Bug Theatre

Great small theater in Denver– Eclectic, weird, full of energy and TALENT!!! What a great find for some serious creative stuff going down, and high quality at that!
We attended the annual «NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD» adaptation of the original 1960’s vintage film. We laughed all night, even as the blood gushed and our favorite characters met their makers.
The theater is definitely a labor of love and a work in progress, and the bathroom scene was more horrifying than the bleed outs on stage… However– this is a great place for whatever they are serving up– you will be entertained and impressed!

We love the bug! They have some pretty fun shows and showcase local talent. We’ve done the Night of the Living Dead (which was super fun) and Bonnie and Clyde the Musical (which was done really well BTW). We always have a great experience at the Bug — so come on, check them out for a show and support local artists! If you need more reasons, grab a night cap and diner at one of the great local spots nearby!

Freak Train = one of the best $ 5 purchases I’ve made in Denver. A few duds, a few very bright spots but overall, just hilarious. The host was worth the $ 5 alone — from start to finish, she was amazing. Keg beer is available for free (donation). I’ll be back to see The Grawlix!

The theatre was a delight. Nice stage and the seating is almost like an old movie theatre. They had a snack and drink bar, serving both wine and soft drinks. Look forward to going back.

Wow – what a great small theatre! Went to see Kimberly Akimbo with my daughter and friends and it was set in the wilds of suburban New Jersey. Kimberly Akimbo is a hilarious and heartrending play about a teenager with a rare condition causing her body to age faster than it should. When she and her family flee Secaucus under dubious circumstances, Kimberly is forced to reevaluate her life while contending with a hypochondriac mother, a rarely sober father, a scam-​artist aunt, her own mortality and the possibility of a first love.
All the characters were very funny and well played but my favorite character was Aunt Debra, played by Kaity Talmage-​Bowers. Her character was hilarious and she did a great job in portraying her.
The Theatre was a good size, warm and it also had a bar (cash/​check only). The seats were comfortable and staff was great. Plenty of street parking and a huge lot with plenty of free parking across the street.
A great evening enjoying a great play!

I am reviewing ‘Evil Dead The Musical’ and as a fan of the Evil Dead Trilogy (not the crappy recent remake) this show was fantastic. It was hilarious, songs were catchy and fun, the sets were imaginative for what they had, and the cast was great. It was a must see. Ash was great giving the original Bruce Campbell vibe (sorry I don’t have the actor’s name I SUCK!!!)And you will have many of the pun lines from Army of Darkness …“GIMMEE SOME SUGAR BABY!!!“
See this one if you can catch it!
My one complaint is the seating is a little tight… I am tall and have long legs so I was a little uncomfortable, but this show made it worth the cramping.
GROOVY!!!

Only been for FREAK traIN and NEVER disappointed. Sharee (sure I spelled that one wrong) just always makes the show and BOY CAN she SING???

Saw The Grawlix comedy show here the other night. It’s a really cool old theater – surprisingly large considering the space, and with nice, pretty wide (if slightly run-​down) old school seats. I’m not sure what events they host, but if you’re looking for a classy venue in a great little neighborhood, this is your place.
A word to the credit-​card-​only folks out there, be prepared as they are a cash-​only joint. As in no cards, no atm, no other options, for both the cover charge and the bar. You’ll be delighted to find, though, that your cash will buy you some a-​OK local beers at very reasonable prices.

The Bug is a solid Denver venue and I’ve seen bands, theatre and films here. It is a smaller venue, but has such a friendly staff — and they have snacks and BEER!
They are also committed to local acts — I’ve known a few friends who have screened movies and put on plays and had a great time working with The Bug.
Support local business!

AWESOME EXPERIENCE! Very intimate, welcoming, old, creaky, and wonderful. The shows are great! I love the staff. A very good experience! I will definitely add this to my list of places to check for shows.

