Those admission price add-ons are usually saved for blockbuster shows built around artists most people know and love already. (DAM actually has one on display now in the form of “All Stars,” a traveling blow-out featuring names like Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence and Jackson Pollock.)

Retrospectives of work by living and lesser-known artists are nearly always included with the regular ticket, and that newcomer description still fits Boafo, who is just 39, and who has had limited exposure to U.S. audiences. With so much to see at DAM already, and with admission costs already steep, visitors will be reluctant to take a risk.

But I encourage paying a bit more to see this offering. Boafo is a unique talent and a rising star in the international art scene. The exhibition, titled “Soul of Black Folks,” is a terrific introduction to his work.

The exhibition, curated by Larry Ossei-Mensa and now making the rounds of regional museums, has more than 30 paintings (mostly oils on canvas or paper) and they are all in his signature style of portrait-making. They are handsomely, and leisurely, arranged on the first floor of DAM’s Hamilton Building, with a soundtrack of upbeat pop songs, curated by the artist himself, providing the viewing experience with a solid momentum.

Portraits, of course, are old news in the painting world, and Boafo fits snugly into the tradition — in some ways. His subjects pose for him, patiently and with vulnerability, and he has them gaze directly back at him in a way that captures their personalities while engaging viewers in deep conversations. Looking at Boafo’s pictures is something of a staring contest with the people in them.

The subjects are of-the-moment — men, women, pairs, several self-portraits — but the show has a timeless feel. Boafo is sometimes put in a  class with contemporaries such as Kerry James Marshall and Jordan Casteel, two other Black painters who are popular with collectors and critics in the current age, and he does, like those artists, often paint Black subjects.

But it is just as easy to frame him as an heir to the influences of European heroes past, such as Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. Like those old-school stars, he is heavy into silhouettes, disappearing backgrounds and very conscious choices in the personal details that he paints into his work. He might play up a certain article of clothing or an accessory or a pet as a way of making those items appear crucial to the identity of his subjects.

At times, he makes those details central to the viewing experience. Take, for example, the painting “Green Clutch,” which depicts an adult female figure seated on a chair. She is dressed in a bright green botanical-print top and with her hand at her chin. She appears confident and comfortable and invites us to meet her eye-to-eye.

But because Boafo titles his painting as he does, he forces us to give extra consideration to the small handbag that sits at her hip. The purse is just a split second in a work that is full of motion, but the artist wants us to see how the things we carry or wear are crucial to our identities.

Similar considerations are raised by the painting “Red Collar,” which points us to a very small detail in a portrait of a couple holding a dog. A viewer would naturally focus on the human faces in this work, or on the brightly colored blue-and-red striped dress one of the people is wearing, and which Boafo renders in bright hues. But the title suggests we need to focus on the dog if we really want to understand their essence. It is rare to see titles used with such power in contemporary artworks.

Boafo’s paintings are also notable for the way he depicts skin color. In public discourse, his subjects are often reduced to easy descriptions. We tend to say these people are Black or Brown.

But Boafo isn’t content with such simplicity. His Black and Brown people have traces of reds, grays, yellows and other colors in their flesh. In the piece “Umber Brown Belt,” which depicts a woman dressed in a flower-patterned blouse and black shorts (and, yes, an umber-colored belt), there are all of those shades in her face, plus a distinct blue around her mouth, eye and forehead.

What does he want us to see? Again, you can look at his titles, though this time at the title of the overall exhibition, which is drawn from an essay by civil rights activist and social scholar W.E.B. Du Bois, “The Souls of Black Folk,” which was published in 1903.

In the work, Du Bois discussed the idea of “double consciousness” or, as the exhibition text points out, the experience of Black people feeling a need to see themselves through their own eyes and, simultaneously, through the eyes of white people around them.

With these images, Boafo invites viewers to see them on their their own terms. The portraits are direct, the subjects are empowered organically to simply be themselves. They control, as much as possible, how they are viewed by all.

In that way, the pictures are simple and complex at the same time. And, it needs to be said, they are endlessly compelling, tactile, colorful, exaggerated, light-hearted, open and, in their way, super serious. They are also commercial works. No surprise that Boafo is represented by New York’s legendary Gagosian gallery.

The pieces are relatable in a way that many portraits are not.  Boafo employs numerous techniques in his work, oil paint and paper transfer. Sometimes he works on canvas and sometimes directly on paper. He uses a brush, but most prominently he uses his fingers, and you can see the width and trails of them in the paintings. His objects feel hand-made and human — because that is how they are created.

IF YOU GO

Amoako Boafo, “Soul of Black Folks”: continues through Feb 19 at the Denver Art Museum. Info: 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.

