The Performing Arts Project

For years, the Performing Arts Project has been about more than supporting artists onstage. It has also been about connecting creative ideas with the people, tools, and experience needed to move them forward. One of the organizations that has helped us do exactly that is Viewmark®. Founded in 1992, Viewmark brings together media production, marketing, design, music composition, and theatrical producing under one roof. That combination has made Viewmark an especially valuable partner to the performing arts. They understand that creating the work is only part of the challenge. A production also needs an identity, an audience, a digital home, compelling media, and a strategy for taking it into the world.

Viewmark opens the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Over the years, the Performing Arts Project has relied on Viewmark to help support and develop original theatrical productions, from early concepts and musical development to websites, photography, video, promotional campaigns, press materials, and live production. Their work has supported shows through development and Denver performances and helped carry productions all the way to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. That is the real value Viewmark brings: they don't simply promote creative work after it is finished. They understand the process of creating the work, developing the work, and taking it into the world. For the Performing Arts Project, Viewmark has been a longtime creative and production resource and an example of what can happen when media, technology, marketing, and the performing arts work together. Have an idea worth taking somewhere? Viewmark can help you get it there. Complete production are available on their YouTube channel youtube.com/@viewmark.

The reviews are now coming in about the new musical Broadside at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe:

Broadside cast before heading to Edinburgh for the fringe

SPEAK THE SPEECH
(Professional Critic)
Review by Rebecca Mahar

⭐ “The company provide excellent performances that lift the whole piece, fully committed, comically cheeky, and holding beautifully to their harmonies even while dancing and dodging each other…”

⭐ “Live music…is simply arranged and refreshing, recalling the kind of tavern rooms and meeting halls parts of the show take place in.”

And perhaps our favorite thought for the future:

⭐ “With further development, and a longer running time, it has the potential to be the next fascinating musical about early American history.”

AUDIENCE MEMBERS (edfringe):

John (Audience member) 16 Aug 2026
⭐ "We really enjoyed this musical. We’ve been attending the fringe for a long time and this production had some of the most lovely harmonies and singing we’ve heard in recent memory. The group seemed to also really enjoy working with each other. Thank you!"

Declan Farrell (Audience member) 16 Aug 2026
⭐ "This was an excellent show. The performance was full of energy. The songs were really enjoyable and the acting made me feel that i was a witness to the revolution, really great show. I would go see it again. I would give it 5 stars, well done."

Danny Wright (Audience member) 14 Aug 2026
⭐ “Brilliant storytelling! There’s a real heart to this show. The music is cracking, and the harmonies are absolutely gorgeous. You can feel how much the company are enjoying singing together, and it gives the whole thing such warmth and energy.”

Matt (Audience member) 13 Aug 2026
⭐ "Very impressed with the performers and the storytelling!"

Mike (Audience member) 11 Aug 2026
⭐ "A wonderful show with great songs and harmonies, and a large talented cast. They have traveled a long way to tell their story and it's only on for a few more days, so don't miss out."

Marjorie (Audience member) 9 Aug 2026
⭐ "Impressive ensemble of actors (we were shocked how they all fit in the space)! Fantastic singing, amazingly beautiful harmonies and an interesting story I didn’t know much about. Totally worth the affordable ticket. "

Matthijs (Audience member) 8 Aug 2026
⭐ "Great show! Definitely recommend seeing this is if you are looking for a musical with catchy tunes and a powerful message."

The most impressive achievement of Broadside is not that it retells the American Revolution, but that it reframes it. April Alsup's musical argues that before there were tweets, viral videos, or social media feeds, there were broadsides, single sheets of paper that spread ideas, challenged authority, and shaped public opinion. The comparison never feels forced. Instead, it quietly reminds audiences that while technology changes, the way people influence one another remains remarkably familiar. In that sense, Broadside does an admirable job connecting the founding of the nation to the conversations we continue to have today about truth, liberty, equality, and freedom.