I am actually writing this review on the Acrocats. This is a cat circus. This was my first experience at this venue. Who would pass up a cat circus? The venue had a theater setting. I was so compelled, and being new to this town, I heard a murmur blah blah cat circus, I invited myself, how else am I going to make friends or enemies.
I thought I had almost seen it all, now I am that much closer to have seen it all. It really was wonderful. It was for a good cause and super hilarious. Who knew that there was a traveling cat circus. It was something not to be missed. I am of the adventures type. I enjoyed the heck out of myself! I highly recommend seeing anything hat you may not normally see on a Friday night! Something that may not sound awesome because you just never know! Plus all the cats are rescue’s and the money goes to a good cause, I thought it was really fantastic! Thus the five stars, it saves lives of animals!

I have been going to the Bug since I moved into Denver/​LoHi in January 2009. My first experience was Freak Train and I’m so glad it was. Many of the skits put on during Freak Train are small glimpses into other performances at Bug or just an outlet for the performers. The host, GeeRee, also makes sure to plug as many local performances that she gets info for whether at Bug or not (just write it on her note pad!).
I love that the lobby is always full of flyers for local visual arts. Sometimes I stop by just to see what is posted in their lobby. I have seen many shows at Bug. Freak Train is still a monthly tradition for me. I love RANDOMNESS. Profanity, unrehearsed, nudity…? But they don’t make any promises.
If you want to make a night of it, I recommend Highlands Tavern, Patsy’s or Chile Verde for refreshment before the performance. Highlands Tavern serves food until 11pm weekdays. If you are feeling like spending more, go to Lou’s and they will make sure to make your night more expensive.

Had an absolute blast at this place — the price is right, they have booze, the shows are intimate and awesome, and the seasons schedule is pretty awesome. It’s a great way for barbarians like me to get some culture.
Now, from what I’ve seen, nobody is winning any Tonies in this place. But, it’s awesome, it’s the theater, and your supporting local arts programs. How can you go wrong?
Try to get in during the run of Cannibal! The Musical… it was awesome!

If I were only reviewing the physical venue itself, I’d give Bug an A-​OK 3 stars. Be warned that their AC system is too noisy to run during most shows, so things can get warm in the theater during summer months. To their credit, they blast the AC before the shows and during intermission.
Of course, there’s more to the place than the building. The Bug is a small, old movie theater over on Navajo that frequently houses cool local theater companies like Equinox. They also offer a myriad of classes, Freak Train (a monthly showcase of local performers), and even some independent film. The seating is rows and rows of movie seats (you know, before arena seating took over movie theaters), and is on a pretty decent grade so hopefully you won’t have issues seeing over the person in front of you. It’s old, sure, but comfortable enough.
The reason I bumped them up to four stars is also partly due to the fact that they seem to take the venue into consideration, and their ticket prices are usually lower than most other theaters around Denver. Most shows are $ 10 — $ 15, and some movies are as low as $ 5.
Overall, the prices are right for the venue, and the shows I’ve seen here have been really fun.

Let’s talk a little bit about freak train.
Last monday of every month.
Soooooooo… freak train is this variety show of local «freaks» who perform whatever their talent is for the super cheap price of $ 5. With that, you get free beer. FREE BEER.
Among the talents are poetry, horrible horrible skits, singing, puppets, magic, comedians, strange nudity, etc.
The talent mostly sucks, with a few brilliant spots in there. You can’t really complain much when you only spent $ 5 and had 3 beers.
I suggest you check it out!

