“Gin & Gothic: A Brontё Rocktale” Comes to Denver this August

Join Band of Toughs this August for their newest production, “an academic adventure meets a rock show” in Gin & Gothic: A Brontё Rocktale.

The local Colorado theater group, known for its surprising genre mashes of classic literature and unexpected live music, has taken on their newest project combining the Brontё sisters and rock music. Their former works include Nirvamlet (a combination of Nirvana and Hamlet), Under the Stars with the Brews and the Bard: As You Like It, and I Miss My MTV.

While previous projects have been mostly Shakespeare-inspired, Gin & Gothic is clearly inspired by love: for the authors, their works, the theatre itself, and the love of sibling relationships. “I love those three brilliant sisters. I think they’re each incredibly unique. I’ve been thinking just a lot about my own connection with my sister, and just, like, how siblings have been keeping me sane lately. It just felt right from both a personal perspective and I think as the company, we thought it had legs. We just have been having fun working with it,” says Colleen Mylott, Artistic Director for Band of Toughs. 

The show begins as a contest between the Brontё sisters as to which is the most badass and follows the siblings through their careers, as well as through their confrontations with each other, their fans, and their critics. As well as a play, Gin & Gothic is a wander around the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, backed up by live music, including a visiting artist, Kamara Thomas, who has created two original songs for the project. 

“Live music actually started to become part of our DNA as a company. It’s so amazing to us. And music is such an inspiration for the shows that we create—As you can tell, there’s often some kind of musical angle that we entered the space with. And it might be because I’m a dancer, and a lot of people in the company are kind of movement theater artists, but it almost feels sometimes like we’re making music video theater when we’re putting things together. Music just became essential for the company, and it’s a royal pain in the butt to put together, but it’s kind of worth it,” Mylott explains.

The show focuses less on the academic and historical realities of the Brontёs (nobody needs to do homework and read all of the Brontё books before seeing the show) and more on their spirit, on how “punk rock” it was to be women writing in the Victorian era. Pulling apart the rock and rebellious aspects of the Brontёs was a fun challenge for the Band of Toughs, Mylott explains.

“They’re so wordy, and they’re so circuitous, and they’re actually really brilliant, but you have to kind of funnel them through a modern translator in order for them to have the rock impact and modern feminist punch that I want them to have. So there’s been a lot of taking one of their quotes and then sort of extrapolating it into its cool parts,” she says.

“It’s been fun to hit that wall and kind of realize that, like, there’s no rules, right? We never said we needed to be historically accurate. We want to just represent what we think is the spirit of and the passion of the Brontёs, and that’s a different thing than a historical piece,” Mylott continues. 

“The spirit of the Brontёs feels very punk rock, rock ‘n’ roll, very feminist and cool and reactionary, so I feel like that translates well,” adds Victor Longman, a member of the Gin & Gothic cast. 

The show has been a collaborative process, as many members of the Band of Toughs were involved in the creation and evolution of the show, which has been continuing to evolve up through the final week of rehearsals. Longman describes the show as its “own living organism.”

Mylott hopes that audiences will leave the show with the understanding that “there’s a way to have an artistic community of family that can support you through life,” and that they have “a fun evening celebrating some historical badass women and maybe getting inspired to kind of ignite that in your own life in any way.”

“People have always been like badass and punk throughout history. It’s not just a new thing. And that will continue into the future. So maybe this will inspire a new generation of punk badass writers,” Longman adds. 

To see this beautiful creative and collaborative experience, tickets are available on AXS.

DATES AND TIMES

Doors open at 7:00 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, August 2
Saturday, August 3
Thursday, August 15
Friday, August 16
Saturday, August 17
Sunday, August 18
Friday, August 23
Saturday, August 24

Tickets

General Admission: $34
Special $17, 2-for-1 deal available for opening night, August 2, and Industry Night, August 18.

Location

Ellie Caulkins Opera House at Denver Performing Arts Complex
1400 Curtis Street
Denver, CO 80202

Cast and Creative Team

Colleen Mylott, Janet Mylott, David Ortolano, Kate Moore, Michael Gunst, James Brunt, Kamara Thomas, Michael Sater, Karina Constantino, Victor Longman, Elizabeth Kirchmeier, Heather Ostberg-Johnson, Atlas Drake, Lloyd Harvey, Lainey Martin, Caden Pazo, Mary Kate Kearney, Veronica May, Michael Strzepek, Anna Strzepek, Frieda Celeste Dunkelberg.