large touring theater · $$ · since 2004
Bellco Theatre
Five thousand seats inside the Convention Center, booked for comics and family tours.
The theater built into the Colorado Convention Center, part of the 2004 expansion and carrying the Bellco name since the credit union took the rights. Five thousand seats in a steep bowl, which is why the sightlines are good and the exit is not: everyone funnels into convention center corridors at the same moment. It books the tier between the Paramount and Ball Arena, mostly touring comedians, family shows, awards nights and the occasional concert. The entrance is off 14th Street, under the big blue bear's block.
Why go. The right size for a big touring comedian without arena-scale distance to the stage.
Getting out is the pain point, so park on a street block rather than in the Convention Center garage if you want to leave quickly.
A short walk from Bellco Theatre
Boettcher Concert Hall
$$The Colorado Symphony's home, built in the round so nobody sits far back.
Downtown, a few blocks over · 1000 14th Street
Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre
$$$Where the touring Broadway shows land, 2,800 seats under the glass galleria.
Downtown, a few blocks over · 1350 Curtis Street
TheaterDenver Performing Arts Complex
$$$Four blocks of theaters under one glass canopy, a five-minute walk from Larimer Square.
Downtown, a few blocks over · 1400 Curtis St
Understudy
Free 700-square-foot art incubator tucked under the Convention Center on 14th.
Downtown, a few blocks over · 890 C 14th Street
Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex
$$The round brick building holding four of the Denver Center's working stages.
Downtown, a few blocks over · 1101 13th Street
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
$$$Opera Colorado and Colorado Ballet play inside the 1908 Municipal Auditorium shell.
Downtown, a few blocks over · 1385 Curtis Street