So what if her latest series is about a pathological serial murder? Since she was 10 years old, you’d be hard-pressed to find a happier face than Colorado’s very own Happy Face: stage and screen star Annaleigh Ashford.
You can see for yourself. On Paramount+ starting March 20, when the first two episodes of “Happy Face” drop starring Dennis Quaid and Ashford about a – well, let’s just say “not particularly healthy father and daughter relationship.”
And you can see it in person on June 14, when Ashford comes home to headline “Saturday Night Alive,” an annual benefit for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ vast education programs that typically raises $1 million in a single evening.
Talk about happy faces.
Annaleigh Ashford will headline the Denver Center’s education fundraiser on June 14.
Ashford continues to be proof-positive that good things do happen to good people. After starring in the charming CBS kidney-sharing sitcom “B Positive,” the Tony-winning actor made her triumphant return to Broadway as Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd,” earning her third Tony nomination. She also starred in the wild but true Hulu streamer “Welcome to Chippendales” opposite Kumail Nanjiani. And she had a brief stint in a limited Broadway engagement called “All In: Comedy About Love.”
Oh, and she and husband Joe Tapper worked in the birth of their second child, a daughter named Lucy.
“Happy Face” is a true-crime drama from “The Good Wife” creators Robert King and Michelle King. Annaleigh Ashford stars as Melissa Reed, who discovered in high school that her father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, had been sentenced to life in prison after strangling eight women to death between 1990-95. He was dubbed the “Happy Face Killer” after sending letters with smiley faces to law enforcement and the media. He claims to have killed as many as 160 people. In the series, he tells the cops he’ll only spill the details to his estranged daughter (Ashford).
The first two episodes were shown last week at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival in Austin. The final six episodes will drop on Paramount+ weekly starting March 27.
Ashford, a graduate of Wheat Ridge High School who made her professional stage debut in Denver at age 10, won her Tony Award in 2014 for her portrayal of Essie Carmichael in the Broadway revival of “You Can’t Take It With You,” starring James Earl Jones.
“Saturday Night Alive” is a posh, black-tie gala that includes a cocktail reception and concert performance by Ashford, followed by dinner and a disco after-party. Tickets start at a cool $1,000 (it’s for the children!) at denvercenter.org.
Concert announcements
Sting has added a third Red Rocks concert on Thursday, May 22, as part of his “Sting 3.0” world tour. (May 19 and 20 are already long gone.) He’s performing with guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas (Mumford & Sons). After a full week of pre-sale opportunities, whatever scraps are left (if any) will go up for public grabs at 10 a.m. Friday at sting.com …
The Colorado Symphony will perform the music of John Williams at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on June 29. The program will take audiences through some of the most unforgettable scores in cinematic history, like, oh, “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “Superman,” “Harry Potter,” “E.T.” and more. Over the years, Williams’ music has become as iconic as the films themselves. The concert will be led by Resident Conductor Christopher Dragon. “This is some of the most thrilling and recognizable orchestral music ever written,” said Dragon. Tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at coloradosymphony.org or axs.com. …
Cyndi Lauper wants to have fun one last time. Her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” farewell tour comes to Fiddler’s Green on Aug. 12. Tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at cyndilauper.com. Jake Wesley Rogers will open for Lauper, who has been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2025. …
Also: The Brian Jonestown Massacre comes to the Gothic Theatre on Nov. 10, and the 30th anniversary tour of Everclear’s “Sparkle and Fade,” also at the Gothic, on Sept. 19. Tickets to both on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at axs.com …
Denver-bound British musician Sting performs during his concert in Papp Laszlo Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on July 2, 2019.
Still chasing the Sun(dance)
On Wednesday, the Colorado House advanced a proposed tax credit to further encourage the Sundance Film Festival to choose Colorado as its new home beginning in 2027. The measure would offer $34 million in tax incentives over the next 10 years (or $3-$5 million per year).
