The actor swapped his bald cap for a slightly thicker set of locks — he still maintained the grumpy frown, however — shortly after “Breaking Bad” ended and took on, with almost uncanny accuracy, the persona of President Lyndon Johnson in Robert Schenkkan’s 2014 Broadway smash “All The Way.” Now bearing a handful of Tonys and Drama Desk Awards, the play proved a worthy sandbox for one of the better actors currently gracing screens and stages across the country. Lucky for fans of metro area theater, the show is currently playing at the Denver Center for Performing Arts, providing a peak at one of the most celebrated plays to have come out this decade. Sadly, Mr. Cranston’s name is not on the playbill, but the DCPA has uncovered a slew of talented locals to forcefully take on the task of depicting the nation’s rocky political atmosphere of the Sixties. The show is playing through Feb. 28.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 & 6, The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., Denver. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Visit EquinoxTheatreDenver.com
Say it with us now: S-u-p-e-r-c-a-l-i-f-r-a-g-i-l-i-s-t-i-c-e-x-p-i-a-l-i-d-o-c-i-o-u-s. That Julie Andrews-tinged adjective(?) may or may not be the bane of many a pre-pubescent youngster learning English, and that “i” usually goes before “e” except, sometimes, after “c” and all of the other horrors germanic languages must endure. But that 34-letter, verbal roller coaster would be tiny tubers for the entrants of the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling bee, the six of whom will be on stage at Denver’s Bug Theatre this weekend. The show, directed by Colin Roybal, center on half-a-dozen 11-year-olds vying to win a spelling bee, and of course, they grow up and learn a bit about themselves in the process. It’s quirky, zany and a little bit heartfelt, too. Plus, it serves as a great chance to brush up on some English before the big Scripps competition in June.
The Big Bang Curtains at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. on Sundays. The John Hand Theater, 7653 E. 1st Pl., Denver. Tickets start at $22. Call 720-530-4596 or visit thisisspotlight.com for more information.
Jim Parsons isn’t the only one who knows how to make science a profitable, frenzied extravaganza. O contraire, mon frere. The folks at Spotlight Theatre Company and the John Hand Theatre know a thing or two about that topic as well, and are putting their purses right alongside their bookish mouths with the production of “The Big Bang,” a new musical comedy that offers a snippet of just about everything. More or less a bowl of theatrical potpourri, the show centers on two desperate actors who are forced to stage a last-minute audition for backers of their new show, entitled — you guessed it — “The Big Bang.” Using a slew of impromptu props, the duo walks through the history of the world, from the loud, instantaneous creation of the universe to Cher. The show closes this weekend.
4000 Miles 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 & 6 or 6 p.m. Feb. 7 at Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington Ave., Golden. Adult tickets are $25. Call 303-935-3044 or visit www.minersalley.com.
When it comes to age gaps in relationships, not much makes eyes pop these days. But 70 years? It’s what separates 21-year-old Leo (Curtiss Johns) and his grandmother (Deborah Persoff) in “4000 Miles.” No, there are no romantic ties between them, they merely form bonds that surpass generational divides.
MUSIC
Blue Star Denver 5 5:30 to 11:30 p.m., Feb. 6, Turnhalle at the Tivoli, Metropolitan State University, 900 Auraria Pkwy, Denver. Tickets start at $20. Visit bluestarconnect.org or call 970-531-1641 for more information.
Tunes, grub and a good cause? No arm-twisting needed. That admirable trio will be available at the Metropolitan State University of Denver his weekend during the Blue Star Denver 5, an annual benefit concert that raises funds to provide musical instruments to children and young adults with cancer. The musical docket for the evening is set to feature three country-heavy acts: Mike Zito & The Wheel, The Burroughs and Austin Young Band. There are plenty of Texas-centric themes in many of the tunes cranked out by the aforementioned groups — which is often the reason for some collar-loosening here in Denver — but the jams will make for a fine backdrop on an evening devoted to a terrific cause. Note: Tickets to the dinner pairing have already sold out, but there were still general admission tickets available as of Wednesday.