Ray Mark Rinaldi is a Denver-based freelance writer specializing in fine arts.

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But the arrival of King Henry VIII’s six wives to the Buell Theater (through Dec. 24) is proof that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

In what can be considered one of the best concerts of Denver’s fall season, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s blast-from-a-past, her-story lesson brings together Catherine of Aragon (Gerianne Pérez), Anne Boleyn (Zan Berube), Jane Seymour (Amina Faye), Anne of Cleves (Terica Marie), Katherine Howard (Aline Mayagoitia)  and Catherine Parr (Adriana Scalice) for a rock show. Or, as the opening song “Ex-Wives” so deftly and drolly introduces the sextet: “Divorced. Beheaded, Died … Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.”

The premise is simple, and seeks the participation of theatergoers. “Den-vvverrr! Make some noise!” Aragon shouts before launching into “No Way.” Although each woman was queen at some point, the audience is invited to decide which queen should don the evening’s crown. The ex with the best sob story wins. Naturally, Anne Boleyn, who infamously met her end due to the executioner’s blade, would seem to have a head start (pun intended). Throughout the show and in the “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” portrayer Zan Berube, with a quirky zest that calls forth Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, reminds us of that outrageous fate.

Over the next 80 minutes, each woman seeks to persuade the audience with numbers that are consistently winking, sometimes wise and biographically apt. There’s even a ballad. With show-stopping chops, Amina Faye as Jane Seymour — the one who was actually loved by VIII, who died shortly after the birth of son Edward — sings “Heart of Stone,” a tune that suggests that even for her, there was more to her story than the historical record captured.

Given the patriarchal vibe of the time (the Tudor past but also the #MeToo-ish present), the musical — with its (Spice) girl-power feminism — argues there was cause for hurt, outrage, even fear aplenty. But is this competition in misery the best way of going about historical comeuppance? “Six” asks, toys with and then answers that quandary.

As with a proper rock show, there’s a live band, directed here by Jane Cardona. And this being a work honoring queens, the nimble players — on keyboards, guitar, bass and drums — are the Ladies in Waiting.

The wild set (Emma Bailey) suggests a concert venue, one that allows for some measure of intimacy. Think the Fillmore, not Ball Arena. For Anne of Cleves and her tartly delivered tune “Haus of Holbein,” the action heads to Germany.  From start to encore, the light show (designed by Tim Deiling) plays off that conceit: twirling beams of light whirl; the dark, strobe-y energy of a dance club serving up electronica beckons; a cross, etched in glowing light bulbs, signifies piety with an attitude.

There are willfully LOL moments, intent on capturing the attention of the LOL generations. Cleves’s refrain of “I didn’t look like my profile picture” underscores who this lesson in European history aims for. Ditto its brevity.

Feminism lite, perhaps. Theater lite, maybe. This isn’t the sort of musical that bursts forth into song because regular dramatic language can’t contain the emotions. These are songs as biographical sketches, setting the record straight as pop confections.

For some theatergoers, the show might revive a familiar sticking point: Women who claim feeling sexy as a right and a pleasure often look like they’re delivering a mixed message when it comes to female empowerment. Just ask Queen Bey (a different monarch who gets a nod here) or the other pop figures the playbill tags as “Queenspiration,” among them: Adele, Avril Lavigne, Shakira, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj and Alicia Keys.

Doubters will have to chew on the vivaciously delivered (it’s complicated) “All You Wanna Do,” by VIII”s other murdered mate, Katherine Howard (Mayagoitia). Or pay specific heed to Catherine Parr’s anthemic “I Don’t Need Your Love,” to rightly complicate matters — which makes this fleet, seemingly frothy show a perfectly spiked treat for a holiday month.

Lisa Kennedy is a Denver freelance writer who specializes in film and theater. 

IF YOU GO

“Six”: Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. Directed by Moss and Jamie Armitage. Choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille. Featuring Gerianne Pérez, Zan Berube, Amina Faye, Terica Marie, Aline Mayagoitia and Adriana Scalice. The Ladies in Waiting: Jane Cardona, Sterlyn Termine, Rose Laguana and Kami Lujan.  At the Buell Theatre, 14th and Curtis streets. Through Dec. 24. For tickets and info: denvercenter.com or 303-893-4100.

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Friday. This year’s 8th Sing It to Me Santa fundraiser from Take Note Colorado has powerful cheerleaders in Colorado politics and music — from Gov. Jared Polis to Lumineers frontman Wesley Schultz — but the nonprofit still needs your financial support to get instruments and lessons into the hands of K-12 students across the state.