General Gage reminiscing the family estate near London

Alsup has always shown a knack for discovering theatrical devices that unlock difficult subjects, and Broadside may be her most inventive example yet. Rather than presenting history as a timeline of famous events, she finds unexpected perspectives and human relationships that make the past feel immediate. Even when navigating well-documented historical events with little room for invention, she uncovers fresh ways to tell the story without compromising the history itself.

Sam Adams printing for the Boston Gazette

That approach is embodied in Cooper Kaminsky's thoughtful portrayal of General Thomas Gage. Kaminsky resists turning Gage into a stock villain, instead revealing a man attempting to preserve order while watching an empire slip beyond his control. His performance gains even greater depth opposite Olivia Kisicki's Margaret Gage. Together they create one of the production's richest relationships, portraying a marriage strained not by a lack of love but by competing loyalties to family, country, and principle. Their chemistry provides an emotional anchor amid the political upheaval.

Crispus Attucks fired on at the Boston Massacre

Kelly McAllister's direction keeps the production focused on people rather than pageantry. The Revolutionary icons remain recognizable, but they are never reduced to monuments. They are husbands and wives, printers, poets, soldiers, and citizens wrestling with impossible choices. His longstanding creative partnership with choreographer Heather Westenskow is evident throughout the production. Westenskow's movement feels woven into the storytelling, bringing warmth, humor, and momentum to the ensemble while allowing the quieter emotional moments room to breathe.

Robert Paine prosecuting the British soldiers

Perhaps most encouraging is Alsup's continued commitment to cultivating young Colorado artists. Rather than relying solely on established performers, she consistently entrusts emerging talent with substantial dramatic responsibility. Productions like Broadside become more than performances they become opportunities for the next generation of theatre makers to grow. Kaminsky and Kisicki are compelling examples of that philosophy in action, delivering performances that suggest bright careers ahead.

Sonsharae Tull holds up a Revere broadside

Like any new musical, Broadside is still evolving. There are scenes that could benefit from tighter pacing and moments that will undoubtedly sharpen with continued performances. Yet those refinements feel incremental rather than fundamental. The storytelling, thematic vision, and emotional architecture are already firmly in place. By connecting the revolutionary ideas of the eighteenth century to the conversations of the twenty-first, Broadside demonstrates that history is not simply something we inherit. It is something we continue to write. That thoughtful perspective, combined with an inventive theatrical imagination, makes this one of the more promising new American musicals currently finding its voice.

Ever heard of “Method Composing”? It's an underlying process used by April Alsup to create new musical theatre works, by stepping inside the world of the show before writing a single note. Inspired by Method Acting and its roots at the Actors’ Studio, the idea is simple: don’t compose about a world, compose from within it. The goal isn’t just authenticity in sound, but truth in experience. Music should feel like it belongs to the characters, the place, and the moment like it could exist even without the stage.

Eigg music ensemble with ceilidh band in Scotland

For Eigg the Musical, that meant building the score around the traditions of a ceilidh. The accordion became central, not as a stylistic choice, but as a cultural one. Writing in that style required learning how the music actually functions in a room full of dancers, how rhythm leads, how repetition invites participation, how community shapes sound. The result is a score that doesn’t imitate a ceilidh, it feels like one.

Organized Confusions performing for the New Horizons music festival

For BANNED, “Method Composing” meant stepping into the high-stakes, high-energy world of live pop performance. Learning to play in a pop band and competing in a music festival environment revealed a different musical language, one driven by immediacy, crowd response, and the pressure to win over an audience in real time. Arrangements had to hit fast, hooks had to land instantly, and performance carried as much weight as composition. That experience informed a score built on momentum, contrast, and the electric push-and-pull between performer and crowd.

