Hasan Minhaj, Minnie Driver coming to Denver | Arts news

Comedian Hasan Minhaj will headline closing night of 2024 SeriesFest , when once each year, Denver becomes the center of the TV universe for a week. Minhaj, who won an Emmy Award for his Netflix series “Patriot Act,” will perform May 5 at Red Rocks .

SeriesFest, running May 1-5 mostly at the Sie Film Center, is essentially a film festival for independent episodic TV. It is expected to draw about 15,000 from Denver and around the country for screenings, panels, a pilot competition, parties and a “Pitch-A-Thon” allowing dreamers to present their ideas before a panel of industry bigwigs. It always ends with a blowout party at Red Rocks . (Sometimes, like last year, through torrents of rain.) Previous headliners have included Amber Ruffin and Chelsea Handler. Minhaj tickets now on sale at axs.com .

Special events will salute Oscar nominee Minnie Driver , the storytelling studio Shondaland and the film union known as SAG-AFTRA .

Driver will receive the SeriesFest Excellence in Acting Award for her body of work including “Good Will Hunting,” “The Riches,” “Modern Love,” “Speechless” and the upcoming second season of the Starz series “Serpent Queen.”

Shondaland (helmed by Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers) will receive the Impact in Television Award. The studio has sponsored a SeriesFest female director mentorship program since 2018.

Fans of “ Grey’s Anatomy ” take note: A panel will be held featuring showrunner Meg Marinis and actors James Pickens Jr., Kevin McKidd and Caterina Scorsone. Info at seriesfest.com .

‘The Order’ film has fall opening

A year ago, we told you that “ The Silent Brotherhood ,” Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn ’s 1990 nonfiction book about the rise of the white-supremacy movement, was being made into a major motion picture starring Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult . The film, renamed “The Order,” is already being screened for test audiences, who sometimes give execs notes that can result in changes before a film’s full release.

One such audience last week gave what Flynn called “encouraging” feedback.

The film is based on the book that Flynn co-authored with the late Gary Gerhardt 35 years ago chronicling the neo-Nazi/Ku Klux Klan underground thugs who committed numerous crimes here in Colorado and in the Pacific Northwest.

"The film is very similar in tone to ‘Hell or High Water ,’” said Flynn, an investigative reporter-turned-politico. “It’s super dark and low-key but very nail-biting. Fingers crossed for a robust U.S. distribution deal by the fall release.”

AnnaSophia Robb film at Aspen Shortsfest

Aspen Film’s 33rd annual Aspen Shortsfest will bring AnnaSophia Robb a little closer to home – on screen, at least. Robb, who graduated from Arapahoe High School in Littleton and was once labeled “Denver's No. 1 child star” by The Denver Post, co-stars in "Holiday House" at Shortsfest, which runs April 1-7 at Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House and Isis Theatre.

“Holiday House” a 13-minute film directed by Alex Heller, is described as: “A content creator feels obligated to let her internet benefactor visit her workshop.” It screens at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Wheeler.

Robb, now 30, played Violet Beauregarde in Tim Burton's 2005 “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Aspen Shortsfest is one of only four Oscar-qualifying festivals in the U.S. strictly dedicated to short films in the fields of animation, documentary and live-action narrative. The 2024 lineup, culled from a record 3,100 submissions, includes 70 new films from 24 countries. Forty of the chosen films were directed or co-directed by women.

“Filmmakers are expressing a renewed urgency to share their stories as we all emerge from the pandemic,” said Director of Programming Jason Anderson.

Blue Bench RISEs against sexual assault

In Colorado, half of all women and nonbinary people – and 1 in 3 men – will experience sexual violence in their lifetime, according to The Blue Bench , which has assisted more than 450,000 survivors and their loved ones since 1983 as Denver’s only sexual-assault prevention organization.

On April 5, the Blue Bench will host a restorative event that will encourage survivors to amplify their voices through their artwork. The third annual RISE Survivor Art Show will feature more than 90 Denver artists and will kick off Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month . The curated show runs April 5-28 at the RemainReal Fine Art Gallery , 901 Santa Fe Drive

“Being a part of RISE says, ‘Let’s talk about it. I’m not ashamed. I’m not scared,” said one of the anonymous featured artists. Executive Director Megan Carvajal said increased state and federal funding is urgently needed to respond to what she calls a problem of epidemic proportions.

Theatre Aspen’s summer season

Theatre Aspen has announced its 41st summer season of homegrown shows with largely imported Broadway talent. The lineup includes “Steel Magnolias” (June 17-29), “Legally Blonde The Musical” (with a book written by Colorado’s Heather Hach, July 5-27), and the first-ever locally staged production of the heartwarming “Come from Away” (Aug. 2-24). That’s a life-affirming musical about how the people of tiny Gander, Newfoundland took in almost 7,000 airline passengers who were forced to land there on Sept. 11, 2001.

Jenn Thompson , who has directed several iterations of the Denver Center Theatre Company’s seasonal stagings of “A Christmas Carol,” will helm “Steel Magnolias.” Casting has not yet been announced. Single tickets go on sale May 22 at theatreaspen.org .

Playwright on the rise

One of the sleeper hits of the early spring theater calendar is a new play at Miners Alley Playhouse in Golden called “ A Jukebox for the Algonquin ,” a gentle and deeply affecting comedy about the residents of a senior center and their consequential quest for a jukebox. It plays through April 7 and reveals a major playwriting talent in Paul Stroili, who also plays a pivotal role in the story.

This week, theatergoers will get a rare opportunity to peek inside Stroili’s next script, a developing play called “ Last Call at The Aardvark .” That, we are told, is “the story of a stripper, a stand-up comic and a sociopath.” Miners Alley will present a “staged reading” of the play – that’s actors reading from scripts on the stage – at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (April 3) at 1100 Miners Alley in Golden. Tickets $15 at minersalley.com .

Love on the Rocks

A brand-new romantic movie called “ A Mountain Between Us ” looks as cheesy as the Swiss Alps, but those are actually our own Rocky Mountains on full display – and they look spectacular. It’s a mountain-climbing love story that was filmed entirely in and around Denver, and the visuals more than make up for a story that seems predestined for the Hallmark Channel. Richard Webb’s film (not to be confused with the 2018 Idris Elba-Kate Winslet film titled “THE Mountain Between Us”), stars newcomers Lexi Berger, Quinton Blanche and Ben Christoferson. It was launched Wednesday for streaming on both Prime Video and Tubi .

And finally …

I try not to get involved on the front end of the Colorado arts community’s business. But when Give 5 Productions producer Julia Tobey asked for my advice on where she should stage the umpteenth local production of John Cameron Mitchell’s seminal musical “ Hedwig and the Angry Inch ,” I could not help myself.

“Just don’t stage it in a theater,” I told her. This is the iconic story of a genderqueer singer who is performing in dive bars and bowling alleys while stalking her rock-star ex-lover around the country. Put it in an opulent theater and it immediately loses its sense of place. It needs to be played in dank underground spaces with sticky floors.

So I couldn’t have been happier to receive the news this week that Tobey’s “Hedwig” will play from July 31 to Aug. 11 at Herman’s Hideaway , a sticky-floored staple at 1578 S. Broadway since 1962. Tickets go on sale May 1 at hedwigdenver.com .