On the edge of the Appalachian wilderness, from the empty streets and stark smokestacks of a vanishing steel town, Dallas Gilbert and Wayne Burton have found something to hold on to: the earnest and even desperate search for the mysterious Sasquatch—the ancient people of the forest. The Bigfoot.

Joe Turner’s come and gone and I haven’t even finished this review. My procrastination, however, should not be seen as any reflection on the quality of the play. Matter of fact, Shadow Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s come and Gone is one of the finest plays I’ve seen this year.

(Incidentally, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is not gone just yet. It runs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through November 1. I recommend skipping past the rest of this review and booking your tickets right away).

I love sitting in the front row at the theater. The live action that makes plays so appealing in the first place is amplified in the front row: the sight and the smell of sweat, the glistening tears, the flying spit.

Spit was flying all over the place during the opening beat-boxing overture of Curious Theatre Company’s The Denver Project.

Stephanie Beatriz as the title character in Denver Center Theatre Company's production of "Lydia"

“Oh yes,” replied the designer. “You see, that’s him over there—smiling.”

“Then how,” asked the audience member, “can such a dark story come out of him?”

Solis, well known for his brooding and intense human dramas did not scare away Denver Center Theatre Company Artistic Director Kent Thompson, who commissioned Lydia from Solis a little more than a year ago. The play is enjoying its world premiere as part of the DCTC’s 3rd Colorado New Play Summit.