From WWII Shakespeare to world premiere symphonies and dances, here are the can’t-miss March shows

By the Thirst Team

Here are some of the best events across Colorado for the next few weeks. For more happenings, check out our events calendar.

This week, we are focusing on performing arts across Colorado. Here are our top picks in Colorado theater, dance and music. Let us know what you think, and tell us what we missed.

Theater

“Come From Away” in Arvada

The Arvada Center will stage “Come From Away,” the acclaimed modern classic musical based on a remarkable true story of Gander, Newfoundland. Dozens of planes carrying thousands of global travelers were diverted to the isolated Canadian town on Sept. 11, 2001. The town welcomed the unexpected crowds with music, warmth and generosity.

The show opens Friday, and will be performed Wednesday to Sunday through May 10, with several special events during the run. ASL-interpreted performances are on April 9 and 19, and audio-described performances are on April 15 and 18. A relaxed performance for neurodivergent adults is on April 24, and a community dinner is on May 3.

“Next to Normal” and “English” at Denver Center

The Denver Center Theater Company will stage two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays starting in April.

The pop-rock musical “Next to Normal” opens April 3, and runs through May 3 at the Wolf Theatre. The “honest and unflinching” family tale won three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer for Drama. Many performances are down to single tickets or fully sold out.

In the more intimate Singleton Theatre, Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning “English” makes its Denver debut on April 17, and runs through May 31. The timely story about language and miscommunication is set in a classroom for English learners near Tehran where “English only” is the only rule.

Reimagined “Romeo & Juliet” in Colorado Springs

Theatreworks Artistic Director Max Shulman transports Shakespeare's “Romeo & Juliet” to an occupied Verona during World War II for his production at the Ent Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs.

"That feeling when you're young — I need things to happen now, I need everyone to catch up with my desire — that's the engine of this story,” Shulman said. “By setting it during wartime, where every decision carries life-or-death weight, we understand why these characters move with such urgency."

The show runs Thursdays through Sundays from April 9 to May 3, with a pre-show conversation with the director, as well as dialogues with Shakespeare experts on April 11 and 19.

Music

Longmont Symphony performs world premiere

The Longmont Symphony Orchestra has two concerts this month. The main event is on April 11 at the Vance Brand Civic Auditorium. The concert includes a world premiere by the Italian composer Massimiliano Messieri, who will join the conductor for a pre-concert talk at 6 p.m.

The concert also includes mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims performing Amy Beach’s “Wand’ring Clouds;” Vaughan Williams' “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” with two string orchestras; and Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.”

A pianist and a saxophone player from the group also will play an intimate house concert on April 8.

Jazz and soul festival in Boulder

Boulder's second annual Modern Jazz & Soul Fest brings 10 bands to the Roots Music Project April 17 and 18.

Friday night’s headliner is WayBack, led by Isaac Teal of the band TAUK, and the lineup also includes ManyColors, Trusetto, Riley J Band and a featured youth jazz ensemble. Saturday headliner is the Adam Deitch Electric 4, an all-star group led by the legendary drummer. Additional Saturday artists include Sean Applebee & Beyond, Corner 3, J-Calvin and Halle Tomlinson.

Dance

Zikr Dance’s showcase tours Colorado

Denver’s Zikr Dance Ensemble takes an international dance troupe around Colorado and into New Mexico for its spring performance: Runes “explores the power and transformative energies of some of history's most iconic symbols and the light code language of the future,” according to Zikr.

The showcase also includes Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s “In Memoriam" pas de deux, Tomm Ruud’s miniature masterpiece “Mobile” and Zikr’s signature work “In Your Eyes.”

Between April 10 and May 3, the tour stops in Rifle, Lakewood, Grand Junction, Pagosa Springs, Boulder, Aspen, Taos and Fort Collins.

Colorado Ballet stages “Masterworks”

Colorado Ballet closes its season at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House with its annual “Masterworks” showcase. The performances are Friday to Sunday, April 10 to 19.

This year’s program has three ballets paired with iconic music. From Bach’s elegance to Stravinsky’s intensity and Rachmaninoff’s romantic depth, audiences will experience an evening of extraordinary music, performed live by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra and brought to life through dance. The program features Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring, and a world premiere by Yoshihisa Arai – each technically demanding and emotionally compelling.

George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco is a light and uplifting ballet set to Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring is a groundbreaking interpretation of Stravinsky’s revolutionary score, and is part of The Glen Tetley Legacy’s 2026 Centenary Celebration. Finally, the Colorado Ballet commissioned a world premiere by Yoshihisa Arai about the life of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

As always, please send us your events and announcements. We’re happy to share them. If they don’t fit in the Get Out of Town column, we will add them to our events calendar.