April playing piano for the Women's Homelessness Initiative

With Absurd Hero, the process moved into lived community experience. Time spent working alongside the Women's Homelessness Initiative, playing piano in the evenings, taking requests, and listening, offered a different kind of musical insight. The songs in those spaces are raw, familiar, and deeply human. That shaped a score built on responsiveness and emotional truth rather than theatrical polish.

April Alsup in a fifer uniform in Denver Colorado

And for Broadside, “Method Composing” meant full immersion in the sound of the Revolution. By joining a fife and drum corps, learning and performing on piccolo, and marching in public events, the music became physical. Breath control, finger work, and endurance all informed the writing. Tempo came from footsteps, phrasing from movement, and melody from the sharp, carrying voice of the fife. It’s not just researched, it’s lived.

Across each project, the process stays the same: immerse, listen, participate. “Method Composing” isn’t the fastest way to write a musical, but it’s how April Alsup builds scores that don’t just support the story. They come from it.

Broadside the Musical is officially assembled and around Denver people are starting to take notice. From rehearsal rooms to theatre lobbies, there’s a growing buzz about this latest original work. April Alsup, known for championing bold, homegrown productions, Denver’s performing arts community has begun tipping its hat to a company ready to turn ink into action and history into song. It’s not just another summer show, it’s a signal that something lively, thoughtful, and just a little unruly is taking shape.

Meet the cast of Broadside the Musical

There’s a shared appreciation for the kind of storytelling promises: collaborative, inventive, and rooted in both craft and curiosity. The mix of performers stepping into these roles brings a sense of anticipation, voices ready to rise, stories ready to stir, and a stage ready to carry it all. And as this cast prepares to step into Revolutionary Boston, the word around town is clear: Break a leg, make some noise… and may the ink never run dry.

Before posts went viral, broadsides did; ink-on-paper “posts” loud enough to spark a revolution. As we head toward America’s 250th anniversary, Denver’s Performing Arts Project is leaning into that origin story in the most literal way we can: we’re backing Broadside the Musical and promoting with the folks keeping the ink-and-type tradition alive.

Tom Parson of Letterpress Depot with a “Broadside of Broadside”

Letterpress Depot is a volunteer-run effort rehabbing the historic Englewood Depot into a living museum of letterpress printing, typography, design, poetry, and book arts. Their mission isn’t nostalgia; it’s access: workshops, community programming, and hands-on learning that keeps the craft (and the voices behind it) within reach for everyone.

Broadside Letterpress

And here’s where the 250th connection gets deliciously full-circle: Letterpress Depot is printing the Broadside posters as actual broadsides. The same tactile, time-travel medium that carried satire, news, dissent, and courage through the 1700s, now rallying audiences in 2026 as we commemorate the unfinished experiment of democracy.

We keep saying “broadsides were the original social media:

• Type you can feel
• Ink you can smell
• History you can hold
• Stories that travel hand to hand like they used to

Want to help keep the presses rolling:

• Donate toward their build-out goal.
• Become a member.
• Volunteer and help on everything from construction to press projects.

Ink is messy. Type is heavy. And the impact is real. All aboard. 🚉

https://www.letterpressdepot.org/

If you’ve ever watched a post explode online; shared, remixed, debated, meme’d into oblivion you already understand Revolutionary Boston. Long before social media, there were broadsides: bold public prints plastered on walls and passed hand-to-hand. They were the era’s viral posts; sharp cartoons, savage satire, catchy slogans, and blazing hot takes set in ink.

The Revolution didn’t start with gunfire. It started with a feed.

That’s what we’re celebrating as the U.S. approaches its 250th birthday: Broadside, a brand-new musical about the people who turned paper into persuasion and noise into a movement.

Auditions: February 1–2 at Regis University
We’re casting now, and we’d love to meet performers who want to help build something timely, theatrical, and a little bit rowdy. Register here: www.broadsidemusical.com

Performances: July 4 weekend through August 15
We’re planning a summer run from July 4th weekend through August 15th, with Denver, Boston, and Edinburgh in our sights. It’s history with a pulse about how communities form, how messages spread, and how ordinary people decide to speak.

