Get Involved - Testimonials

“Bas Bleu is Fort Collins’ most artistically challenging theatre.” - John Moore, Theatre Critic, Denver Post

“Non-profit organizations in Fort Collins define the values of our great city. One of those key values is helping people understand the nuances of life. Bas Bleu Theatre brings outstanding performances to this community about the dramas, comedies, and lessons of life… I hope we can continue to develop our relationship over the coming years and create community events together. Fort Collins is definitely a better community because of the Bas Bleu Theatre.” - Ruthanne Kastner, Ph.D, Executive Director, Kathleen Vetter Foundation for Breast Cancer Information

“You accomplished an astonishing feat. If you had simply moved, it would have been enough. But to move, to mount such an ambitious production, and to do it collaboration with OpenStage…WOW! I am impressed by the courage Bas Bleu has shown. Thank you for being the pioneers on Willow Street. The new Northside Center is now committed to rebuild next door. The Poudre River clean-up is moving ahead. There are great things ahead for the area.” - Greg Byrne, Director of Commuity Planning and Enviromental Sevices, City of Fort Collins

“I feel compelled to write in profound appreciation and high praise for your many contributions through Bas Bleu's recent production of ‘Angels in America’. It is not an exaggeration to say that you spearheaded the realization of an experience in the life of this community and region that will be remembered and cherished for a long time.” - Robert Hoffert, Retired Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Colorado State University

“In the last few years, Bas Bleu has become a beacon of theatrical inventiveness and energy in Fort Collins. Play selection is always intelligent and sometimes daring, and execution is usually exemplary. … Standing in the lobby, you get the sense of a vibrant and unpretentious community of artists and thinkers congregating there.” - Juliet Whitman, Theatre Critic, Westword

“This was one of the best performances I’ve seen of “Footfalls” and I’ve seen some of the great ones.” - James Knowlson, Beckett scholar, biographer and author of Damned to Fame – the Life of Samuel Beckett

“Because Bas Bleu is more interested in quality than popularity, it fills a special niche in the local theatre community. It provides challenging theatre and new experiences for those who would otherwise have to travel many miles to find comparable quality.” - Phyllis Walbye, Arts & Entertainment Editor/Theatre Critic, Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald

“I am continually amazed at the creativity and genius behind your productions. Each presentation has me astonished by the superb directing, casting, staging, costuming and acting. I have been a dedicated season ticket holder since moving here 5 years ago from San Jose, CA, where theatre was prohibitively expensive and inconvenient to attend. I have become a great fan(atic) and proponent of your theatre. I truly appreciate the extraordinary professional quality of your offerings, each so unique. … Thank you, thank you, thank you.” - Dorris Taylor

“What impresses me about the company’s work isn’t just the quality of their productions but their commitment to social change and their willingness to take a risk—this small theatre in Northern Colorado has found an audience hungry for the truth and hungry for theatre that is thought-provoking and educational. I am grateful that I live in a greater community where theatre has a moral obligation to reach out beyond the limiting borders we generally place upon our works.” - Rebecca Hilliker, Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance, UWYO and collaborator on The Laramie Project

“Bas Bleu Theatre calls itself a ‘salon’ theatre dedicated to small cast productions in an intimate setting. It may be small, but it is big in aspiration, and as big in quality as many a large-scale professional company…. Bas Bleu has its head and its heart in the right place. It may be a modest enterprise, but it’s a company worth seeing and worth every bit of support they can get.” - The Journal of Beckett Studies

“I was so struck by your performance in ‘Duet for One’, I just had to write to thank you… Your portrayal of the gamut of emotions a person with MS goes through – sometimes even in a given day, and most certainly over time – helps educate others, including caregivers, that MS is often as emotionally challenging as it is physically unpredictable…. Thank you for making this show available to Fort Collins, where the incidence of MS seems to be particularly high.” - Connie Pfeiffenberger

“It is our pleasure to support Bas Bleu Theatre, not only for the quality theatre, but for the innovative and professional offerings it provides to the Fort Collins community…. it is a venerable organization presenting consistent quality productions. Bas Bleu is a huge service to the Fort Collins community.” - Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado

“Making theatre available for students and teachers is a valuable gift to the community, and it’s important to note that [Bas Bleu] is unlike any other space in town…. Whether a student’s interest is visual art, theatre, poetry or music, Bas Bleu encourages young people to become involved as audience and artist.” - Carol Ann Hixon, Former Fine Arts Coordinator, Poudre School District

