bonfills theater in denver set for bond-funded upgrades

Opened in 1979, the Helen Bonfills Theater Complex in downtown Denver is actually a combination of four performing art spaces given over to Broadway shows, independent films, and Shakespearean productions.

Now, one of those spaces, officially called The Stage, is slated for extensive upgrading that will see the construction of a new observation booth, and the renovation of dressing rooms, green rooms, and storage space.

The project, to be funded by some $6 million in Denver General Obligation Funds approved by voters last November, is among an initial list of transportation, medical facility, library, park, and cultural institution projects that those bonds will pay for.

Altogether, individual projects with a combined price tag of $193 million have now been announced by the City of Denver’s Public Works Department. That list is now on its way to the Denver City Council for final approval.

With a lobby distinguished by its glass walls and roof, the Bonfills facility has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most remarkable performing art centers any American city of any size has managed to construct.”

By Garry Boulard