Want to join us?
We’re looking for eight Denver performers ready to take the ride—making the show here, then helping carry it outward. If you’ve ever thought, “I want to be part of something that matters,” this is your sign.

Details + registration: www.broadsidemusical.com

Our covert cultural operatives have been busy ducking into rehearsal rooms, lurking around Denver coffee shops, and eavesdropping behind music stands. The intelligence has now been verified: A brand-new Revolutionary-era musical is emerging in Denver, Colorado. It’s called Broadside, created by composer-producer April Alsup, and it’s timed for next year’s 250th birthday of the United States. Yes, while scholars, museums, and marching bands prepare to honor America’s quarter-millennial moment, this small theatre troupe is quietly planning a rebellion of its own. What Is Broadside?

Picture Boston before the break: candlelit print shops where ink is muscle, taverns where songs travel faster than sermons, and a city learning, line by line, how to speak back. Broadside is a folk musical about the early Revolution told through the people who made language contagious; Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and Mercy Otis Warren, all working with the Gazette and turning rumor into argument, argument into print, and print into action. But a revolution can’t live on paper alone. It needs a network.

In Broadside, Dr. Joseph Warren moves through the Freemasons, a world where not everyone is on the same side, and Loyalists and Patriots share the same rooms and rituals. That mixed company makes the stakes higher…and the messages harder to move. So the truly “top secret” intel doesn’t travel in plain speech. It travels in plain sight. Enter the Needle Guard, three formidable women who become the safest channel in Boston:

• Abigail Adams: Writer and Womens Rights Advocate
• Sarah Bradlee Fulton: Mother of the Boston Tea Party
• Mercy Otis Warren: The Conscience of the Revolution

In this retelling, their messages aren’t only whispered, they’re stitched. Codes tucked into hems. Signals hidden in seams. Needlework as espionage. Fully documented? Not always. Historically plausible? Absolutely and theatrically irresistible.

Why It Matters

As the U.S. approaches 250 years, Broadside asks: who gets to define the moment while it’s happening? Revolutions don’t start in marble. They start in print shops, taverns, kitchens, and sewing rooms, where courage looks like ink on your hands and a secret in your lining.

Eyes on Denver

We’re sharpening the type and tightening the strings for the quarter-millennial year. Until then: keep your lanterns ready, your broadsides closer than your opinions, and if someone’s stitching looks a little too careful… maybe don’t ask what’s in the lining.

#BroadsideTheMusical #250Years #RevolutionaryBoston #NewMusical #AmericanStories

It’s been another amazing year for Denver-based theatre troupe April Alsup Productions, a regular at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival—the world’s largest performing arts festival and one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet. This year, they were honored to be among just 20 troupes chosen by Greenside Venues to open the festival. The prestigious event welcomes professional theatre guests and media from around the world to preview the work of companies who have traveled to Scotland to share their art on a global stage.

The cast and crew of Absurd Hero on set at Riddle’s Court in Edinburgh Scotland

It's the third year in a row for this troupe to be invited to perform in Edinburgh and expectations were high. Last year the group’s show received four-stars and became a local sensation for its heart felt portrayal of a local theatre company banned from the theatre festival. The show went on to be nominated for six (6) Broadway World regional awards including "Best New Musical" and as you can imagine, everyone on both sides of the pond were delighted when the troupe agreed to return in 2025.

Absurd Hero cast performing "Eleusinian Mysteries" to kick off the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Early on, the troupe discussed how the new show would be different than their last two and the members decided to reinvent “Sisyphus,” an April Alsup musical about the Greek myth of Sisyphus in antient Greece. The new musical reimagines "Sisyphus" as Albert Camus's character the Absurd Hero and plays the spectacle out in modern day Columbus Ohio. There were all sorts of clever marketing tactics deployed that followed the Camusistic theatre troupe to the festival.

