Winter is a busy time of year at the Wheeler Opera House — “the busiest,” in fact, according to Executive Director Lisa Rigsby Peterson. Programming ranges from stand-up comedy to film screenings to live dance performances, with several multi-day festivals also in the mix.
Rigsby Peterson joined Kaya Williams live in the Aspen Public Radio studio last week for an interview about this season’s lineup. It’s part of a series of live interviews with local community members during Aspen Public Radio’s year-end membership drive.
You can hear the audio version using the “Listen” button above and read a transcript below. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Kaya Williams: It's been a busy week at the Wheeler. I’m sure you’ve noticed this. There was a “Paradise Paradox” screening about mental health, a Warren Miller movie. We've got the Shining Mountains Film Festival, and a show by Native Pride Productions. And looking at the calendar, you've got a lot coming up, too. So would you say that winter is the busy season for the Wheeler?
Lisa Rigsby Peterson: Winter is the busiest season for the Wheeler. So we really are kicking into gear here at the beginning of December. And we really take, I think, the foot off the gas pedal sometime in the middle of April.
Williams: Sounds like a whirlwind. Now, you started at the Wheeler kind of in the middle of a winter season, or toward the end of it, in March of 2021. It's definitely been an interesting two years. It was an interesting time to start, I'm sure. What are some of the lessons learned so far?
Rigsby Peterson: Well, I think the thing that I'm proudest of (is), in March of 2021, the theater had been closed for over a year. And with a great staff, we quickly worked with Pitkin County (Public) Health, we got everything ready to reopen after a COVID closure. There were some hiccups with the resurgence of COVID in the fall, but we really started putting together what we think is a great slate of performances, community events, all of the things people love the Wheeler for. We're excited about just taking that place in our community again.
Williams: How do you pick the “Wheeler Presents” lineup and what are some of the shows that people can expect to see this winter?
Rigsby Peterson: ‘Wheeler Presents’ are the shows that we go searching for. They’re artists that we think people would really enjoy seeing, a really wide variety of genres, whether it's dance or music or children's or family programming.
And so we really scour — almost scour the globe to find international artists. We have a Korean illusionist group that's coming in February, and also some of the best touring artists in the country.
So we've got everything from an Appalachian Christmas with Mark O’Connor, who's coming in a couple of weeks. A great jazz singer, Alan Harris, singing the Nat King Cole Christmas. We've just announced two additional Christmas week shows — both Big Head Todd and the monsters and Ozomatli, in addition to Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats — and a great early New Year's Eve party with Michael Carbonaro, great for the family. You get out just in time for the fireworks over Aspen Mountain.
And then going into the new year, we've got, again, illusionists. We've got a great group called “Black Violin,” which are a duo who are redefining what the violin is and can be. They've got a DJ on stage, it's really going to be a fantastic, fantastic performance. And then a lot of other just great speakers. We've got great comedians. Of course, our Laugh Festival comes up in the middle of February. There's so much that it's hard for me to remember everything at one time.
Williams: I appreciate that you mentioned the Aspen Laugh Festival. It's a comedy festival coming up later this winter. Now we haven't heard what the lineup is yet. It's still that kind of — “knock, knock, see who's there” is kind of in the teaser for these early bird passes. But can you either offer any clues or tell us about some of the other comedians that are coming to the Wheeler this winter?
Rigsby Peterson: I can tell you we're excited that Mike Birbiglia is going to be coming in late March. So we're really happy to be welcoming him. Those tickets are already on sale.
We'll be announcing our Laugh Festival lineup, hopefully, in the next two or three weeks. And we're in conversation with some headline comedians. We always like to feature a diversity of comedians, we like female comedians, people with different perspectives. And of course, comedians that you've loved and enjoyed on Netflix or in person. Can't give you any of those names yet, but I think people will be really happy with the lineup when we announce it.
Williams: Fair enough. And I think in the near future, we've got Becky Robinson coming. She sounds like a pretty popular show — two shows, maybe?
Rigsby Peterson: That's right. Becky Robinson is an Aspen favorite. And the good news for us is that she loves Aspen as much as Aspen loves her. We put one show on sale at 6:30 (p.m.) on Dec. 27. It's virtually sold out, so we've added a 9:30 (p.m.) show and we're certain that will fill up too. That'll be a great way to — if you have a challenging Christmas Day, just come on (and) meet us at the Wheeler the day after and you'll be able to laugh all of that turkey away.
Williams: Definitely some good (opportunities for) releasing (tension) there. Now, the Wheeler is a very historic building. Can you describe a bit of what it looks like or feels like behind the curtain?
Rigsby Peterson: As beautiful and opulent as it is in the theater, it is very utilitarian backstage. There are as many stairs as — if you've ever seen that really famous MC Escher print, where they have the stairs going up and down at the same time, it's a little bit like that backstage. But there are photos of performers who had been there for over 20 and 30 years ago, and really, to be able to see what goes into what looks like an effortless, effortless performance on stage is really kind of fun.