Fortunately, this year’s fundraiser is headlined by powerhouse blues vocalist Grace Potter, with an opening set by Tracksuit Wedding feat. Ryan Chrys, on Friday, Dec. 8, at RiNo’s Mission Ballroom. The 16-and-up show starts at 7:30 p.m. at 4242 Wynkoop St. in Denver. Tickets are $40 for general admission via axs.com.

Charlie Brown, meet “The Nutcracker”

Saturday. There’s hardly a more evocative mix of joy and melancholy than Vince Guaraldi’s music for 1965’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” But to mix it up, piano player Ron LeGault’s sturdy jazz sextet has for the last 11 years sprinkled in bits of “The Nutcracker” — played with jazz rhythms — for their “Charlie Brown Goes to the Nutcracker” show.

This year’s events take place Saturday, Dec. 9, as well as Dec. 16 and 23, with sets ranging from 6-9 p.m. at the Hotel St. Julien in Boulder. The musical suite is also available on CD and online thanks to Boulder’s Octave Records, LeGault said.

Free and all-ages, 900 Walnut St. in Boulder. Get there early for the best spots. 720-406-9696 or stjulien.com

“Guaranteed” Snow Days at Children’s Museum

Through Feb. 16, 2024. We’ve still got a couple of weeks until it’s technically winter — this year’s cold solstice falls on Dec. 21 — which makes it the perfect time for Snow Days. The winter-themed experience from the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus is full of interactive, all-ages fun, including an outdoor sock “skating rink,” a snow maze, fire pits and hot cocoa bar, “ice fishing” hut, and guaranteed snow at its Snow Hill (think sledding, snowman building, etc.).

Open now at 2121 Children’s Museum Drive in Denver, near Denver Aquarium. All activities are included with general admission. Tickets: $16-$18, children under 1 free. Call 303-433-7444 or visit mychildsmuseum.org.

Wonderbound’s “Icy Haught”

Through Dec. 17. Original, contemporary dance is hard to find this time of year amid the “Nutcrackers” and other seasonal, bank-making fare. That’s not stopping top-notch Denver outfit Wonderbound from staging a winter-themed show that’s not tethered to religions or decades-old cultural hallmarks.

“Icy Haught,” created by Garrett Ammon and Sarah Tallman, is the second show of Wonderbound’s celebratory 10th season and an ideal conduit to winter warmth, with both “frosty landscapes and sultry escapades” amid musical classics, the company said.

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7-10 and Dec. 14-17, with Sunday shows at 2 p.m., at 3824 Dahlia St. Access to the entrance and parking are off Dahlia, in Northeast Denver. Tickets: $65. Call 303-292-4700 or visit wonderbound.com.

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“I learned from my grandmother, Ethel Black Crow, and my aunt, Rose Spotted Eagle, when I was real young,” the 76-year-old Denver-based Oglala Lakota artist said. “I’ve been doing it all my life.”

Quillwork is an art form that uses porcupine quills to embroider clothing and make jewelry, and it is one of the oldest artistic traditions practiced by Indigenous North Americans, mostly in the northern plains of what is now the U.S. and across Canada.

To Bull Bear, who is from the Medicine Root District of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, quillwork products are as precious as gemstones.

“Quillwork is like wearing diamonds,” Bull Bear said. “Quillwork is sacred. It was here before the beadwork people do now.”

Bull Bear is one of many artists who patronize and sell their art at the reopened Orr’s Trading Post, a Native arts supply store that has long been an important community hub for Indigenous people.

New owner Lakota Sage wants to expand Orr’s 133-year legacy as a community hub and arts store into a destination for authentic Indigenous arts.

Formerly located in Englewood and Denver and operated by the Orr family for generations, the new owner, Lakota Sage, reopened the store in Lakewood at 9797 W. Colfax Ave. in February after the previous owners decided to close down.

Orr’s has always offered Denver’s Indigenous community a place to buy supplies to make regalia, practice traditions and create art; even Bull Bear’s grandmother used to buy supplies at Orr’s when it was on Colorado Boulevard in Denver.

“Most people come here to buy supplies, so when word started getting around it was closing, the community started freaking out a little,” Sage, a Lakota citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, said of why he restarted the business.

This new location continues the business’ legacy of serving Denver’s Indigenous community, but Sage also wants it to be a place where people who are not Indigenous can come to see and buy local artists’ artwork.

Here, Sage hopes, they can also learn about sacred traditions and see that Indigenous art and culture is alive and well in Denver.

“The more we can have representation, the better,” Sage said. “Because we are still here; we’re still remembered.”

That’s also why Bull Bear said being able to sell her work at Orr’s is so important to her: Not only is quillwork sacred, but here in Denver, the skill is a rarity.

