YOUR AD HERE »

Vaudeville Revue brings humor to ‘Covid themes’

Theater presents its new show, 'Covid Revue' each Friday and Saturday through October

Glenwood's Vaudeville Revue.
If you go... What: Glenwood Vaudeville Revue's "Covid Revue" When: Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 31, doors open at 6 p.m. Where: Glenwood Vaudeville Revue Theater, 915 Grand Ave. Cost: $25 for adults; $22.50 for seniors; $16 for kids 2–12 (Prices are show only, food and beverages optional and a la carte.)   If you watch... What: Glenwood Vaudeville Revue fundraiser When: Thursday, July 9, 7 p.m. How to access: gvrshow.com, go to fundraiser page, click on livestream

If it’s humor you’re seeking to help brighten the dark days of coronavirus isolation, the Glenwood Vaudeville Revue has just what you’re looking for. John Goss and his talented cast of performers are back with a new Summer Show starting this Friday and Saturday that promises “hilarious covid themes” to lighten your mood.

“There’s definitely a theme to this one and that’s why we’re calling it the ‘Covid Revue,’” Goss said. “We’re bringing back a couple of classic numbers but basically it’s just our classic Vaudeville Revue format where we’ve got everything from songs and skits and bits, dances and raps, and you never know what’s coming next.”

The theater was halfway through its run of the big Broadway production “Into the Woods” when the governor’s order shut night clubs and restaurants down in March. But Goss decided to retain the three-dimensional, wall-to-wall, pop-up book style set that was built for “Into the Woods” and use it in the new show.



“We’ve got this beautiful forest to do this whole show in front of,” he said. “There’s a song from that show called “Agony” that’s about two princes who argue over who has the worst agony — the loss of the princess or whatever — so we changed the whole thing to the agony of who had the worst Covid case.”

Obviously, people getting sick isn’t a humorous subject, and Goss said he is sensitive to the subject and plans to express that to the audience before each show.



“I’ll say something like, ‘We understand that people are directly connected and have loved ones that are ill, and no way do we want to diminish that, but we just want to lighten up and have fun with this and hopefully everybody will get a good laugh.’

“What we’re doing is touching base on a lot of the ridiculous aspects of it, like being stuck in your house, topics like Zoom, and the dog’s looking at you like, ‘why are you still here.’”

Goss said that another reason he is leaving the “Into the Woods” set intact is the possibility of bringing that production back later this year.

“We only do one of these big production shows a year, mainly because of the cost,” he said. “We had 15 cast members and a five piece orchestra, we took out seats and added an extra stage and did all kinds of things to the theater to make it fit the show … so it was very expensive to produce this show, but we were getting really great houses.

“I’m hoping that if by the end of the year we get this thing under control with a vaccine, or get people comfortable with being able to test and know that they’re healthy, that we can reset it and finish out the run,” he said.

Like so many businesses that were shut down for weeks this year, the Vaudeville Revue has taken a big hit to its only source of revenue. So on July 9, the theater will produce a live-streamed fundraiser show that people can watch for free from the comfort of their homes.

The show will have a live, invited audience in the theater consisting of the Vaudeville’s family, friends and biggest fans, (because the theater is limited to 50 people).

“I’m hoping that by live streaming it and spreading the word to enough people, that people might come and see the show (on Friday or Saturday), or a show in the future, or they might be inclined to donate, “ Goss said.

The event will start at 7 p.m. Thursday on the theater’s website, gvrshow.com, on the fundraiser page. Click on the link that takes you to the live-streaming show.

jbear@postindependent.com


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.