If you have ever considered making a donation to the Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton, now might be a good time to click that link.

Talk about an imperfect storm of suck.

The acclaimed south suburban theater company and the city-owned Main Street building it performs in have been hit by a series of simultaneous setbacks that left Town Hall with no (humane) choice but to cancel Sunday’s sold-out closing performance of the Gloria Estefan jukebox musical “On Your Feet.”

How bad does your luck have to be when you are forced to cancel because it’s too hot inside?

The 100-year-old building’s overworked air conditioning system was no match for four straight days of temps over 90 degrees. Not even a Saturday night run on portable fans, swamp coolers and ice packs could bring the heat down to a comfortable level. So management made the painful decision to cancel the final performance of the well-received show.

Then there’s COVID, which (sorry to say) never went away – it’s just not being reported as much these days because no one wants to talk about it. Twice during the run of “On Your Feet,” Town Hall performed with as many as eight “covers,” or understudies, because of cast sickness. That Town Hall had eight actors hired and prepped to go on just in case speaks to how robustly the entire local performing ecology has adapted to the new COVID reality.

In the before times, if even two people got sick, any show anywhere might get canceled. Now, companies are nimbly and proactively and necessarily prepping for every eventuality – but at great expense.

And even still, life piles on. On a recent Saturday, even the Town Hall cover got sick, so there was no choice but to cancel. The double burn? Town Hall performs two shows on Saturdays, meaning two shows had to be called off.

How much it costs a nonprofit theater company that is always operating on the margins to cancel even one show is something Town Hall officials would rather not talk about. But it’s got to be brutal. The place holds 260 people, an average ticket price is $45 and this show was selling well. Simple math would suggest that even one canceled performance costs a company like Town Hall $11,000 in revenue.

To lose two would be devastating to any company of any size. So you can imagine how hard it must have been for Town Hall officials to additionally cancel Sunday’s closing matinee out of full concern for the safety and comfort of performers and audiences alike.

“In this instance, the right thing to do was also the most expensive thing to do – and we don’t regret it one bit,” said Town Hall Marketing Director Steven Burge. “But it did cost us.”

On top of all that: The theater’s freight elevator, which is essential for taking mobility-challenged audience members up to the second-floor performing area, is due for a major upgrade that officials estimate will take 10 weeks for the city of Littleton to complete. One bit of “luck” in this sad story, if that word might apply to anything about this: Town Hall’s season ended with “On Your Feet” and does not resume until Sept. 12 with “the Buddy Holly Story.” So if the elevator must be out of service for 10 weeks, these are the 10 weeks for it to be down.   

This all a major bummer for the city, which seems presently elevator-cursed. According to a notice posted on the city’s website, the library at the nearby Bemis Library is also temporarily out of service for maintenance. There is no word on what the repairs at either facility will cost.

So, yeah. Feeling charitable? “We will gratefully accept your donation at townhallartscenter.org,” said Burge.

On the bright side: Gloria Estefan!

But then there is Gloria Estefan herself, a global superstar who has sold more than 100 million records. Unrelated to the events listed above, Estefan recorded a video message of encouragement addressed to actors Brandon Jesus Lopez and Andrea Camacho (who played Emilio and Gloria Estefan), along with the the rest of the cast of Town Hall’s “On Your Feet,” and posted it on social media.

She said, in part: “Andrea and Brandon, thank you for putting so much love, so much of your life into our story. We are so proud of you and everyone in the production. Break a leg. I wish I could be there with you. Some of my fans are going to be there in support at the Town Hall Theatre in Littleton, Colorado. Yeah baby.” She then sang the words “Get on your feet.” 

Loop the Lupe

Actor Justine Lupe is the featured guest on the latest episode of “In Her Words,” a podcast spotlighting women in entertainment. The 2007 Denver School of the Arts grad played Willa on HBO’s “Succession” and Astrid on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” before stealing the show as Morgan in Netflix’s breakout comedy “Nobody Wants This,” which returns for a second season Oct. 23. Lupe plays Kristen Bell’s sister on the show.

The takeaway for hosts Renee Rossi and Gretchen McCourt? Everyone wants Justine Lupe for a sister.

Lupe is known to us in her hometown as Justine Lupe Schomp – a family name notable for both the automobile empire and their passionate support for local arts. Lupe’s father is a visual artist who was the Denver Arts Museum’s manager of installation. Her mother was a dancer with the San Francisco Ballet before an injury steered her toward a career in mental health. Lupe’s legendary grandmother, Kay, was a major figure in public education and is considered the founding force behind the creation of Denver School of the Arts.

“I’ve always been interested in both the creative arts and psychology,”  Lupe told her podcast hosts. She credited playtime with her brother, Colin, and theater-camp summers at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center for stoking what seemed predestined to be a life in the arts.

She was admitted into DSA for sixth grade on the strength of a monologue audition from “Joan of Arc” – “which is really funny to think about,” Lupe said with a laugh. She graduated seven years later, becoming just the second DSA graduate to be accepted into the prestigious Juilliard School. 

“There were times when I wanted the more normal high-school experience and go play sports or go to a homecoming dance like a lot of other kids,” she said. “But I always loved it. I was always a ham. My parents tell me I was fearless. I was always comfortable with all kinds of people. I always loved creating and imagining things. This was in me from the very beginning.”

What’s not so much in her? A burning desire to perform on stage, which is something she admits is a heretical thing for any actor to say.  

“The rational, intellectual side of me wants to say that I miss live theater, because I respect it so much,” said Lupe, a newly married mother. “But, to be honest, the theater lifestyle is not my thing. I don’t like the culture,” she added – meaning the late nights and the partying.

“I am a morning person, and I don’t drink.”

Last year, Lupe narrated the audio version of Stephen King’s 600-page crime thriller, “Holly.” “That is the most exhausting thing I have ever done,” she said.

Meet the Spielbergs

Fifty years after the release of “Jaws” comes Friday’s release of “Please Don’t Feed the Children” on the streamer Tubi. It’s said to be a terrifying new film that marks the directing debut of Destry Allyn Spielberg – daughter of Steven. The stellar cast includes Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Better Call Saul”) and (drum roll please) Emma Meisel, yet another graduate of Denver School of the Arts.

The story: “After a deadly viral outbreak, a group of orphans flees in search of a new life. Until they are taken hostage by a woman hiding a sinister secret.”

Meisel was a regular on the “Doogie Howser” reboot “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.” and “American Horror Story: 1984.”

Briefly …

According to Live Nation, The Weeknd (aka Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) made history when he performed in Denver on June 21. The concert drew more than 60,000, setting records for both most shows performed and highest attendance by a Black male artist at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium …

I guess I’ll have to stop calling him “one of the most underappreciated people in Colorado theater.” The Colorado Theatre Guild has announced that Ken Quintana (he’d prefer you just call him KQ) will be its latest Lifetime Achievement Award recipient when the Henry Awards are presented July 28 at the Lone Tree Arts Center. KQ is the longtime creative director for Magic Moments – a one-of-a-kind annual pop-music revue that since 1984 has given thousands of ordinary folks a chance to perform. Tickets at coloradotheatreguild.org.