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Features
Deals and steals: OFC staff picks
Spending your money wisely doesn't mean that you're cheap - far from it. We at OFC think that getting a good deal is tantamount to being smart and savvy. And there's no need to skimp to save money. Instead, check out OFC staff's smart-money favorites.
Matt Kailey, Managing Editor
Because I like to play nickel video poker, I always sign up for membership cards at the various casinos in Central City and Black Hawk. If you play there semi-regularly, you can get fabulous stuff, like $5 and $10 coupons for members, a free hot dog, Mardi Gras beads, a plastic water bottle, a free pen on your birthday, a glass cutting board, a light-up plastic shamrock on St. Patrick's Day, a Christmas ornament, and free drinks and soda while you're losing your money. With all this stuff, you could actually live up there, as long as your car has a good heater and you find a free parking lot.
Greg Montoya, Publisher and Editor
I have friends who love to brag about how much they spent on something, while I prefer to brag about how much I saved. One of my favorite things to do is shop the shelves of the wine aisles at Argonaut Wine & Liquors, 760 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver, where I know I can always find a decent red or white for less than $10. And I love hunting around the store for deals that require their Preferred Shopper Card. Get one! www.argonautliquor.com.
The other place I love to go is Annie's Cafe, 3100 E. Colfax in Denver, for their happy hour food and drink specials, every day from 3 - 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close. Specials include half-price draft beer and house wines, $3 well drinks and a $4 margarita. My favorite appetizer is the veggies, dip and homemade potato chips for $4.95 or the mini sloppy joes or mini burgers for $3. Annie's also has a weekday breakfast special, Monday through Thursday, from 7 - 9 a.m. - two eggs, grilled potatoes, toast and coffee for $4.25. Use your OFC VIP Card for 10 percent off your entire bill. www.annies-cafe.com
Sunnivie Brydum, Web Editor
Beginning at 4 p.m. every Thursday through Sunday, Emilio's, 338 E. Colfax (at Logan), serves up what might be the best happy hour deal in Denver. Their 16-ounce margaritas are just $1.75 - and the bartenders are generous with the Hornitos tequila in the drinks. The relaxed vibe and friendly service, combined with the delicious, affordable food, makes this little restaurant one of my favorite haunts. I suggest the chicken nachos to accompany your margaritas, since you'll need some sustenance while drinking at happy hour prices
until the 9 p.m. close.
A home base of every ironically trendy hipster, Buffalo Exchange has been a 13th Ave. staple for years. You can find great bargains on clothes, shoes and accessories any time of the day, but those deals get even better when you break out your OFC VIP card for an additional 15 percent off your entire purchase. And if you haven't visited the store recently, check out the newly expanded space, which flows better and has even more amazing finds for fabulous prices. I can never make it out of the store without at least a few new shirts or an irresistible pair of shoes. Buffalo Exchange is located at 230 E. 13th Ave. in Denver. www.buffaloexchange.com.
My fellow shoe-addicts would agree that True Love, 42 Broadway in Denver, is aptly named and is much kinder on our strained wallets than a trip to some of the higher-end shops. The girls at True Love keep up on the latest trends in shoes and accessories, and offer the hottest heels and most badass boots for the best price in the city. You may not find major brands here, but what you also won't find is any animal cruelty - all of True Love's shoes are leather- and fur-free. And the absolute best part? The vast majority of shoes are under $40. Which means you can finally build a healthy relationship between your love of shoes and your wallet's constraints! If that isn't true love, I don't know what is. www.trueloveshoes.com
Maximus Grey, OFCB Contributing Writer
A guy does what a guy's going to do. That's why I shop online at www.cheaplubes.com, where you can get an 8-ounce bottle of Gun Oil for $18.95. It works well with a partner or alone. My other favorite is Boy Butter. It's kind of like cooking ... do you prefer oil or butter? These won't add calories to your waistline, though!
Sara Decker, Assistant Art Director
My fiance and I love Hamburger Mary's $1 Bud Light Drafts and $2 wells. She loves her “Captain and Diets” during Happy Hour from 3 - 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. To top it off, we split one of their generous-sized entrees and use our OFC VIP Card for 15 percent off!