Now, every time I type those words I get buried in misguided backlash from people who incorrectly equate the words “tax incentives” with “the state throwing money away.” So here we go again: Sundance sells more than 100,000 tickets and attracts more than 20,000 out-of-state attendees. An economic impact study showed that, in 2024, the festival generated a $132 million economic impact for Utah, including $69.7 million in wages and almost $14 million in state and local tax revenue.
Additionally, the bill will make $500,000 available annually to support other small or existing local film festivals such as this weekend’s Boulder International Film Festival.
“New Wave,” a documentary about the Vietnamese new-wave music scene, will be featured at the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival.
Big weekend for film festivals
Speaking of, really unfortunate timing has Boulder’s fest going screen-to-screen with the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival in Denver this weekend.
Dragon Boat, which has celebrated Asian American films since 2016, opens Friday (March 14) with “New Wave,” a documentary about the Vietnamese new-wave music scene. Director Elizabeth Ai will attend in-person and participate in a Q&A following the screening.
Dragon Boast closes March 16 with a heartwarming drama called “Tinā, which follows a Samoan mother searching for purpose as she grieves the loss of her daughter.” The theme of Dragon Boat’s 10th anniversary festival is “Honoring Our Past to Guide Our Future.”
“While history shapes us, we have the responsibility to learn from it — ensuring that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past,” said Colorado Dragon Boat Executive Director Sara Moore.
Info at denverfilm.org.
We told you a few of the Boulder fest highlights last week. Read more at https://biff1.com
Phamaly spells it out
A popular stage musical called “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” calls for local companies to recruit audience members to join the actors onstage each night as contestants in an actual (but mostly controlled) spelling contest that plays out as part of the story.
Phamaly, Denver’s disability-affirmative theater company, is using the opportunity to get some extra attention (like this!) by inviting local celebrities to fill some of those audience slots. Here’s your chance to see any of the following spell-sweat:
- March 22: Northglenn Mayor Meredith Leighty, Denver 7’s Nicole Brady and CBS Colorado’s Joel Hillan
- March 28: The SCFD Bear Mascot
- March 29: Kayln Heffernan of the band Wheelchair Sports Camp
- March 31: Miss Colorado Alexandra Lotko
- April 4: Colorado Theatre Guild President Betty Hart
- April 5: Colorado Public Radio’s Ryan Warner and TikTok influencer Isaac Kennedy
- April 6: Drag Queen Jessica L’Whor
Full disclosure: Phamaly also asked me to take part, and I declined because, while I was the fifth-grade spelling-bee champion at the Shrine of St. Anne’s in Arvada, and I’ll take that to the grave, 1. Grade 3 concussion, and 2. I’m afraid. 3. I’m very afraid.
“Spelling Bee” opens March 22 and runs through April 6 at Northglenn Arts. Info at phamaly.org.
Remembering Scott McKinstry
Scott McKinstry
The local theater community is grieving the death of Scott McKinstry, a popular actor who died recently of a stroke at his home in Seattle. Thirty-five years ago, McKinstry starred in a Nomad Players production of “Our Town” opposite Suzanne Fountain, who was among the victims in the 2021 King Soopers murders. They were just babies back in 1990 playing young Emily and George.
McKinstry wrote his first songs for a musical version of “Lord of the Flies” that he adapted when he was 15, with songs like “No Parents,” “It’s Called a Conch” and “Kill the Beast.”
McKinstry was considered a student of Shakespeare who worked at the Tattered Cover Book Store. He starred in a 1991 production of “Hamlet” for the Mirror Players that was considered a seminal production at the time. …
And finally …
“Othello” became the highest-grossing play in Broadway history last week, generating $2.8 million for eight preview performances. The show doesn’t even open for real until March 23. Now, the experts are saying this is surely because of the star power that Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal bring to the play. But we know the real reason is that the ensemble includes Denver’s own Gene Gillette. Happy to clarify
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