The entertainment can be a little hit-​or-​miss here. We saw a fantastic one-​man-​show called «U SHIT ME» or (U.S. History in the Middle East) that was freaking hilarious. Then, we saw something that I believe was supposed to be about levels of hell that had a random guy dressed like a tampon that we barely made it through (half our group walked out before intermission).
I think this place is worth another try. The tickets are so inexpensive that even if the show is bad, at least it was cheaper than going to the movie theatre. And, they have fantastic Breckenridge Beer, not for sale, but provided for «a donation». Way to get around the Colorado liquor laws, boys ;) I will probably check out another show here, but it probably won’t be on my priority list.
There is a super cool bar down the street called Highlands something that has one of those garage door windows that they open in the summer so it feels like one big patio and they have ping pong. It’s def a good spot to check out, whether you really enjoyed the show or walked out at intermission ;)

:sits slackjawed for a moment:
:shakes head, comes to, tries to speak:
Uh, er… whoa. I visited Bug Theatre for Freak Train after months of missed attempts. I had my own ideas about what the night might be, and all of them were wrong. It was a wild, free-​for-​all open mic theatre night. With free beer. GOOD free beer.
My friend had forgotten her wallet, so in solidarity I passed on giving my ID to get my hand stamped. Later, I saw people in the concession line with beers already in hand. «They must sell really good popcorn!» I joked. Little did I know, those folks were in line for more free beer from Breckenridge. Dang; shoulda gotten that stamp.
On to the show. The premise: arrive early to get on the list to perform in this un-​juried open mic. You get 5 minutes to do your thing (think «America’s Got Talent» with no censorship at all). There were good performers (including a regular musician who really impressed us), funny performers (a man and his puppets lip-​syncing some hardcore), magicians, offensive stand-​up, and a tall, skinny, bearded guy wearing nothing but a tube sock while running around playing a flute. That last one prompted me to apologize to my guest, who alternated between looking away in fear and laughing nervously. But at Freak Train, we learned, all are welcome.
The most impressive aspect of the evening was the emcee. She was fantastic. She kept things going, was respectful to all performers and demanded the audience be the same, and had a great sense of humor about it all. She handled hecklers quite well and really made the evening work. She even maintained some composure after the tube-​socked flutist.
The venue is rather worn, the seats have seen better days, and I foolishly left my purse on the floor to get soaked in spilled free beer which ran down the sloped floor. But if the rest of the performances are as smooth and well-​managed as Freak Train (judging by the emcee and the sound A/​V guy), I’d definitely give a Bug Theatre production a try.
And if you’re looking for a wild mixed bag of performance (and free beer!), check out Freak Train on the last Monday of every month. Thanks to Freak Train, my visiting friend will not soon forget Denver.

This cozy little community theater makes me wish I had some acting skillz to put on display! I came here last weekend for the first time with some Unilocalers to see Night of the Living Dead (this is seriously worth seeing if you 1. like zombies 2. like plays 3. like film — it’s a juxtaposition of all three).
The Bug has this comfy, worn-​in feel with a small stage and little concession stand where you can grab a beer or wine during a performance. You should know The Bug is a non-​profit so it can always use a little love. Check out their calendar for upcoming events — you’re bound to find some little gem of a performance on the horizon.

I came here last night to watch «Cheerleader Ninjas» for a Unilocal event. They have a pretty good setup here and their prices are very affordable. There’s a little snack bar area, ample seating, and friendly/​funny staff. While waiting for the movie to start, they had Charlie Chaplin on the screen with indie music playing in the background. I love Charlie Chaplin!
My only complaint is I felt like I was falling out of my chair. I’m not sure if it’s because the seating is at an incline or my chair was just dysfunctional. I kept having to adjust myself throughout the movie.
All in all, I’ll be back for more fun movies and hilarity!

I’m continuously surprised by how many awesome small theaters we have in Denver. Places like the Bug continue to have affordable, well-​done theater throughout the months and I’m ever so happy to see things like that in our fair city.
I’ve been to the Bug a few times now. Most recently I went to see Ten Buddhist Tales. I love that there is never a bad seat here. I love the comfortable feel in the theater. It’s more like watching all your friends perform for you. Come to think of it, if you go during Freak Train it just may be your friends that are performing.
You can have beer from Breckenridge Brewery or wine for a suggested donation of $ 4. And those are some serious pours of wine. Check out this little Highlands theater sometime. They have a wide variety of shows so you’re sure to find something that you like.