PARKER: Understudies save the day

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 9, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size

More News Columns & Blogs

After the opening night performance of The Color Purple Wednesday at the Buell Theatre, audience members were heard yelling, "encore" and "more." In all the zillions of Denver Center performances I've attended over the years, that was a first.

And that kind of adulation was expressed for understudies for three of the lead roles. Denver audiences won't see Jeannette Bayardelle, who played the lead character, Celie, for the latter part the musical's two-year Broadway run.

"On the advice of her physician, Jeannette cannot travel for the next several weeks, and should not perform for at least 10 weeks," said Molly Riddle, spokeswoman for Denver Center Attractions. Jayardelle was replaced by Phyre Hawkins

Angela Robinson, also from the most recent Broadway troupe and who plays the seductive Shug Avery, has a respiratory virus and was replaced Wednesday by the super-buff Anika Ellis. And American Idol alum LaToya London, who normally plays Celie's sister, Nettie, missed opening night because of travel delays. Nettie was played by LaTrisa A. Harper.

Obviously, the opening-night audience wasn't disappointed. It lavished praise on the production based on the lives of two black sisters who grow up in the oppression of Georgia in the 1930s.

The mighty musical, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Alice Walker and the film by Steven Spielberg, is kicking off its North American tour in Denver. It plays the Buell through Jan. 18. Single tickets start at $15. VIP tickets, which include a noon brunch on Jan. 18 in the Seawell Ballroom, are $225. Tickets: denvercenter.org or 303-893-4100.

Alto Restaurant, 1320 15th St., offers a lunch and theater package today and Sunday. Reservations: 303-893-ALTO.

HI, JACK: Jack Martinez, the founding father of Jack-n-Grill, a nifty New Mexican restaurant at 2524 Federal Blvd., is hosting the Travel Channel Jan. 22. Extreme Places to Pig-Out will tape its show at J-n-G Jan. 19, and Man v. Food will be at the restaurant Jan. 22 to shoot Martinez' 7-pound monster breakfast burrito.

"They will be here most of both days showcasing me roasting green chile, prep, cooking the food, and, of course, the eating challenge itself," Martinez said in an e-mail. Man v. Food host Adam Richman will try and conquer the bodacious burrito. The public is invited both days, as long as there's room in the restaurant.

HOMECOMING: Denver's home-grown sports guru Rick Reilly has a new weekly one-hour TV show called Homecoming in which he follows sports greats back to their hometowns. It starts Friday on ESPN2.

Reilly, who attracted fame for Life of Reilly, his Sports Illustrated column, left SI last June after ESPN offered him a gahzillion dollars for sideline reporting and an occasional seat on the wildly popular show SportsCenter.

Friday's Homecoming debut follows Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton back to his hometown of Raleigh, N.C.

THE SEEN: The Ritz-Carlton Denver seems to be the home-away-from-home for NBA players. The Miami Heat was spotted by several fans while the b-ballers were boarding the bus that took them to the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night. On Thursday, the Detroit Pistons, including former Nuggets superstar Allen Iverson, stayed at the Ritz. Some players were spotted working out at the hotel's gym, Forza Fitness.

EAVESDROPPING sent in by a female reader: "I'm newly single and ready to mingle."

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News