It’s OK to be a first-timer at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, or a symphony newbie at Boettcher Concert Hall. It’s OK to get lost while looking for the bathroom, or feel intimidated by the snaking bar lines. Everyone has to start somewhere. But it’s not OK to talk over quiet performances, steal someone’s seat, go beast mode over a minor slight, or act like a drunken boor. That’s bush league, and you’ll immediately peg yourself as such to everyone around you, given that Colorado has some of the most active, experienced concertgoers in the country, according to Pollstar rankings. In the spirit of commu ..read more

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com. “Wandering Stars,” by Tommy Orange (Alfred A. Knopf, 2024) “Wandering Stars,” by Tommy Orange (Alfred A. Knopf, 2024)Related Articles Books | New Sara Paretsky novel and more mysteries to solve this month Books | The Book Club: “The Berry Pickers” and more short reviews from readers Books ..read more

Considering that 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” was a highly satisfying conclusion to the reboot trilogy of “Planet of the Apes” films, the makers of the new movie “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” were wise to set it in the same universe but far in the future. In theaters this week, this fourth modern entry — and the 10th overall, the larger franchise dating to the 1968 classic “Planet of the Apes” — makes several laudable choices. The first is to begin with the funeral of Caesar, the ape hero of the trilogy launched by 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and then to jump ahea ..read more

Pinkies out, wine lovers Saturday. A festival that offers sips, swills and, err, spits? Wine not? Wine Spectator magazine brings its signature Grand Tour festival to the Sheraton Downtown Denver on Saturday, May 11, for the first time. Local savants will find more than 200 varietals to try, many of which rate 90-plus points on Wine Spectator’s 100-point rating scale. A ticket buys bottomless pours and the chance to mingle with winemakers from around the world. And while you’re at it, try one of the local restaurants that Wine Spectator has awarded for having an amazing wine list, such as Barol ..read more

In playwright David Myers’ “237 Virginia Avenue,” a father and son play a not-always friendly, increasingly freighted game of Monopoly. When Rex asks son Eric, an adjunct professor, what he’s at work on, Eric says he’s writing about “Debt. History. Property.” To which Rex interjects, “Sexy. Sounds like a real bestseller,” with no small measure of sarcasm. The dice roll. The pair’s prickly gamesmanship, which provides a throughline for the play, will name-check those familiar properties of the famous (and fun) board game. There’s the prime (and overpriced) Park Avenue, Reading Railroad and the ..read more

Drag queen and social media personality Pattie Gonia is known for exploring the great outdoors while sporting 6-inch heels, and soon she will be trekking Colorado trails and hosting dance parties along the way. First, the queen will sashay through Telluride’s Mountainfilm festival, May 23-27, for a music video screening followed by a free drag show and dance party. Then on June 20, she hits The Gothic Theatre in Denver for Save Her! Disco, billed as an environmental drag show and pride performance. Pattie Gonia’s trip to Telluride, specifically, has been four years in the making. In 2020, Moun ..read more

The historic 88 Drive-in Theatre in Commerce City will reopen this weekend despite owners saying it would close for good in 2023. The 48-year-old drive-in — the last of its kind in the metro area — posted on Facebook on May 4 that it would return on Friday, May 10, for the summer season with the double-feature of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.” “Mark your calendars ’cause we’re back on May 10th!” the account wrote in a video post. The drive-in’s owners could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but Commerce City spokesman Travis Huntington said a deal to sel ..read more

The anatomy of a green room is deceptively simple: couches, tables, mirrors, mini-fridges, and other basic items are available to performers as they wait backstage, do interviews, receive guests and party. But within those confines are wildly divergent experiences for rock stars, drag queens, comics, authors and other stage performers at the area’s best indoor and outdoor venues. At the Hi-Dive, layers of graffiti and spare, ratty furniture give the South Broadway club a punk-rock authenticity and sense of history. By contrast, Red Rocks Amphitheatre’s green rooms offer sprawling hangout space ..read more

“Pay Dirt,” by Sara Paretsky (Wiliam Morrow) “Pay Dirt,” by Sara Paretsky (Wiliam Morrow) V.I. Warshawski is in a bad place. Depressed because of a death (one that occurred in a previous mystery) and a separation from her boyfriend, she agrees to attend a ball game in Lawrence, Kan., with a goddaughter and her friends. When one of the girls disappears, V.I. goes to work. She finds the missing girl, still breathing, in a deserted drug house. Case over? Not so fast. The following day, V.I discovers the body of a local historian in the same house, and becomes the chief suspect in the woman’s murd ..read more

Entertainment company Meow Wolf on Friday announced a sixth location for its surreal art installations, naming Los Angeles as the latest to join Denver, Las Vegas and others. The Santa Fe-based company, which started in 2008 as a loose New Mexico artists’ collective, has scaled up rapidly in recent years by opening or planning five other locations, including Denver’s, which opened in 2021. “Opening new exhibitions is the key to creating sustainable jobs for our artists, not to mention growing our ever-expanding Meow Wolf Universe,” the company said in a press statement. “We are beyond excited ..read more