This is a great month to plan a trip around Colorado for summer fun and great performances

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 and classical music. While many arts groups have yearlong seasons from fall through spring, other festivals and theaters only bloom in the summer around Colorado. Here are a few of our favorites.

Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder

After two years of intimate indoor shows, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival is back outside at a newly renovated Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre.

The comedy “Twelfth Night” and the tragic masterpiece “Julius Caesar” both run through Aug. 2. A stage adaptation of the film “Shakespeare in Love” runs through Aug. 1. And “Friends/Romans/Countrymen” by David Davolos is in the Roe Green Theatre July 11 to Aug. 1. The show is a “world-premier, comical-historical take” on “Julius Caesar,” according to the CSF.

“All Shook Up” in Parker

Another version of “Twelfth Night” is playing at the PACE Center in Parker. “All Shook Up” is a celebration of Elvis Presley’s music with a story loosely based on the Shakespeare comedy. Parker Arts will stage the musical on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, plus Saturday and Sunday matinees, through July 19.

Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater in Grand Lake

Grand Lake’s acclaimed summer repertory theater is currently staging two musicals based on beloved modern classic films: “Shrek” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels;” and the irreverent and award-winning parody “Urinetown: The Musical.” They are performed on a rotating basis all month nearly every night except Sundays. Also, “Never Can Say Goodbye: The 70s Beehive Musical” opens Sept. 4.

Creede Repertory Theatre returns

The renowned theater company in the southern Colorado mining town of Creede dates to 1966. The Creede Rep is currently rotating through productions of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Fully Committed,” “Working” and “Moriarty.” Also, Boomtown improv comedy returns on Sunday nights for a 20th season.

Empire Lyric Players in Lakewood

Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Yeoman of the Guard” is coming to the Lakewood Cultural Center July 17 to 19. The Empire Lyric Players have been singing and dancing their way through Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas in the Denver area since 1958.

Bravo Vail Music Festival

The venues for the Bravo! Vail Music Festival are as diverse as the music. They include world-class symphony and world music performances at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater; chamber music, Broadway tunes and more in private residences and other intimate venues; and even children’s events at the library. July festival highlights include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Concerts run through Aug. 6

Colorado Music Festival in Boulder

Boulder’s Chautauqua Auditorium hosts a destination classical music festival with a group of acclaimed musicians representing 44 orchestras, as well as renowned guest performers. This year’s lineup also includes 14-year-old violin phenom Himari, pianist Yuja Wang and a world premiere composition. Performances run July 9 to Aug. 9.

Denver Brass album release party

On Tuesday, July 21, the Newman Center at the University of Denver hosts the Denver Brass for a concert of pieces from two new releases, recorded in late 2025. The show is free, and tickets are not required.

Vail Dance Festival

Finally, we’re sneaking in a plug for the diverse and world-class dance series in Vail July 31 to Aug. 10. It’s just barely in July, but next month’s arts preview might be too late. The festival includes performances by Martha Graham Dance Company, Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater, Colorado Ballet, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and many other international dance stars.

As always, please send us your events and announcements. We’re happy to share them. If they don’t fit in the performing arts preview, we will add them to our events calendar.