You can try to take the KY from Kentucky, but you'll never take the color out of Colorado..." Patriotism that makes the audience go a little pink in the cheek, theater that attends to the proletariat's innate need to laugh at Republicans, and lyrics that extract America's favorite lubricant from the abbreviation for one of the most anal states in the nation is just the beginning, folks.

Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly will keep you rocking in your seats wishing that all of existence was this damn fun. Crabtree, a revered costumier, designer, actor and playwright completed work on this musical costume extravaganza just five days before his death. Cliché as it may sound however, Crabtree's glowing sense of humor, political sensibilities and aesthetic genius come to life nightly on the stage of Theater on Broadway. Chris McCoy, Todd Peckham, George Pulver, Brian Upton and Chris Whyde give beyond stellar performances and director Nicholas Sugar struts his abundant talent in this Zigfield-gone-drag musical comedy/costume extravaganza.

Imagine cowboys in purple with white patent-leather boots and pink satin chaps sporting vests trimmed with pastel ric-rac singing, flouncing and dancing in perfect synchronization. Imagine a musical score that is diverse and light-hearted accompa-nied by hilarious lyrics that take the tired out of political satire. Imagine a brilliant-ly engaging cast that grabs hold of the audience the minute the lights go up and hangs on to their hearts well beyond the drive home.

There is a raucously good time to be had with these guys that the audience just can't avoid. There's the man in the mer-maid costume who subtly ignores the way his baby-bottle nipples stare and wink at the audience while he plays the prima-donna. There's the wonderful vocals, dance and lyrics behind the musical number "Light in the Loafers." There's a teaser for the story of the garden of Eden as told in "Adam & Steve," and there's a Betty Davis character with a Joan Crawford puppet.

If that's not enough to make you fork up the $25 ticket price, then how about a French Provincial scene complete with three foot wigs, and a dressing table that turns into a dress ... or a peppy little num-ber called "The Shaft" complete with sparkling white afro wigs and glow in the dark jumpsuits ... or one of my favorite numbers, "Not All Man." And finally, the comic super-glue that will stick with the audience for weeks, a little love song or two addressed to some of our nation's most pronouncedly homophobic political icons. Boy would I love to see Newt Gingrich's face when he gets a load of this. Writers always find a way to get the best revenge.

I haven't hummed musical scores since I was a kid stuck on old Fred Astaire movies but, nearly two weeks after seeing this show, I'm still walking around humming the opening number "When Pigs Fly," among others.

Everyone from the stage manager to the director to the entire cast is having the time of their lives with this play and good God, it shows! Best of all, the exuberance is catching. The audience will leave this production a little changed. Those closet homophobics who attend will find they've lightened up a little, the staunch Republicans will wonder if same-sex marriage is really all that horrible, members of the gay and lesbian community will find yet another reason to be proud of who they are and their contributions to society, and straight women will leave wondering exactly why they find gay men so damned attractive.

The play's run has been extended through October so no excuses guys, you've absolutely gotta see it! One word of warning, while I find this play perfectly suitable for anyone over eight years old (okay I'm liberal, so sue me--no, on second thought sue my editor [you're fired Ed.]), don't gorge yourself on a decadently rich meal before you go, you'll be laughing too hard to digest anything and we here at Go-Go wouldn't want anyone to suffer discomfort of any kind. Enjoy the show!

And now for something completely different. Well sort of. We're still in the musical realm anyway with PHAMALy's production of Grand Hotel, running at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities through August 20. PHAMALy is a group of physically handicapped (their words not mine) actors who declare themselves amateurs, but stage a play that is anything but. Grand Hotel is not an easy little number to produce, less so when the actors must contend not only with demanding lines, dialogue and strictly timed musical numbers but also with wheelchairs, limbs that may not be so limber, and various hearing, vision, and learning disabilities.

What amazed me most about this production was the fact that after a little while, the wheelchairs, limps, shortened limbs and other accouterments we as a society have come to accept as 'disabilities' disappeared from stage. What was left was a group of well-rehearsed, very gifted actors, singers and dancers whose love for and dedication to theater transcended everything else on the stage. Cool. Very cool.

Margaret Klein and Katrina Weber provide stunningly beautiful vocals, backed up by R. Matthew Deans in the lead roles. Tim Campbell and Miriam Rebecca Holmes absolutely wow the audience with their commanding stage presence and exuberant energy. In fact the entire cast does what I might have thought unlikely, that being to take a tired old musical and bring it to life in a fresh and enticing way.

Kudos go to the musicians that performed live on stage throughout the entire piece, and also to the Arvada Center for donating space. Finally due recognition and thanks to director Steve Wilson for seeing the multifaceted abilities of each and every member of his cast and for finding just the right spotlight in which to make those abilities shine. I recommend this most unique and moving production of Grand Hotel.