Denver’s Curious Theatre Company prides itself on choosing new and challenging plays. When artistic director Chip Walton first read the script for the current production called "Astronomical Sunset" he knew it would be a good fit.
Chip Walton: “I think what struck me immediately was the genre of the play. There aren't a lot of Sci Fi mysteries in the theatre. I think it's something people even if they don't frequent the theatre a lot it's a genre they can really engage with. You know it's a world of True Blood and all of these kind of Sci Fi, vampire super natural elements and this is the theatrical equivalent of that kind of world."
But the play has a very human beginning. Jim, one of the main characters, is the creator of a social networking site. Everything was going smoothly until an 18-year-old posted a video of himself having sex with a minor. The teen lands in prison. Jim’s cleared of criminal charges, but he’s being sued and he’s getting death threats. So he and his wife move to a small town to escape the controversy. Jim is paranoid. He can’t sleep. He stays in his pajamas all day long clutching a baseball bat. Walton says the scandal is really a jumping-off point for “Astronomical Sunset.”
Photo by Michael Ensminger