Bull Bear is the only practicing plains quillwork artist in the area; many people stopped doing quillwork to take up the less complicated beading art that is most commonly associated with Indigenous embroidery now. She’s started classes in Denver to keep the tradition alive here.

“They say it’s a dying art, but if people like me teach it, I think we can keep it alive,” she said. “It’s really a blessing to try and teach it to new generations. We need to take care of it.”

Newer local artists also get a chance to show people their work at Orr’s.

Tom Salazar, an Indigenous third-generation Coloradan, is a self-taught artist who sells beaded jewelry at Orr’s and buys a lot of his supplies there. His art is also meant to show people Native American traditions are still alive, and he said Orr’s is the perfect place to teach people about art through his and others’ work.

“Art is something I like to do so people don’t forget where we came from,” Salazar said. “A lot of people don’t see Native art as something somebody put their heart and soul into. When I make something, I genuinely have a love for my ancestry and love for the community to where I want to make it authentic.

“A place like Orr’s is a great place for the community to make and see authentic jewelry.”

Sage also has branched the store out for more than just the beadwork and regalia-making products.

Other wares include macaw feathers for Nahua, or Aztec, people of Mexico; shells of all types, sea stars and urchins for coastal nations and Pacific Islanders; painted beads from Peru; and katchina dolls, ancestral spirits of the Hopi and Pueblo people of the Southwest, are all available at Orr’s.

“There’s something for everybody here,” Sage said. And that goes for non-Indigenous people, too.

A whole section of the store is dedicated to naturopathy, with traditional teas that have healing properties lining a wall and sages, sweetgrass and palo santo available for ceremonies and smudging. Stones with different astrological and healing purposes are also available in different sizes and shapes for different uses.

“It’s not just a store for Natives; it’s a store for everybody,” Sage said. “The idea behind that is the more people we can get in here, the more these local Native artists can be seen and our culture appreciated. It’s a helping hand for everybody.”

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Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, to include the address of Orr’s Trading Post. It was omitted because of an editing error.

Outside the Colorado Convention Center on Thursday night, and unable to get into the structure, protestors threw projectiles at police and the building, breaking a window and covering the legs of its iconic “big blue bear” sculpture (officially called “I See What You Mean,” by late Colorado artist Lawrence Argent) with spray paint, crayons, lipstick and other graffiti-media.

“We don’t have a CSI crime lab in the back, but if there’s a substance on it that we can’t get off with the chemicals on hand, we call the city or the artist’s (estate) to come clean it up,” said Rich Carollo, director of sales and services at Colorado Convention Center. “Fortunately we did, and we had it cleaned up by 7 a.m. the next morning.”

Protestors left handprints in paint on the sculpture’s legs, although its 40-foot height and sturdy footing kept it from getting much worse than that, according to pictures and video of the protests. Installed in 2005, the sculpture is an icon of Denver that’s used in official city marketing materials.

There were 15 arrests tied to the protests and vandalism outside the convention center, Denver Police have said. Those arrested were later released.

Cleaning the grand sculpture is a straightforward but not always easy task, Carollo said. When the sidewalk outside the convention center’s front entrance, along 14th Street, between Stout and Welton streets, was tagged with protestor’s messages earlier in the week, officials thought they could use an on-hand power washer to remove them. Instead they needed to call in “something a little more heavy duty” — in this case bigger and more powerful industrial washer.

This isn’t the first time the bear has been vandalized. Ten years ago, someone splashed green pain all over the bear’s back — something that cost $11,000 to remove.

Meanwhile, convention center workers are working to fix a broken window along Stout Street (“although nobody really sees that,” Carollo said) and remove scratches on the exterior made by various instruments protestors used last week.

Officials have not yet estimated the cost of the cleanup, Carollo said, but there’s built-in room in the annual budget for them. Owned by the city, and managed by Denver Arts & Venues, the convention center has never seen such intense vandalism, Corolla said — not even during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, when international activists visited Denver to march through downtown and protest at specific sites.

“Our windows have built-in protections,” Carollo said of the anti-shatter lining and thickness, “and that makes it a little easier for us (to fix). But you can’t just go to Home Depot and buy one, so it’s going to be $3,000 to $4,000 to replace that one window.”

Carollo said he hesitates to call the protests violent, but did observe them from the other side of the glass after being ushered into the building under tight security. He said he saw cans, water bottles, a wooden flag pole, and even a wooden spoon being banged on the outside of the structure. The next night, Denver police extended the fencing around the front of the building to push protestors further away from the exterior.

“It was a frustrating night for us because we didn’t expect so many people slamming against the windows,” he said. “The (sculpture) is a very unique thing and it’s a bummer when people want to deface it for whatever reason.”

