Randy Weeks, a theater icon in Denver, passes away

There are some stories that are too sad to report. This is one of them.

Randy Weeks, age 59, President of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Executive Director of its Broadway touring division, died on Thursday.

Weeks was in London attending the Independent Presenter’s Network conference. Concern was raised when he missed a previously scheduled meeting

Colleagues requested that the hotel in which he was staying do a wellness check at which time he was discovered in his bed. Cause of death is unknown.

Here’s what retiring head of the DPCA, Daniel Ritchie, had to say: “Randy’s relationship with the DCPA began in 1978 when he started working in the box office while attending the University of Colorado. Despite a foray into his parents’ restaurant business, Randy’s first love was the theater. He was serving as Theatre Operations Manager at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., when local Broadway presenter Bob Garner tapped Randy to take the helm of Denver Center Attractions in 1989.”

Ritchie added: “Since then, Randy has presented more than 400 shows — including 10 national touring premieres (“The Book of Mormon,” “Pippin,” “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Disney’s “The Lion King,” “Sunset Boulevard” and the revival of “A Chorus Line,” among others) and the pre-Broadway engagement of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

During Weeks’ tenure, he also opened the Garner Galleria Theatre in 1992 with the smash hit “Forever Plaid.” The venue has gone on to great success, treating audiences to such long-running shows as “Always … Patsy Cline” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”

Weeks was a co-founder of the Women’s Voices Fund making gifts to honor his mother and aunt. His theatre involvement extended far beyond the DCPA, including participation in the Denver School of the Arts Board, Independent Presenter’s Network, The Broadway League, and Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.

“He was especially proud of his ongoing commitment to the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at CU-Boulder, hosting many of the young men at the theatre,” Ritchie said. “But most recently, Randy spearheaded the creation of The Bobby G Awards in 2013, the Colorado regional awards program for The National High School Musical Theater Awards, which recognizes and fosters the talent of aspiring youth in the local community. Recognized by The Broadway League with the Outstanding Broadway Presenter Award, it was obvious that Randy actively worked to expand theatre throughout the community and across the nation.

“The addition of the cabaret model into the DCPA’s programming proved to be a wild success. He was an early adopter of new theatre, including the national tour of Traces, cementing Denver’s place as a launch pad of exciting works destined for national prominence. Randy has left an indelible mark on Denver, Colorado and the national theatre community. He will be greatly missed by all of us at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.