Editor’s note: This story has been updated with clarifying details about Querio’s role with additions made about education director Anna Lange.

Greeting visitors as they enter the historic boardwalk district on a prominent corner in downtown Grand Lake, the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre is a world-class professional theater that attracts some of the best actors, musicians and technicians from across the country. Commonly referred to as simply the “rep theater” more than 1,200 actors audition each year to be a part of the seasonal crew to perform in a selection of off-Broadway shows in what has been called “Colorado’s premier summer musical company.”  

The 2024 summer lineup will feature “Kinky Boots,” “The Music Man,” “Come From Away” and “I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett.” While the majority of performances are held during the summer and early-autumn months, the company typically also produces several holiday-themed shows in December.  

This year the theatre will also be offering several new, off-season performances, including a special one-night only performance by the Boulder Ballet on April 27, and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company on October 5. Thanks to a partnership with the Grand Lake Creative District, a group that supports local creative organizations to plan and promote cultural events and activities, tickets to both dance performances will be available at a discounted rate.  

Susan Struna, a part-time Grand Lake resident and creative district board member with ties to the dance industry on the Front Range, helped bring these special events to fruition. As well as a special performance of the Colorado Children’s Choir to be held at the Grand Lake Center on April 26.   

“We are grateful to both organizations for making this happen,” Struna said. “Having these two A-rated dance companies come to town will be a real treat for the existing community and the tourists who come to town to see them.” 

The theatre also welcomes more than 100 kids each July to participate in youth theater camps and workshops directed by critically-acclaimed teaching artists from around the country. The education director, Anna Lange, is a former actor at the theatre who also helped direct one of the youth workshops in the past. She now teaches middle school full time and resides in Illinois with her husband and two sons. She loves returning to her home away from home in Grand Lake in the summers. 

Although the theatre’s executive artistic director, Michael Querio, was also a teacher for many years, he retired from that job in order to work full time, year-round for the theatre several years ago. In his almost 30 years with the organization, he has helped produce over 100 shows and worked as a conductor, arranger and pianist.  

Registration for the 2024 Youth Theater Program opened on Feb. 22. 

Grand Lake’s tradition of producing theater started in the late 1960s, with shows originally taking place in the “round room” of the former Pine Cone Theatre (now the site of Charlie’s Restaurant & Sports Bar). For several years shows were also presented in an outdoor tent before taking shelter in the Grand Lake Community House for about a decade. The organization finally settled into its current home in 2011 following years of planning, collaboration and fundraising for the construction of a permanent theater space.  

With its long history and promising future in Grand Lake, the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre is an important keystone of Grand Lake Creative District’s community, which continues to be a source of culture, education and entertainment for both local residents and visitors alike. 

Tickets for the April performance of the Boulder Ballet, as well as all of the upcoming summer shows, will go on sale March 20. Buy online at RockyMountainRep.com.