Denver also saw a handful of its public art monuments, mostly in Civic Center park and at the State Capitol, defaced or toppled during George Floyd protests in June 2020. Some of those are still being replaced or kept in storage for fear of more vandalism, Arts & Venues officials have told The Denver Post.

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Each move was more than packing and unpacking. It also required adjusting to new gallery spaces, setting up classrooms for its students, transporting the organization’s substantial in-house holdings and launching a fresh campaign to tell the public exactly where they could find CPAC’s popular exhibitions of work by photographers from Colorado and beyond.

But CPAC’s latest change of place, to the first floor of a high-rise at 1200 Lincoln St., might serve it for the long haul. Everything feels right about it, particularly its physical location, on a busy thoroughfare in the culturally rich Golden Triangle Creative District.

The neighborhood is a regular destination for art fans already and, for many, CPAC’s new building will be familiar, too. For several years, it housed the Art Institute of Colorado, which shut down in 2018. The structure has since been converted into residential apartments.

CPAC has a 10-year lease, with the option to extend that another 10 years, according to Johnston.

The new CPAC home is, to use an appropriate adjective, photogenic. Johnston spent more than two years — working with architect Nathan Gulash of Semple Brown Design — customizing the 4,000-square-foot space to fit its needs. There are work rooms, dark rooms, offices, stacks for the archives and an L-shaped exhibition hall with a sliding wall that will allow it to be divided up for multiple shows.

The pair kept things neat and clean, and monochromatic. The walls are white, of course, and the ceiling, with its plumbing and duct work exposed, is matte black. The galleries are elegant, but meant to disappear in favor of the photo shows that will occupy them.

The current exhibition, titled “Tell Me a Story,” fits the space well. The show, which runs through Jan. 6, features work by a mix of regional, national and international photographers. Guest juror Mary Statzer, the chief photography curator at the New Mexico Museum of Art, chose the work from more than 500 submissions.

“Tell Me a Story” explores the idea of photography as a format for storytelling, but in a very specific way. What is the power, the show asks, of a single image, to relate a complex human tale?

The answer comes in 32 photos — digital prints on paper, for the most part — rendered in various shapes and sizes, and in different styles. Many fit easily into the common language of visual arts. For example, some are portraits, while others are landscapes. Some photos capture domestic scenes of everyday life, others are clearly staged. Most fall somewhere in the middle of all that.

One example is photographer Mark Coggins’ shot, titled “4-H Club,” a black-and-white image that captures a teenage boy, dressed in a hoodie, nestled up with two pigs.  All three of them are enjoying a nap. The photo is set in the sort of metal pen that will look familiar to anyone who has wandered the hay-filled halls of Denver’s annual Stock Show and watched kids compete with their livestock.

Is it a traditional portrait? It goes a long way toward capturing the personality of this young competitor. Or does it fall under the category of photojournalism or documentary? It is certainly meant to freeze a moment in time at an important cultural event.

The same questions surround the photo titled “The Commuter,” by Jason McKinsey, which presents a middle-aged man behind the wheel of an automobile. He is apparently stalled in traffic, looking off into the distance, waiting for things to move along during rush hour.

Several things make this image compelling. First, it captures the man through his windshield — how did the photographer get such a vantage point? Second, is it a real scene or manufactured? Is this an actual instance in a daily commute or is the man an actor and the whole image fiction? The piece has a cinematic feel.

And more to the point of the exhibition overall, what is the narrative here? Who is this guy? Where is he coming from and where is he going? The image begs us to fill in the missing parts.

That is true with nearly all of the photos in “Tell Me a Story.”  Each is a mystery without quite enough clues to solve. They hint at a bigger tale, giving us neither the beginning nor the end, just a split second of the action.

I found them provocative but also frustrating, a reminder that we can never understand the whole truth by looking at a single moment in time. We can only guess — and we often guess wrong.

This exhibit is content to dwell in the conundrums, and many viewers will enjoy that. Humans love a good puzzle, and this show succeeds by delivering them in overwhelming numbers.

But it also, quite clearly, shows the inability of single photographic images — served up without context or captions or other photos — to convey complicated truths. When people fill in the blanks, they bring their own biases and personal histories into the equation, including their preconceptions about race, class, gender, politics and social history, and that influences their comprehension. These photos spark the imagination but they also invite misinterpretations in a way that feels not quite right.

Instead of being powerful narrative tools, the solitary photos can feel like weak links in the information chain. They want us to come to conclusions without all the facts, to feel smart and well-informed when, in fact, we know little. They are certainly not dangerous in any way, but they underscore how some images — especially those manufactured through artificial means with the intent of serving as propaganda — might actually be dangerous.