Absurd Hero Poster at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

After opening night it was clear that the theatre troupe had another hit on their hands. The Scotsman, Scotland’s National Newspaper, gave the show four stars and stated "With the way things are Stateside, a musical about community, determination, resilience and love seems like a poignantly fitting response to more brutal measures currently being enacted by government. And you’ve got to hand it to Denver-based April Alsup Productions, who fill Greenside’s tiny stage with what feels like a whole town of singing, dancing actors (12 of them, in fact, plus a two-strong live music section) for Alsup’s strong, catchy and uplifting tunes." Closing with “Absurd Hero is a complex, richly imagined show whose energy and conviction blaze off the stage – and one that dares to stand up for human warmth and compassion.”.

The cast and crew of Absurd Hero backstage at Riddle’s Court in Edinburgh Scotland

Theatrical success doesn’t come about in a vacuum; it really does take a village to mount a new musical production and Denver has a vast array of organizations that support the performing arts. From rehearsal spaces to performance venues, from theatre professionals to theatre goers, this community is the perfect place to incubate a meaningful, relevant and important show for international stages.

For more information on “Absurd Hero” or to watch a video of the Edinburgh performance run, visit www.absurdhero.show.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts goes back to the vision of Donald Seawell. In the early seventies he looked at the general area around 14th and Curtis in downtown Denver and got an idea for a first-class arts complex. He knew the time was right for Denver and was able to connect with all the right people. Construction started in 1975 and by 1978 Boettcher Concert Hall, the nation's first in-the-round concert hall, was completed, along with an eight-story, 1,700-space parking garage. The facility is now a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit and is well known for acting classes and its rental facilities.

April Alsup at DCPA (center looking northeast)

Current Venues:
Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre — 2,880 seats
Ellie Caulkins Opera House — 2,225 seats
Seawell Ballroom — 1,095 capacity
Wolf Theatre — 610 seats
Kilstrom Theatre — 380 seats
Singleton Theatre — 200 seats
Garner Galleria Theatre — 210 seats
Jones Theatre — 200 seats
Weeks Conservatory Theatre — 185 seats

April Alsup at DCPA (center looking east)

By 1979 the Auditorium Theatre had been renovated, creating the state-of-the-art Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The Helen G. Bonfils Theatre Complex opened with four theatres now known as The Wolf, The Singleton, The Kilstrom, and The Jones theatres. The Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre was completed in 1991 and the Seawell Grand Ballroom was added in 1998. The Weeks Conservatory Theatre opened in 2002 while the Ellie Caulkins Opera House was completely renovated in 2005. Today, the DCPA is the thriving performing arts faciltity that Donald imagined way back when.

April Alsup at DCPA (rear looking southwest)

DCPA Education was added in 1991 as a community school for children and adults in a professional setting. The department now engages with more than 142,000 students through on-site classes, in-school programs and its annual Theatre for Young Audiences Production. The Performing Arts Project is not directly affiliated with the organization, but our theatre resources are often involved with the various aspects of theatre making at the center.

It was by chance that a Denver-area theatre troupe and Colorado producer April Alsup, were given the opportunity to open this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest performing arts festival and one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet. Each year, Greenside Venues randomly selects just twenty shows to open the festival. The event invites professional theatre guests and media from around to world to preview the works of several performing arts organizations who have traveled to Scotland to participate in the festival.

The cast and Crew of  BANNED Musical backstage at Riddle’s Court in Edinburgh Scotland

It was the second year in a row for this troupe to be invited to perform in Edinburgh and expectations were high. Last year the group’s show received five-stars and became a local sensation for its stage portrayal of the community buyout of the small Isle of Eigg in the Scottish Hebrides. The show went on to be selected by Broadway World readers as the Best New Musical of 2023; naturally, everyone on both sides of the pond were delighted when the troupe agreed to return in 2024.

