Creede Repertory Theatre opens its 59th season Saturday with the musical “Xanadu.” It’s a lighthearted sendup of a 1980 film starring Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly that has acquired a cult following. If you haven’t seen it, now’s your chance.
“’Xanadu’ celebrates imagination, creativity and the power of dreams,” Director Emily Van Fleet said, noting CRT’s season theme: Dream with Us. “It’s much like the vision that founded CRT. This high-energy and playful show promises to bring people together through joy, laughter and shared experience.”
If you go
WHAT: Creede Repertory Theatre presents “Xanadu,” “The Fantasticks,” “The 39 Steps” and ‘Silent Sky.“
WHEN: Saturday through Sept. 20, in repertory.
WHERE: Creede Repertory Theatre, 124 North Main St., Creede.
TICKETS: Adult tickets begin at $25. Children’s tickets are 50% of adult pricing. $2 Senior Discount. $3 service charge included all tickets. No refunds. Flex Passes available.
MORE INFORMATION: Call (719) 658-2540 or visit www.creederep.org for schedule and ticket information.
Van Fleet is an award-winning actor-director who has been affiliated with CRT since 2013. This year, she joins the company as its artistic director since John DiAntonio left to helm the Utah Shakespeare Festival. He and all his predecessors since the colorful founding in 1966 created and sustained a legacy few regional companies have enjoyed. Visit the website and marvel at a complete history.
If you haven’t been to Creede, go this summer. The drive alone on U.S. Highway 160 is one of southern Colorado’s best. About three hours-plus from Durango, the trip invites many stops – Chimney Rock, Pagosa Springs and the spectacular valley overlook before the great rise in altitude to Wolf Creek Pass. When you arrive at South Fork, turn north on 149 for a breathtaking drive through the spacious caldera that leads directly into Creede. Tucked high in its high-altitude mountain cradle, the little mining town has dramatically survived its unusual boom-and-bust life.
Once the summer home of the Ute, Jicarilla Apache and Pueblo peoples to trade, hunt and fish, the area has long been known for the medicinal benefits of local hot springs. But when gold was discovered in the San Juans, a darker chapter ensued. Federal troops forcibly removed Native peoples to reservations in the Four Corners, and European settlers moved in to farm the rich valleys. In the 1840s, prospectors arrived to exploit the area’s mineral riches. By the 1870s, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad brought tourists and outdoor enthusiasts. In 1883, the company established a depot at Wagon Wheel Gap. That cleft opening continues to provide a striking entrance to Creede, and you can still see the tracks wending into the town.
Mining fever struck in the 1890s, and Creede’s population stretched to 10,000. Rough camps quickly evolved into a town with a main street. But in 1985, after a century of declining hard-rock mining and another drastic drop in the price of silver, the last mine closed for good. Creede residents clearly saw a bleak future, and a small group sought alternatives as early as 1966.
Town leaders came up with a solution to attract tourists – create a summer theater by inviting students from an American university to perform in the old opera house. The “Jaycees” pitched college drama departments. One replied: the University of Kansas.
That’s the origin story, and to everyone’s credit, Creede Repertory Theatre will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year. The 2025 season opens Saturday, and runs four plays in repertory through Sept. 20. CRT is a professional company with a year-around staff, educational programming, camps for kids, a new plays festival and a lot of special programming.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