“Bas Bleu is an extraordinary enterprise that has a future matched only by the rare company in the world. The theatre is reminiscent of some of those small, but oh so significant, theatres of the nineteenth century – the Theatre Libre, the Frei Buhne, the Independent Theatre or the Theatre de l’Oeuvre and others that struggled along. Each was tiny, operating on less than a shoestring, but what an impact they had on the future of western theatre! I am always one of your most ardent supporters.” - Robert Braddy, CSU Professor Emeritus

“‘Happy Days’ was the single finest performance ever witnessed on our stage. Distinguished guests, including the novelist and art critic Brian O’Doherty, the American art critic, Barbara Novak, among others, were astonished at Ms. Ishii’s mastery of the infamously difficult text.” - Robert Hullot-Kentor, Ph.D. author, Aesthetic Theory-Theodor W. Adorno

“Thinking about it, I am ever amazed at your ability, these last three years, to present talented people in fascinating, memorable plays…. Always in limited space, with little in the way of modern stage equipment. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that Fort Collins would be much the less for the lack of a small theatre…. A theatre offering quality plays of consistently cutting-edge caliber. Thank you, again, for the disabled parking spot in front of the theatre. Such things are very much appreciated.” – Eric Liebenow

“Since moving to Fort Collins from the Washington, D.C. area, I have found the Bas Bleu to be the place to go for consistently top-notch theatre. [It] is part of my ‘sales pitch’ when I am assisting in the recruitment of faculty for the Department of Foreign Languages at CSU. We have to convince potential colleagues that moving to Fort Collins does not mean moving to the ends of the earth, and it helps to point out that you don’t have to drive to Denver at the end of a long week to be stimulated, entertained, and moved by great theatre – the kind of high culture one expects in a large city can be found right here on Pine Street in Old Town.” – Stuart Sargent

“Thank you for an amazing production of ‘Angels in America.’ I had not really anticipated that I would see, anytime soon, a play as progressive and important as ‘Angels’ running in Fort Collins. ...Thank you for a wonderful production. Thank you for bringing a diverse ‘voice’ to the community. Thank you for your talents. Thank you for life-touching moments at the theatre.” - Eric Aoki, Ph.D

“Thumbs –Up. And arms out, hands applauding the recent cooperative effort of two of Colorado’s best theatre groups, OpenStage and Nouveau Bas Bleu—an undertaking of courage, energy, talent and self confidence. The sweet and sour theatre of angels and demons which couldn’t be done here was done here. Lois and I are grateful for your combined efforts to produce such a gripping theatre experience. ….What with CSU’s new elegant and practical musical performance hall on Remington, and many other fine things going on, our town cup indeed runneth over.” - Robert P. Martin

“Congratulations on boldly going where no Fort Collins artists have gone before! This venture is so exciting for us all. It will reflect the Style, Integrity and Extraordinary Talent that Bas Bleu is known for. Thank you.” - Lee Kaplan (and Debut Theatre)

“Bas Bleu’s presentation, in collaboration with OpenStage Theatre and Colorado State University, is an intimate, character-driven effort that insinuates itself into your heart and mind. It is never for one second unworthy of the investment it asks. Your return is the breathtaking images, haunting revelations and heartbreaking performances that trouble the mind for days. …’Angels in America’ does not leave you heartbroken. And after seven hours, it does not leave you exhausted. It leaves you appreciative of the power of theatre and energized that as a people, we can do better. This is a storm we have come through – the storm of progress.” - John Moore, Theatre Critic, Denver Post

“That was an outstanding first Poetry and Prose reading at the new Bas Bleu. The readers and their works, outstanding. …The acoustics for such spoken-word reading were better than I have ever heard. The softest voice and intonation came to me like a soft hand across velvet. I need to try other seats, but I believe this new theatre might deserve five out of five stars as a place to present spoken word. Poets, essayists, fiction writers, story tellers from across the continent may come to relish the opportunity to read in this space.” – Robert Komives

“The atmosphere and ambience of Bas Bleu, and attentive and appreciative audiences have helped make my life as an artist a joy rather than a struggle. Your commitment to expanding and broadening the appreciation for the arts in the Poudre School District is the work of a visionary. Children are the future, and there is no better investment that can be made. Thank you for recognizing this.” – Michael “HAWKEYE” Herman, recipient, W.C. Handy Award for Blues Education

“The ‘Make Art’ in ‘Make Art with an Artist’ is a clear indication the focus is on active student leaning. This idea of making and experiencing art instead of merely exposure to or knowledge of, is arts education at its best. I knew I was witnessing an excellent model for how artists can impact a school population.” – Thomas M. Balchak, Fine Arts Coordinator, Poudre School District