Either way, they are riveting, and the show is exceptionally cohesive and relentlessly on point. Viewers might find the shots inspirational or be annoyed by the whole exercise, though they will, no doubt, stare for a very long time.

Ray Mark Rinaldi is a Denver freelancer who specializes in fine arts.

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It was a surreal, unprecedented moment when Colorado Ballet canceled its entire 2020-21 season, given the COVID shutdowns and complications. But when the refreshed production debuted during the 2021 holiday season — it typically runs for a month, or about 25 performances — a Denver tradition was reborn.

This year’s 63rd installment is, as in the past, a boon for the state’s marquee ballet, as sales made up more than half of its annual revenue, which totaled $15.5 million last year. That’s one of the main reasons the pandemic was so devastating to arts nonprofits, and why “Nutcracker” and other holiday performances are so vital to nonprofit arts companies.

But with ticket prices rising for all kinds of entertainment options, how are they faring for this Christmas tradition?

The Denver Post took a look at tickets for the Colorado Ballet’s “Nutcracker” going back to 2000, and what we found was heartening: The cheapest tickets to the show have resisted inflation over the last quarter century, increasing only $22 in that time to a current price of $40. With U.S. inflation rates generally up — last year’s was 8%, a 3.3% increase from 2021, according to public data — that translates to actual value for fans of the state’s biggest holiday production.

U.S. consumers have seen a cumulative price increase for goods and services of 69.95% since 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whereas the cheapest tickets to “The Nutcracker” have increased only 45%.

So how do they stay so relatively low?

“Our sales tax is included in the price of the ticket, whereas many other performing arts organizations and concert/performance venues and businesses charge sales tax on top of the ticket price, in addition to many fees,” wrote Rachel Perez, Colorado Ballet’s marketing director, in an email.

“We have very minimal fees,” she said, “and if patrons purchase tickets online with mobile delivery options there’s absolutely zero fees, so they will literally only pay the listed price of the ticket — which in today’s world of excessive ticket fees and service fees — is a very nice benefit.”

This year’s run of 28 performances began Nov. 25 and continues through Dec. 24. The cheapest tickets were $40, while the most expensive were $175.

Leaders set prices by looking at the number of years at the current price without changes or increases; relevant comparable ticket prices; other shows in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, economic trends, and supply-and-demand, Perez said.

Yes, ticket prices for the ballet and other top-tier performing arts events can run above $100 (and much more on the after-market), but so can those for concerts and sporting events. To watch “Nutcracker” prices stay low, even as metro area cultural demand and population have ballooned, feels like some kind of miracle.

“Last week, we ran our first pay-what-you-can for a limited number of tickets to our Sunday night performance of ‘The Nutcracker,'” on Nov. 26, wrote Perez, who also noted the ballet’s student-pass discounts (see coloradoballet.org/student-pass). “They were available on a first-come, first-served basis. We plan to make a pay-what-you-can program a part of our initiatives in the future again and promote it broadly.”

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Some of the metro area’s biggest productions are easily topping $100 for the best seats — we’re looking at you, Colorado Ballet (“The Nutcracker”) and Denver Center for the Performing Arts (“A Christmas Carol”) — but you don’t have to break the bank to feel jolly.

Here are 10 affordable shows — which in this case means under $50 per ticket — that are worth every cent you spend. Prices do not include online fees. All shows are family-friendly unless otherwise noted. See more holiday-fun ideas at denverpost.com/things-to-do.

“Santa’s Big Red Sack”

Feeling more naughty than nice this year? We can all relate to dark irreverence during the holidays. Fortunately, another local tradition is providing the snarky humor that our souls crave — in this case, “Santa’s Big Red Sack,” a comedic show of “nonstop sketch comedy, music and technology bursting at the seams,” according to producers. It’s celebrating its 21st year of offensive glee, so buy a shot to celebrate.

(Note: This is not, as you may have already guessed, a kid’s show.) Through Dec. 23 at The People’s Building, 9995 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora. Tickets: $30. rattlebrain.vbotickets.com/events

“Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum”

The 32nd year of “Granny” boasts the music, dance and spoken-word performances that the acclaimed Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and its partners are known for, with new tales and twists each year. If you haven’t seen this multicultural pageant yet, you’re missing an actual Denver tradition.

Various shows, including matinees, Dec. 2-17, at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre, 119 Park Ave. West in Denver. All ages. Tickets: $35-$45. cleoparkerrobinsondance.org

“Winter Soulstice”

In his first year as artistic director of Denver Gay Men’s Chorus, Johnny Nichols Jr. will lead the choral group through “music that honors the Earth, celebrates diversity, and dances to the festive rhythm of soul music,” producers wrote. Expect some classics, as well.