BANNED cast performing "All we want is sex" to kick off the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Early on, the troupe discussed how the new show needs to be different than “Eigg.” and the members decided to reinvent “WYSIWYG,” an April Alsup musical about the sensitive issues of online dating, gender and sexuality. The new musical has now become known as just “BANNED,” since it follows a group of gender misfits through the events leading up to their debut at a local performing arts festival. There were all sorts of clever marketing tactics deployed that followed the clandestine theatre troupe to the festival.

BANNED Poster for 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival

After opening night it was clear that the theatre troupe had another hit on their hands. The Scotsman, Scotland’s National Newspaper, gave the show four stars and praised the composer April Alsup. “The songs are strong and memorable, in nicely complex arrangements too – tunes are swapped back and forth in complicated ensemble numbers, and the cast offers glowing harmonies as well as vivid solos.” It also hailed the actors, the choreography and declared that “Online dating gets a merciless take-down, while the pleasures of sex are dutifully celebrated.”

BANNED cast and crew celebrate opening night at Posto Pizza in Edinburgh Scotland

“Best of all, however, BANNED offers a deeply human perspective on issues of gender and sexual identity, its flawed characters navigating their own mistake-filled routes through pronouns, preferences and plenty more,” the review continued. “It’s a complex, compassionate show of missteps and misunderstandings, and one that warmly applies the tolerance it requests of others onto its own damaged but likeable characters.”

BANNED theatre troupe gathers in front of Pollock Hall before heading home to Denver Colorado

Theatrical success doesn’t come about in a vacuum; it really does take a village to mount a new musical production and Denver has a vast array of organizations that support the performing arts. From rehearsal spaces to performance venues, from theatre professionals to theatre goers, this community is the perfect place to incubate a meaningful, relevant and important show for international stages.

For more information on “BANNED the Musical” or to watch a video of the Edinburgh performance run, visit www.banned.show.

It's that time of year again, when theatre enthusiasts from around the globe start planning for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It's hard for any Colorado theatre goer to forget the success one of our Denver area music theatre troupes had at the festival last year. This week the Edinburgh Fringe society added over 1,300 shows to the festival's 2024 online ticketing portal. It's a pretty big deal and they even had a shoutout to Greenside and BANNED at Riddle's Court. With that many venues and performances on the calendar it's hard to get visibility for your show and it's nice to see the fringe society take an interest in Colorado's theater scene and support the Denver based theatrical team.

The Fringe's online ticketing system has lots of options and the Fringe organization has been super helpful with explaining all the ins and outs. Our venue is Riddle's Court and the theater is Willow Studio. It has a three quarter thrust stage and roughly 60 seats. We've tried to set the ticket prices at a reasonable price to accommodate everyone who wants to see our show. During the preview week we have all sorts of specials, the weekdays have some special offers too and of course the weekends are crazy. See you there!

The Performing Arts Project (PAP) announced today a tentative agreement to identify talent for the website accompanist.com. The online accompanist platform will use local Denver talent to provide rehearsal tracks for the YouTube channel @accompanists and their online subscribers. The brand new online music education portal will include Broadway song book standards for soloists and complete piano arrangements for vocalists. Accompanist.com plans to utilizes technology to give artists the resources and services they need, where ever they need it. More to come!

The Performing Arts Project announced today it is teaming up with Florida based New Horizons on their 2024 Summer Performing Arts Festival Series. The partnership came together after PAP worked out a new talent agreement for this year's theatre festival including the first appearance of the "Organized Confusions" in Colorado. The new music ensemble has added Denver to their upcoming 2024 World Tour that concludes later this Summer in Edinburgh Scotland. "We are so pleased that we could secure such an exciting new act for the first night of the festival this year" said a New Horizons spokesperson. "We're happy to be working with PAP on this project and we look forward to working with their team in the future. They've been able demonstrate a unique ability to engage with the performing arts community here and abroad." Details are forthcoming as the event schedule is finalized.