Toni Tresca

From Shakespeare under the stars to new-play incubators and mountain musicals, here are the Colorado theater festivals worth checking out.

Divine Darkness' co-owner affectionately described the venue as "the spooky fun store that has some really cool makeup."

The Denver Fringe Festival takes over the metro area June 3-7, with dozens of delightfully strange shows staged in over twenty venues.

The festival has added a Friday night kickoff, Party Before the Pavement, on June 5.

"You're not just painting with your eyes closed. This is another thing," Tom Cross says of working in his hand-dug, ten-foot-deep pit.

"Locally, there are a lot of organizations that really need a space like this. Nationally, we're going to get more acts.”

The Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur has officially opened its gates. These are some of the most stylish people we saw at opening weekend.

Aurora Fox and Phamaly bring vocal power and nuance to a messy, moving Violet. The musical Violet is an imperfect story about the peril of believing that p

"It's a place to immerse yourself in the rich history of Frontier Days and, more directly, the history that American Indians contributed."

The executive director discusses the free Colorado Black Arts Festival in City Park on July 10-12 and teases plans for year-round programming.