Friday, Dec. 1, and Saturday, Dec. 2, at Central Presbyterian Church; Dec. 8 at Boulder’s First United Methodist Church; and Dec. 10 at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch. Tickets: $38-$50. denverchoruses.org

“Santa and the Slay”

The creators of the ’60s-themed Motones & Jerseys show are coming to Northglenn’s Parsons Theatre with this variety show, which features “an array of musical performances, ranging from classic Christmas carols to modern pop hits, and side-splitting comedy. Santa’s mischievous elves and other special guests ensure that there’s never a dull moment …”

Dec. 8 at 1 E. Memorial Parkway in Northglenn. Tickets: $23-$30. northglennarts.org

“A Winter’s Eve”

Grammy-nominated guitarist David Arkenstone and his musical friends are playing University of Denver’s Hamilton Recital Hall for the holiday-themed “A Winter’s Eve,” which features “a lively candlelit concert” blending “neo-classic crossover, new age, Celtic progressive rock, orchestra and world music,” according to promoters. Phew!

Friday, Dec. 1, at 2344 E. Iliff Ave. in Denver. $22-$35. bit.ly/3sOJiLE

“The Miracle at Tepeyac”

Denver cultural treasure Su Teatro, one of the only theaters that regularly performs bilingual stage shows, is back with its “Miracle at Tepeyac” holiday play. Written and directed by artistic head Anthony J. Garcia, “Tepeyac” is a folk drama that tells the story of “the apparition of the Virgen de Guadalupe to the Indio Juan Diego. The play’s parallel storyline explores contemporary issues such as homelessness and the plight of immigrants,” Garcia wrote.

Dec. 10-17 at Su Teatro Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Drive in Denver. Tickets: $17-$20. suteatro.org

“Amahl and the Night Visitors”

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” tells the story of “a magic star, a shepherd boy, and how unselfish love can work miracles.” Rendered with a full orchestra, this show is a rare, family-friendly opera being performed by Central City Opera — with a full orchestra in tow.

Dec. 23 and 24 at Central Presbyterian Church, 1660 Sherman St. in Denver. All ages. Tickets: $12-$42. centralcityopera.org

“Carols Around the World”

This harmony vocal show from Mile High Barbershop choruses brings out “enchanting carols from the far corners of the globe followed by a soul-stirring set of sacred favorites, such as ‘Silent Night,’ and ‘Ave Maria.’ ” If that sounds like a fresh breeze after too many canned radio playlists, you’re not alone.

Dec. 9 at Gates Concert Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave. in Denver. Tickets: $19-$47. bit.ly/3TlNs8H

“Fiestas Navideñas”

ArtistiCO’s annual holiday show features original choreography based on Mexican dance traditions, filtered through this Denver folk-dance ensemble, and directed by acclaimed dancers and choreographers Jose Rosales and Alfonso Meraza Prudente. You may not find this much vivacious holiday pageantry outside of downtown’s Parade of Lights.

Dec. 6-7 at Gates Concert Hall at the Newman Center, 2344 E. Iliff Ave. in Denver. Tickets: $19-$42. bit.ly/46I4QXT

“Evergreen”

Denver’s 48-member, note-perfect Ars Nova Singers are bringing back “Evergreen,” described by artistic director Tom Morgan as a winter solstice celebration, featuring cellist Charles Lee and mixing “mystical melodies of the Dark Ages, cherished traditional carols, and splendorous compositions by 21st-century composers.”

Various shows, Dec. 9 at Longmont’s United Church of Christ; Dec. 10 at Denver’s Saint Paul Lutheran Church; Dec. 14-15 at Boulder’s Mountain View United Methodist Church. Tickets: $10-$35. arsnovasingers.org/buy-tickets

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The annual fundraising campaign brings in big money — more than $70 million in 2022 — for some of the hardest-working organizations across the state that provide everything from education, medical research and animal care to employment training, homeless services and arts and culture (the area I write about all year long and watch closely).

For donors, the day — this year it is Dec. 5 — serves as a reminder to give, and provides a safe mechanism for sending money. The Colorado Gives Day website has an easy-to-use guide that explains what nonprofits are out there and how they deploy their resources in the community.

Still, it is hard to decide just where your money should go. There are a lot of causes and many of them are worthy.

So here are a few suggestions — all under the umbrella of arts and culture. They represent just a portion of the groups that deserve support this year.

Downtown Aurora Visual Arts (DAVA)

DAVA works on the ground with young people in Aurora, teaching art skills while giving them a place where they can feel safe enough to express their creative ideas. The center’s free programming comes in a variety of forms: after-school art studios that are open to all youth: family art classes for kids under 5 and their parents; art-based technology training for older kids; and an intensive skills development program that helps teens gear up for the future.