Marc Sokol, Advertising Executive
My favorite place to go for a great bargain is Loehmann's (9555 E. County Line Rd.). You can purchase designer jeans (7's, Diesel, Paper Denim), Kiehl's products, cologne or fabulous designer sunglasses (Prada, Fendi, Armani) at 30-65 percent off! They also have sales where you receive an
additional discount on certain items. www.loehmanns.com
Jay Klein, Art Director
This time of year in Denver means snow, and there can be lots of it, so why not fly somewhere warm and sunny? There's a great last-minute airfare Web site, www.smartertravel.com, that sends out a weekly Wednesday e-mail for the upcoming weekend. And if you're going to fly out of DIA, plan ahead and allow yourself enough time to park your car at Pikes Peak Parking. It's $6 a day and there's a shuttle that runs between the parking lot and the departure/arrival gates. www.flydenver.com.
Lynette Elliott, Advertising Sales Manager
The Bar Menu Happy Hour at Brio Tuscan Grille in Cherry Creek (2500 E. 1st Ave. at Clayton) is my favorite. Brio offers the Tuscan Tasters menu, available only at the bar, Monday through Friday from 3 - 6 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to close. For $2.95, you can choose from the spicy shrimp and eggplant, braised meatballs nestled on a bed of polenta with a selection of flatbreads and bruschettas, or the Brio Burger. They don't have daily happy hour drink specials, but all day on Thursdays, Brio offers $2 off all their martinis! www.brioitalian.com.
OFC Office Pick
The OFC VIP Card! We introduced this card last year. It's free for you and gets you discounts at a variety of businesses around town. Check out the list of participating businesses in this issue of OFC and search the list on our Web site at www.outfrontcolorado.com.
Features
Catch Elle in Denver at 'Legally Blonde The Musical'
The first national tour of Legally Blonde The Musical will begin performances at Denver's Buell Theatre February 2 for two weeks only. Tickets for this hit musical, written by Colorado native Heather Hach, are on sale now.
Sorority star Elle Woods doesn't take "no" for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.
In its first year on Broadway, Legally Blonde The Musical earned seven 2007 Tony Award nominations, 10 2007 Drama Desk Award Nominations and a 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award, and the chorus of the musical was honored by Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) with the first ever ACCA Award. The musical also ranked in the top 10 list of the most requested Ticketmaster "Arts & Theatre Events" for 2007.
Legally Blonde The Musical also received three 2009 Touring Broadway Awards in New York City on May 4, 2009. The show won awards for Best New Musical, Best Production Design and Best Choreography of a Touring Production. The Awards, presented by The Broadway League, honor excellence in Touring Broadway. It is the only such national award.
Becky Gulsvig, the Elle understudy in the original Broadway cast, is Elle Woods in the tour. Fans of the MTV reality show Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, which premiered on June 2, 2008, will recognize a familiar face in the tour casting: third runner-up and fan favorite Rhiannon Hansen appears as Elle's best friend Margot. The reality show represented the musical's second venture with MTV. In the fall of 2007, MTV aired Legally Blonde The Musical in its entirety to stellar ratings and was subsequently nominated for two 2007-2008 Daytime Emmy Awards.
Male swing Alex Puette.
Joining Gulsvig and Hansen are DB Bonds as Emmett, Natalie Joy Johnson as Paulette, Jeff McLean as Warner, Megan Lewis as Vivienne, Coleen Sexton as Brooke, Ken Land as Professor Callahan, Tiffany Engen as Serena, Lucia Spina as Enid and Candice Marie Woods as Pilar.
Among others in the cast are two openly gay actors - Alex Puette and Paul Jackel.
Puette, one of the male swings in the show, covers all of the male ensemble tracks - a total of eight - and has to be ready to go on at a moment's notice.
"It's a really challenging job," Puette told OFC, "but I love it because I get to do a different part every time I go on! This show is especially fun to 'swing' because all of the ensemble features are very different - everything from a really flamboyant Latino to a nerdy Harvard law professor. It's such a blast to play such a wide variety of characters every week."
"I am what is traditionally referred to as the 'character man' of Legally Blonde," Jackel told OFC. Instead of one large principal role, I play several smaller roles or 'features,' including Elle's dad, the Harvard Admissions officer and a TV court reporter. Coincidentally, I am the only member of the male ensemble who is not required to appear onstage shirtless! The challenge here is that these characters must be painted in bold strokes without sacrificing the truth of the storytelling. Because they appear in the show only briefly, my job is to find a way to make an immediate and distinct impression on the audience for each of them."
As on Broadway, Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, also openly gay, is the director and choreographer of the show. Music and lyrics are by both Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Heather Hach.
So catch Elle in Denver - get your tickets now for Legally Blonde The Musical.
Tickets for Legally Blonde The Musical are on sale now. Call 303-893-4100 or go to www.denvercenter.org.