DAVA is diverse, welcoming and dedicated. But it also works at a high level, using some of the region’s best artists and teachers as mentors for those who come through its doors. DAVA prepares young people to be engaged, open-minded citizens of the future.

Museo de las Americas

The museum is a well-known Denver institution, but lately it is full of fire — and great art exhibitions — that have given it a new energy. Under the directorship of Claudia Moran, the gallery program has grown enormously and taken the kinds of chances that deserve recognition and support. This year’s “Colombia: The Corn, the River, and the Grave” was a great example, bringing some of that country’s most respected artists here for a group show that no one else in the city would have produced.

These are tense political times, no doubt, and the museo provides a forum for dialogue that meets the moment.

Levitt Pavilion

When Levitt came around a few years back, it delivered just what the city needed: a place where people could come together over music and art in an affordable way. The venue produces scores of concerts each year, and many of them are free.

Without the need to sell tickets, programmers have the luxury of booking talent that is top-notch, even though it may not come with the guarantee of big audiences. They can take chances — and they do — bringing in a diverse lineup of performers that serve every musical taste.  For audiences, Levitt is a place to experiment with music, risk-free and fun-filled.

RedLine Art Center

RedLine does it all — and all on a meager budget. The center hosts no-cost, multi-year studio residencies for local artists, helping them to build skills and a network that will nurture their careers. The center also produces top-notch exhibits by artists from Colorado and beyond that are open to the public, for free, year-round.

It also works with the community in its Curtis Park neighborhood through multiple programs, including regular art classes for homeless people. RedLine manages to be an elegant place and a welcoming space at the same time.

Union Hall

Union Hall, the small, non-profit art gallery downtown, has been lingering on the edges of the art scene here for a while, not quite knowing where it fits in. But it seems to have found its voice lately, staging exhibitions that connect local artists to audiences while also being a lot of fun to visit.  Credit that to curator Esther Hz and an open mind about what Denver art lovers ought to see.

The programming is always free, and that is a good reason to give back with some financial support.

Latino Cultural Arts Center

A donation to LCAC is a bet on the future. The organization has plans to develop a multi-campus community center in an area that spans the Sun Valley and La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhoods. It will host galleries, artist studios, a museum and places for learning and celebration. The project would convert two existing warehouses into what will be called Las Bodegas.

LCAC has seed money and plenty of ambition; the idea is to build a place that will serve local needs but also draw visitors from far and wide. But it still needs a broad coalition of support to become a reality.

Friends of Chamber Music

No local organization is more organized or on-target than Friends of Chamber Music, which presents a series of intimate classical concerts every year. Friends gets its programming right, responding to trends in both classical and current events that keep the concerts meaningful. It also programs ambitiously, bringing in string quartets, trios, soloists and more from across the globe. It is one of the few organizations that understands a world-class city deserves to experience the art of top-tier international talents.

Friends have been doing this since 1954, never for profit, always for the community.

Ray Mark Rinaldi is a freelance writer in Denver specializing in fine arts. 

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The nonprofit, Denver-based theater giant on Monday announced a ticket lottery for the popular musical, whose Dec. 5-24 performances have already hit the “limited capacity” phase. That means each scheduled show has only a handful of seats left for sale, ranging from $45 to $155 per ticket.

In most cases, it’s literally one or two close-to-stage seats per show, as well as a few dozen in the back three or four rows of the balcony at the Buell Theatre.

Here’s how you can get a leg up, according to the show’s producers:

• Make sure you’re eligible: you must be 18 years or older and have a valid, non-expired photo ID that matches your name to enter.
• Make a Lucky Seat account if you don’t already have one; visit luckyseat.com to sign up. Producers will use that site to choose winners.
• Watch your inbox carefully, since winners have a limited window to claim and buy tickets. Entrants who have been selected can buy one or two tickets at $30 each.
• The entry window for each week will close at 9:30 a.m. five days before the performances. That means entries for Week 1 shows (Dec. 5-10) need to be in by the morning of Dec. 1, with Week 2 (Dec. 12-17) on Dec. 8, and Week 3 (Dec. 19-24) on Dec. 15.

DCPA materials describe “Six” as a modern take on the wives of Henry VIII: “From Tudor queens to pop icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st-century girl power,” according to press materials.

The musical has won a pair of Tony awards and is currently touring the English-speaking world, including dates in the U.S., Canada, England and Australia. The show is recommended for ages 10 and up, DCPA officials wrote; children under 5 are not permitted in the Buell.

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